2009 Riptide Winter Calendar

Is your house decorated for Christmas?

This weekend we would like to have a slideshow of houses decorated for Christmas! The students have been talking about whose house is more decorated and we want proof! If your house is decorate with lights, inflatables, or any Christmasey type ornament, please email christina (christina@journeycom.org) with pictures and we will put them in our Riptide slideshow this Sunday morning.
(please note: they will not be put on website).
If you are looking for ideas for house decorations check this out.

Winter Camp 09

Sign-ups have already begun, but we have a few more spots left. If you would like to sign up or have any questions, please call Christina or email her at christina@journeycom.org. Your middle schooler will not want to miss out on this, so give the gift of Winter Camp this Christmas!


For more details about the camp itself, visit: ForestHome.org

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope you all will have a chance to spend some quality time with your families and loved ones this holiday weekend! The staff at Riptide is so thankful to have you and your middle schooler a part of this ministry.

If you have any fun Thanksgiving Traditions (ex: activity, travel plans, recipe, ...), please comment below. We would love to hear how you spend Thanksgiving Day with your family.

See you on Sunday!

Reminder: Small groups will meet next Wednesday!

New Series on Sunday Morning

A few weeks ago during our REGENERATION series we had the students write down questions they have about God or the Bible. The catch was that we would pick five and actually teach on them.

So based on the questions we got, the next few weeks will look like this:

Why did Jesus really need to die?
Why is it so hard to do the right thing ALL the time?
What will heaven be like?
Why was I created?
Why do bad things happen in this world?

Really tough questions and although each of these could be a series themselves, we are looking forward to some great discussion and digging deep into what the Bible says.

Small Group Break Dates

To take a break and celebrate the holidays Riptide Small Groups will not be meeting the following dates:
Wednesday, November 26th (Day before Thanksgiving)
Wednesday, December 24th (Day before Christmas)
Wednesday, December 31st (Christmas Break)

REGENERATION SERIES: The Grand Finale

Next Sunday, November 9th, we have invited the DUCTAPE COMEDY Team to wrap up our Sunday Morning "Regeneration" Series. They will be performing in Riptide, Encounter, and New Format! Your middle schooler does not want to miss out on this invitation! DUCTAPE COMEDY a hilarious improve group that will bring home everything we have been teaching for the last three weeks.

So join us in Student Center B on Sunday Morning at 9:00am or 10:45am and BRING A FRIEND!!!

Worship Night

Tonight, small groups will be joining together to have a worship night in the middle school room. The night will be filled with singing, scripture reading and prayer. Tonight the middle school students will have the opportunity to experience what it means to "Shout Unto God" and find freedom in expressing worship to God. It is going to be a great night! The evening will begin at 7pm and end at 8:30pm. We will not have the early dinner option for this night only.

Regeneration

During the next four Sundays we will be "inviting a generation to understand, own, and live out a life changing faith in Jesus." You students will not want to miss this life shaping series.

October 19: The Invitation
October 26: Be a Thinker
November 2: Own it. Live it.
November 9: Be the Generation. We will be having special guest, "Duck Tape Comedy" join us this Sunday! Bring a friend!

Car Wash for Walk Their Walk

The 7th grade Guys Small Group will be hosting a car wash this Sunday, October 5th. All the money will go towards the purchase of two fresh water wells for the people living in Twachiyanda, a community in Zambia. Although, the actual event has passed, theses group of guys have made it their mission to continue raising money for this cause.

Where: USA Gas Station, Sweetwater Springs Blvd. Spring Valley
When: Sunday, October 5, 10:00am-1:00pm

So be sure to stop by if you need a car wash or just want to encourage these guys for making a difference in people's lives.

Riptide Cafe Dinner Special

This Wednesday Night we will be serving a Sloppy Joe Dinner Special at the Riptide Cafe @ 6:30pm. For $2.50 you can get a sloppy joe, chips, dessert, and a soda of your choice. We will be serving them until we run out.

Regular items on our Riptide Cafe Menu will be available as well.

Small Groups start this Wednesday!

GURLY & BURLY are back!

GURLY: Girls Only! BURLY: Guys Only!
Separate Events: Same Day!
Both: Top Secret.

Details for Students:
Event Hours: 9am-9pm
To Sign Up: Bring $30 and a signed permission slip to any Riptide event. Price will cover food and transportation for the entire event.

Parents, if you would like the itinerary of the day, please email christina@journeycom.org for the details. We just ask that you keep to the "code of secrecy" to add to the fun for the middle schoolers.

Due to the nature of the event, the last day to sign up is Wednesday, September 17th.

What's in Your Backpack?

