February 10 Coaching Guide

February 10th Coaching Guide

Take a look at the guide and be ready to lead students through it on Sunday February 10th. Read through the Isaiah 53 passage and the corresponding questions. 

Isaiah 53:2-5 describes what Jesus would look like. 

Note: he ain't pretty.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.

What did the passage predict about how Jesus would look?

What did this prophecy say people would see when they looked beyond the looks and saw Jesus for who He really was?

What is attractive to you about the description of Jesus in this passage?

Jack fell down and broke his crown...and Jill came tumbling after

It's true about relationships, isn't it?

There seems to be a lot of falling, breaking & tumbling. Whether its mistrust or shallow relationships, we can all readily admit that our relationships need help. 

How do we get into trouble? And does God have a plan that would keep us from falling down and stumbling?

In the "Jack & Jill" series, we'll look at a couple topics:

• "Once Upon a Time" - a story from I Samuel 25:14-42
• 2/3 (teaching) - Bottom Line: Look beyond looks.
• 2/10 (coaching) - led by HS coaches & adults
• "Happily Never After" - a story from I Samuel 25:14-42
• 2/17 (teaching) - Bottom Line: Bother beyond the breakup.
• 2/24 (coaching) - led by HS coaches & adults

Don't miss the teaching or coaching Sundays! Your middle school students are so excited to be with you all! 

Next Pilot Missional Community Gathering: Feb 25th

We had our first community gathering last week and it was a blast! Come be a part of it if you're:

a) a high school student serving in any capacity at Heartland

b) a high school student or adult who is interested in leading a missional community next fall when we launch multiple MC's

What's a missional community? Take a look at the wikipedia article for an overview.

Want to be a part of this experimental missional community? Email us for more info.

Pilot Missional Community Dates

January 27th Breakout Guide

This is a correction! The link to this file was wrong, here's the right link:

January 27th Coaches Guide

January 20th Teaching Audio

If you were not here a couple days ago to hear this teaching, we recorded it for you. Note: The last 5 minutes or so are not there, but you will still hear the main portion of the message.

January 20th - Who's the Boss?, taught by Jason Scott

January 20 Teaching: Who's the Boss?

Yesterday was awesome! It was a blast to watch you high school coaches meet adults and middle school students for the first time. Remember a name & pray for a kid you met yesterday as you go about your week. I have an alarm on my watch set to 12:38pm. It reminds me to pray everyday during the lunch hour.
Don't miss this Sunday's teaching, it will set you up for success when you lead small groups on January 27th! High school coaches, just a reminder, you'll hear this taught from Steve Weatherford this weekend.

This week's teaching comes from Judges 2:6-23.
The point: Don't charge into being in charge.

January 27th Small Group Guide

January 6th teaching: Does God carry an iPod? (Nehemiah 1:1-11)

Old School is our first series of 2013. The series is about looking at Old Testament stories. We'll discover answers to some of today's questions in yesterday's stories.

On January 6th, we'll take a look at the question "Does God carry an iPod?"
Is God in tune with our lives? Or is he still using a boom box or something old fashioned? When tragedy strikes on Earth, does God in Heaven really notice? Or is he out of touch?

If you can between now and when you lead the small groups on January 13th (see post below for more info), give the book of Nehemiah a read...it's fascinating and incredibly relevant. For some historical analysis and commentary, check out this link.

January 13 Small Group Guide

We're back! (with some experimental changes!)

Youth leaders!

I'm looking forward to 2013 with much anticipation. I've been challenged by this blog post to ask two important questions as we head into a new year:

1. What does God want you to say 'goodbye' to in 2012?
2. And what is God calling you to say 'hello' to in 2013?

What we're saying a gentle 'goodbye' to in 2012 is YOU, the adult volunteer leader, being the primary leader & discipler for middle school students.

The 'hello'?
Well, we're saying 'hi' to an experiment where we change your job description from being the primary discipler for middle school students to being the primary discipler for one or two high school students. The high school students will be the main disciplers for our middle school students. We are looking for twenty high school students to say 'yes' and apply to be a middle school coach (discipler). We've got about eight students right now, pray for our remaining twelve to step up!

Logistically, here's what the changes mean. Every other week, the high school students will lead a middle school discussion group. The topic they'll teach middle school students will be what the teacher taught the prior week on Sunday morning.

Example: On January 6th, we'll have some worship and age specific (separate MS and HS teaching). I'll teach from Nehemiah 1:1-11. We'll have short small groups for you to check in with kids. On January 13th, we'll have some worship and then head straight to our small group time where we drill deeper into applying Nehemiah 1:1-11 to our lives. This small group time will be extended and last approximately 30 minutes. That will be the every other week rhythm for the semester.

The high school students will eventually lead that small group time and you will be their support. Since they've never led a small group before, we want them to be able to watch you do it before they take on the task in February.

The rhythm is very intentional. Steve Weatherford and I want the high school students to have multiple touches with the topic before they teach it to students. They will have heard the content taught once in their high school specific audience. They'll have been led by the high school adult volunteers to process what God is saying to them. And then they'll finally get to teach it to a younger audience, which will be the most fruitful part of the process for them. (Allegedly, learners retain 90% of what they learn when they teach someone else/use immediately what they've learned.)

The high school coaches will gather a couple times a month to share a meal and be a missional family together. They're already giving their lives OUT (giving their lives away to middle school students who don't know Jesus) together. And we want to gather them in a host family's home share a meal and do some UP (connect with God) and IN (connect with other Jesus followers) together. Those dates and times are forthcoming and you are invited to take part in those evenings as well.

Sound like a different approach to student ministry?
Yup, it's an experiment that will last through May/June. We think the potential payoff is huge because it  will give 7th graders Johnny and Sara a picture of what we expect (and perhaps they'll see that it's what Jesus expects): that they give their lives away to the next generation of students when they get to high school someday.

If it doesn't work? Well, we listened to the Father and tried! What will your experiment be in 2013?

Questions? Thoughts? Please get ahold of me.

Shibu