STIX 'N STONES

Annasay & Me

Tonight I had the opportunity to speak at a youth event in New Stanton, PA hosted by Carl Redding (the youth pastor at Gospel Tabernacle Assembly).  Annasay was the guest band and they did some cover tunes as well as the worship.  I had a wonderful time ministering to the students.  It was great to see so many who responded to the challenge I gave to "turn up the spiritual temperature" in their lives to start off 2009.

Tag Yourself - Is It Possible?

How many people can be accurately tagged in this NYE BASH photo?  If you attended the event, Click Here to attempt a tag!

 

New Year's Eve Recap

NYE BASH '08 was a great event.  To bring in the New Year we had a balloon drop with around 4,000 balloons.  It sounded like a war zone when the balloons were released and the popping began!  It was a lot fun to watch the excitement of several hundred students furiously go after the balloons falling from above.

The night concluded at Fun Fest Entertainment Center with bowling, laser tag, pool and video games.  The bus ride back to Allison Park Church was a "sleepy" one.  Heads were bobbing up and down, overcome by sleep.

After staying up all night, I got several hours of sleep when I arrived home around 9am.  I'm still pretty exhausted, so I'm spending the rest of the day playing the Wii with my family and watching football games.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

An All Night Party - NYE BASH '08

December 31st we're hosting a huge New Year's Eve Party for students in 6th through 12th grade, from 10pm to 7:30am.  Yes, I'm staying up all night!  (It's the ONLY night of the year where I intentionally do that).  For the 1st half of the night we have life-size inflatables (jousting, obstacle course, boxing and jump house), basketball, dodgeball, a lot of food, a big screen to watch the ball drop, and around 4,000 balloons that will fall at midnight  (you can see our team making preparations for this in the pic).  Some of the balloons have tickets that can be redeemed for prizes.

For the 2nd half of the night we're renting out Fun Fest where there will be unlimited cosmic bowling, laser tag, video games and billiards.  This is going to be a fantastic event!  I'll be providing regular twitter updates (which can be seen on the side of my blog and via my facebook status) throughout the course of the night.  It's not too late to register, even at the last minute.  Simply go to www.nyebash08.com.  We'll even take walk-ons!  What are you waiting for?! 

S.T.O.P. Convention - Peterson Events Center

I'm currently at the S.T.O.P. Convention at the Peterson Events Center witharound 2,000 in attendance. The convention is geared towards drug, alcohol and violence prevention. The format is peer-to-peer interaction, and uses student lead dramas and speaking to communicate the dangers of substance abuse and violence. After the event, about 130 students from Shaler and North Allegheny high schools will come to our 2twenty building to eat lunch and debrief about the event. 

Jeff Deyo Concert

Wow.  Tonight was an incredible night as we opened up "Harvest Cry" with a Jeff Deyo concert.  I became interested in Jeff Deyo's music a number of years ago when he was with the band Sonicflood.   Even though I have enjoyed his music for a long time, I had never actually seen him perform live.  So tonight was my first experience at one of his worship concerts, and I hope it's not my last.  He has such a heart for God.  It's evident in singing and ministry.  I really appreciated his humble spirit and desire to press into the presence of God. 

I really liked the fact that Jeff was the same person off the stage that he was on the stage. Even as we talked over lunch today it was easy to see his passion for Jesus.  Before he went on stage for the concert, we prayed together and he had tears in his eyes as he cried out to God for His presence.  I believe this is why his worship and ministry is so powerful!   

Harvest Cry & MORE

Nov. 6th & 7th is the beginning of something we're calling "Harvest Cry," and ALL events and activities are FREE!  This is a U.S. version of something that Mission S.O.S. does in Sweden.  We're having a Jeff Deyo concert on Thursday, Nov. 6th and a special service with Johannes Amritzer on Friday, Nov. 7th at Allison Park Church.  These are 2 events you DON'T WANT TO MISS!

For those interested in attending the MCM Ministry School, we are offering MSX Experience on Friday, Nov. 7th.  You will be able to attend the Ministry School on that day and participate with our intense hour of prayer and  hear "guest" teacher Johannes Amritzer.  We will also serve a special lunch, as well as offer a time for questions and answers afterwards.  This is the perfect opportunity to experience the Ministry School firsthand. All you need to do is let us know that you're coming by signing up online.  Don't worry, it's all FREE!  Just Click Here and you will be taken directly to the online registration form.     

Update on THE BIG EVENT

During the month of October our goal is to see 200 students come to know Jesus through an outreach we are calling THE BIG EVENT.  We are doing 2 outreaches per week (1 for 6-8 grades on Friday and 1 for 9th grade and up on Wednesday), for a total of 8.  On our very first one this past Wednesday we saw 30 students accept Jesus!  What an awesome thing.  We are believing for 170 more over the remaining 7 outreaches.  I'll continue to post updates so you can pray with us and believe God for these things to happen.    

THE BIG EVENT OUTREACH

Tonight we're going to 3 different high school football games in the community to advertise a community event for students called "The BIG Event."  The event is happening the first 4 weeks in October.  We're giving away things like: Ipods, Steeler tickets, Cell Phones, Gift Cards, Cash and more! There will be competitions and surprises as well. It's happening every Friday night in October (2201 Duncan Ave., Allison Park, PA) at 7pm for 6-8th graders and Wednesday nights in October @ 7pm for 9th grade and up. At the end of each night there will be an opportunity for students to receive Jesus into their lives.  Go to www.thebigevent08.com for more info.

City Reach Recap

Here's some action from City Reach last week. . .