This week we continue our "Back to School" series. Folders, paper, pencils, and maybe even a calculator come to mind when we think of what's in a backpack. But what else do we carry? This series looks at the stuff that a student carries with them that people may not see. We will look at loneliness, fear, anger, and guilt. Those things can weigh us down and make school really difficult. When we are able to give those things to God, he gives us a lighter load of kindness, courage, forgiveness, and freedom. Come join us as we look at how to make this a great school year!

Walk Their Walk Training

We will be leaving at 6pm sharp because we will be increasing our distance by 10% every week.

Walking homework in between Riptide Tuesday Training: Walk an additional 2 times during the week. Walk safe: don't walk alone! Start carrying 'energy beans' or hard candy in you packet is you plan on walking more than 30 minutes.

Also, don't forget to keep raising money and sign up on our Team Riptide page.

Fall 2008 Calendar

WALK THEIR WALK

This past Sunday we continued our Olympic Series looking at Paul's encouragement to Timothy:

" Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

We learned that we can teach and encourage others not only by our words, but by our actions as well and so let's live like people are watching. We are not too young to influence the world around us for the better, so let's DO something.

We had some friends come by and share about one of the opportunities the students in Riptide have to do something for people in Zambia, Africa. The leaders of Walk Their Walk shared how Riptide can participate in a fundraiser and walk to raise money for two water wells. Below is information on the walk. Children in Twachiyanda, Zambia walk 12 miles to get to clean water. We are going to help "Walk Their Walk" partnered with World Vision to raise money and buy freshwater wells for that community.

In the next couple of weeks we will provide more information on how we will be raising money. We are also currently taking sign-ups for the actual walk on Saturday, September 13th. If you and your family would like to participate by walking, raising or donating money, or if you have any questions about this event, please let me know by email: christina@journeycom.org.

Check out the TEAM RIPTIDE website. There you can read more about this cause, donate directly, and sign up for the walk!

Hey Middle School Students...

The first three people tell Carri in the Riptide Cafe that "Riptide Rocks" this Sunday (August 3) will get a free soda or candy bar of their choice!! Thanks for visiting the website!

STUDENT MINISTRIES SCHOOL YEAR ORIENTATION LUNCH

Sunday, August 17th
12:30-2pm
Student Center A

Whether your son or daughter is an incoming student or you're a parent of a teen veteran, you'll find this meeting a MUST attend event for parents of middle school or high school students. We will cover events that are scheduled for the year with estimated costs, inform you on our structure and purpose, talk about how to get your student plugged into our student ministry, and field any questions you may have.

To make sure we have enough food to provide lunch please RSVP by emailing aundrea@journeycom.org

See you there!

Join Student Ministries at Petco Park!

To buy ticket, email christina@journeycom.org or bring a check to any student ministries event. Make this a family event and bring the whole household! Tickets are limited so buy them today!

Riptide @ Youth Jam Festival

The Riptide Band led 6 songs at the Youth Jam Festival and did a great job!

Check out video here.

YOUTH SUMMER JAM FESTIVAL

Saturday, July 26
1pm-5pm

This Saturday, our very own Riptide Worship Team will be playing at the Youth Summer Jam Festival. This City Wide Youth event will be presenting singing teams, dance teams, skits, and gospel rap from churches all over San Diego. There will also be games, food and vendor booths.

Come see our worship team and the talents of youth from different churches around the city!

Held in the Parking lot of Deeper Life Bookstore
5555 University Ave.
San Diego, 92105

Summer Camp Reunion

Sunday, July 27th
6pm-8pm

Students and staff that attended summer camp are coming back together this Sunday in the Riptide Room. We will share memories, talk about decisions made at camp, and discuss how it has been coming back from the mountain. There will also be a time of worship and prayer.

Bring $5 for a pizza dinner and RSVP by emailing or calling Christina.
619-464-4544
christina@journeycom.org

Summer Camp in Review

Summer Camp was a blast! Great hang out times, incredible speaker, and we rocked recreation coming in at 3rd place. If you were unable to make it to this week, be sure to mark your calendars for winter camp coming up January 30-February 1. Also, for everyone who attended camp, cd's with the pictures from camp will be available this Sunday. Just grab one at the Mighty Bambooth!

Riptide Olympics Have Begun!

This Sunday we started the Riptide Olympics. Students designed their team flags and the games have begun. Each week we will start the morning with an 'Olympic type' game that will encourage the teams to work together for a grand prize!

Our theme will go along with our teaching series which is based on the life and writings of the apostle Paul. Paul may not have been in the Olympics but he trained and worked hard to be a follower of Jesus.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

The race is on!

Riptide Beach Days

Sign-up on Sundays to reserve your spot in the carpool. Bring a signed permission slip, towel, sunscreen, swimsuit, and any beach toys you would like. Be prepared for a time to just hang out at the beach and have fun.

