It is hard to believe that summer is gone already and August means getting back into a regular routine. Opportunities for ministry include providing a breakfast for Fayette Academy teachers on August 1 and the entire Fayette County Public Schools on August 2. On Sunday, August 11 at 6:00 pm, we have the opportunity to pray over every school campus in Fayette County along with other churches.  

We give thanks for all the new additions to our church family over the last couple of months!

Hey, church family! The student ministry had a great month of July as we have had swim parties, gone to a Memphis Redbirds game, taken rising 7th and 8th graders to the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, and had great Wednesday night Bible studies. We have plenty of other opportunities which we can look forward to in the month of August, so be on the lookout for those different events. 

As I am writing this piece for our newsletter, we are finishing up our preparations to go to the student ministry’s Beach Camp at Panama City Beach, but as you are reading this, we have most likely just returned from camp. As I prepare sermons, Bible studies, worship, recreational activities, meals, and so many other things, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and thus lose sight of what is most important. Our theme for camp is “Identity.” I believe this theme is incredibly fitting for our teenagers because the world is seeking to define our teenagers’ identities for them with the premise that they should “be whoever they want to be.” Still, in reality, we know that the world is seeking to conform our students to their own wicked, perverse agendas. Therefore, during camp, our goal is to show our students the biblical view on human identity by talking about four major identities of people we see in Scripture: our identity as people made in the image of God, our identity as sinful rebels against God, our identity as people for whom Jesus suffered and died on the cross, and our identity as the newly created people of God. We will also be examining the conversion of Paul in small group Bible studies as we see his identity change from a rebel against God to a saint. Finally, we will have focused times every day where we talk about practical aspects of living out our faith: how to read our Bibles effectively, how to pray with structure according to the Scriptures, and how to share the gospel with our families/classmates/friends/neighbors. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of our students through the teaching and preaching of God’s Word! Pray that students’ lives will be transformed by the gospel and that we will see lasting fruit in their lives. Please pray for our adult chaperones who are giving up a week of their summer to invest in the lives of our teenagers.