Sunday Service Time Change Alert

Starting this Sunday, June 15th
the two identical Riptide Sunday Morning Services will be held at:

9:00am-10:15am
10:45am - 12:00am

These service times match the main service times as well.


This Sunday we will also begin a two week series called

"Riptide Pool Rules"

This series is based on Mark 12:30-31 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

So the Riptide Pool Rules are:

Rule #1 Love God
Rule #2 Love Others

It really is as simple as that!

Summer 2008 Calendar

What's Inside Series

We all are uniquely and intrinsically designed by the hand of God for a reason. For the next three weeks we are going to continue to look at not only at purpose, but flushing some stuff out that could hinder us from doing amazing things, and putting important things inside.

May 18 "Created for a Purpose"
"And yet, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand." (Isaiah 64:8)

May 25 "Flushed out"
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

June 1 "Fill'er up!"
"But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely." Galatians 5:22-23 (the Message)


June 8 "Prize Inside"
"A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other."
1 Corinthians 12:7

CHURCH WIDE BAPTISM

Sunday, June 8th Journey Community Church will be having a Church-Wide Baptism. It will be held at Crown Point Mission Bay at 2:00pm to 4:00pm. If you have a middle schooler that is ready to be baptized I will have a baptism booklet available this Sunday for them to take home, fill out and then, return to me. When they bring it back, I will meet with them briefly to talk about what baptism is, the awesome decision they are making, and what to expect and bring that day.

If you do not have anyone in your family that is getting baptized, this is still a great opportunity to come hang out while supporting those who are taking this exciting step in their Christian walk. There will be hamburgers, hotdogs, and drinks. All you have to do is come and bring a side dish or dessert to share.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at christina@journeycom.org

This is definitely a day you and your family will not want to miss!

A Lesson Learned

Unfortunately the hard drive on my computer recently crashed and died. This means that everything has been lost including the Riptide Parent Email List. It would help me out tremendously if you could email me at christina@journeycom.org so I can recreate the parent list. I now have a new operating system that will back up everything every week so this shouldn't be a problem again. Thank you so much for helping me out!

Lesson Learned: Back up your hard drive...all the time!!!

Help Us Help You!

Saturday, May 10th, Student Ministries is hosting an all-day work day to help raise money for the Journey Up Campaign. College, High School, and Middle School Students will be babysitting, cleaning houses, washing cars, and doing yard work.

Your student can get involved by filling out a card and signing up for a shift.



We need as much help as we can get that day so get those cards turned in ASAP. If you have any questions, or you would like to volunteer to drive that day, please email christina@journeycom.org

GURLY & BURLY

The details for this event are kept "secret" from the students to add to the fun. We would love to let you as parents know what is going on so email christina@journeycom.org for the itinerary.

The key things they need to know is:
Girls need to bring pajamas to change into.
Guys need to bring tennis shoes, swim shorts and a towel.

If you have not already signed up and would like to, please email or call Christina and let her know that your student is coming so we can make sure to have enough supplies.

Summer Camp 2008

Sunday, June 22nd through Friday, June 27th we will be going to Thousand Pines for Summer Camp 2008.

Sign-ups will start April 7th. A camp brochure will be available with all of the information at this Sunday's Riptide Service. For more information, feel free to email Christina at christina@journeycom.org.

"I Dare You"

We are so excited about this next series in the middle school group. It is loosely based on the "Dares from Jesus" Curriculum. We are going to look at what would happen if we actually dared to be kind, to tell the truth, to forgive others, to give big and to believe that God actually has a plan for us. For the next five weeks we are going to challenge these students to take the dare.

Riptide Easter Sunday Schedule

The middle school ministries will be meeting this Sunday,
March 23rd
at 9am and 10:45am.

We will go back to the normal service schedule of
8:30am and 10:30am on March 30th.

Summer Reading Help

San Diego State University, College of Extended Studies is offering summer reading programs for students of all ages. Programs for students entering 6th through 11th grades help develop strong reading comprehension while doubling reading speed. They teach a comprehensive approach to reading, studying, and taking notes in novels, textbooks, and non-fiction. Their goal is that your student will have an easier time completing assignments, get better grades, and become a more successfully and motivated students. Classes are offered on the SDSU campus and nearby locations. They meet once a week during the summer months. For dates, times, and more information call 1-800-978-3532. All programs require small materials fee. Class size is limited.

What on Earth (week #2)

Here is the segment from Riptide News this week:


This week we looked at the miracle in John 6, when Jesus fed 5000 people. The miracle was not only that over 5000 people got fed. The miracle was that everyone there ate from just from one young boy's lunch!

We learned from this story that Jesus wants us to bring what we have. That small boy was willing to give up his lunch even though at the time it seemed like such a small contribution for the problem at large. Each of us have something like a talent or gift that we can give. If we just bring it to him, Jesus can work mighty miracles with it.

SMALL GROUP UPDATE

Small groups will taking a break during the spring break weeks Wednesday March 19th and March 26th. Small groups will then resume meeting April 2nd.

We will be having a Riptide Movie Night on March 19th, but there will be no small groups that night. Just a movie! We will be showing "Night at the Museum." Pizza and soda will be provided for $5. It will be a great night of fun contests and prizes!

WHAT ON EARTH?

This Sunday at Riptide we kicked off our "What on Earth?" series. We are looking at miracles Jesus did leading up to Easter. This past Sunday we looked in Mark 2 when a group of friends ripped open a roof to get their paralyzed friend healed by Jesus.

In this story we learned two things:
1. Jesus can use us to play a part in a miracle.
2. Jesus' greatest miracle is forgiving our sins.

Below is our first episode of the Riptide News reporting this amazing story.



This next Sunday, we will be looking at the miracle of Jesus feeding five thousand people.

RIPTIDE MOVIE NIGHT

Riptide will be showing "A Night in the Museum" March 19th. The cost is $5 and we will provide pizza, soda, and popcorn. We will also supply candy for fifty cents. It is going to be a fun night of games, contests, and so encourage your student to bring a friend.

Foothills Christian High School

If you are a parent of an 8th grader and looking into school possibilities to send your student next year, Foothills Christian High in El Cajon is offering a Shadow Day on March 11. You and your student are welcome to attend morning classes, a chapel service, and eat lunch provided by the school. If this is something that interests you, contact Betty Goodman, a Guidance Counselor at the school. You can email her at betty.goodman@foothillschristianschool.com or call her at 619-303-8035. RSVP by March 4.

WINTER CAMP RECAP

This past weekend was fantastic. The speaker was Phil Shinners from Mariners Church in Orange County. He spoke on what it meant to be a disciple of Christ and what that actually looked like for today. The worship was great too. Our very own Maggie participated in the talent show which was a variety show called "Jr. High Musical." It was just a fun time to get away, hang out and be challenged.

THIS WEEKEND...

Winter Camp Details:
We will leave Journey Community Church Friday, February 8th @ 3:00pm and return Sunday, February 10th at 2:30pm. Remember to be prepared for cold. It may not snow while we are up there, but there was snow fall last week. Please bring any paperwork or monies that have not between turned in yet.

Sunday Morning Details:
If your student was not able to attend camp be sure they don't miss Riptide this Sunday Morning! We will continue our "Hall of Fame" series with the College Director, Todd Tolson teaching about Peter. Our student worship band will lead music and we will be continuing our friendly competition between grades to win donuts for the morning of March 3rd.

Parent Training in Review:
Last Saturday was a fantastic morning. Brian Berry, the Student Ministries Director and myself will be adding responses to your questions based the content of the morning beginning next week.

PARENT TRAINING DAY THIS SATURDAY!!!

This Saturday, February 2nd, we will have our second annual Parent Training Day. From 9am until 1:30pm we will have the privilege of hearing from Ed Noble and Mark Oestriecher, both fathers and veteran youth pastors. Ed Noble is the preaching pastor here at Journey and Mark Oestriecher is the president of Youth Specialties. Each will share valuable current information about teenagers. Brian Berry, the Student Ministries Director and myself will be sharing about the students ministries. You don't want to miss this event. There will also be a time to answer your specific questions about teenagers. If you are interested in attending please email (aundrea@journeycom.org). The cost is $15 person or $20 a couple. Lunch will be provided. Hope to see you there!

RIPTDE SMALL GROUPS

The Riptide Small Groups are up and running. If your student is not currently involved in small group and would like a place where they can build community with a smaller group of students and dig deeper into the Bible, please email me at christina@journeycom.org. These small groups meet on campus at Journey as well as in home around the community. We would love to have your student a part of a group!

If your student is in a small group that meets on the Journey Campus on Wednesday Nights, please note that although small groups do not officially start until 7pm, we are opening our Riptide doors at 6:30pm. We will have the Riptide Cafe open where they can buy sodas and candy for 50 cents as well as pizza for $1 a slice.

Winter Camp @ Forest Home

Riptide is going to Forest Home for Winter Camp. We will be leaving Journey on Friday, February 8th at 3pm and returning Sunday, February 10th at 2:30pm. The total cost for camp is $200. Bring a $75 non-refundable deposit to the church office or any Riptide event on campus to reserve a spot for your student. We have very limited spaces so sign-up today!

Parent Training Day

Welcome!

Thanks for checking us out!  This blog will be updated every Tuesday informing you of of all upcoming events and news about the middle school ministries at Journey Community Church.