Volunteer Leaders

“Volunteer youth workers are the backbone of an effective youth ministry and when they commit their hearts to their role and support the church’s Student Ministry staff, lives are changed and the youth ministry becomes a model of effectiveness for the rest of the church.” – Doug Fields

Without a doubt we have been blessed with an amazing group of leaders in high school ministry. Our leader’s value not only their student’s spiritual growth, but also understand the importance of building relationships. Some of the best ministry that takes place in the lives of our high school students is outside of the regularly scheduled small group time and ministry events. It takes place when leaders choose to come alongside their students and live life with them.

It has been exciting to hear stories of leaders who have chosen to go above and beyond to impact the lives of their students. Life change when leaders like Adam decide to play basketball every Monday night with a group of students, and Daniel and Jered plan a night to hang our and play video games. Relationships deepen when Ellery and Christina and attend a game night with their small group girls and Erin takes her girls out for dinner and a movie. Spiritual growth happens when Jeff and Cindy challenge their students to step up and lead the small group discussion on different occasions, and Christy texts her students Bible verses and words of encouragement throughout the week. High school girls feel valued when leaders like Angie surprise their small group girls with roses on Valentines Day. Relationships are being built and God is moving in the lives of high school students.

In edition we have also been blessed with leaders like Jared Doyle who not only serve in our ministry, but serve our country in the armed forces. Was recently deployed overseas and we want to keep him and his wife Bethany in our prayers as he is away.

-Alex Ehly

The Doubt Series!!!!

This week in Rush Hour we're tackling a subject that everyone at one time or another will wrestle with: Doubt!

Everyone has moments of doubt. We doubt if we are heading in the right direction when going some place new. We doubt if the people in our lives really care about us—even in spite of the evidence that they do. And sometimes our doubts are about God. Can we trust God? Does God really have our best in mind? What does a particular Bible verse actually mean?

When questions arise, they can be a little unsettling, especially questions about faith. But what if God was big enough to handle the questions? He is. What if God was secure enough to handle our uncertainty? He is. And what if doubt actually paved the way to a deeper belief, a stronger relationship with Christ? It can. 

 

On February 21st we'll tackle the subject of Honest Questions.You know those nagging questions that seem to linger in the back of your mind? The ones you hesitate to ever speak out loud, admit you have or let anyone else know you think? Questions like: “Does God hear me when I pray?” “Does He have a plan for my life?” “Does God really have everything under control?” Questions and doubts can be unsettling if they are left unsaid. But when we learn to admit our doubts openly, we learn that we are not the only ones—that everyone deals with questions. And when we learn to live with doubt, doubt can be a tool that strengthens our faith.

On February 28th we'll uncover Gray Matters. It’s one thing to recognize that doubt can strengthen faith—but how do you get there? How do you handle a doubt that you just can’t seem to move past? The ways you have learned about or experienced God in your past are still true in the present, and can be used to pave the way to belief now—in spite of and in the midst of doubt. 

Finally, we'll wrap the series up with Doubt Day Q&A on March 7th. The Impact Ministry Staff will answer questions candidly and honestly as we pursue truth together. The day promises to be an adventure as we touch on the issues and questions important to High School students.

There's great things in store at Rush Hour over the next three weeks. I hope you, your teenager, or a teenager you know will come and be a part of this impacting series! See you soon!

His and Yours,

Cory

What's the most important thing to students?

I often find myself reflecting on my life, especially at the beginning of a new year. How am I spending my time? How much eternal impact am I having? Am I doing things that make a difference in the lives of others? Am I growing & becoming all God wants me to be? What priorities need shifting in my life?

Through reflection, I’ve realized that some of my most fulfilling moments have come from time spent with students. I’ve laughed, cried, prayed, worshiped with them, listened to them, and yes, I’ve even had some stressful moments because of them! But, I love them & my time with them is precious – it’s time well spent. But I still wrestle with questions & fears. How do I choose which students to spend the most time with? What does a healthy balance of office, student, & personal time look like? Is my time with them still valuable even if we never get to the spiritual stuff? What if I have trouble connecting with a student or what if I say the wrong thing? What happens when it gets messy & God calls me to coach a student through difficult life circumstances?

Amidst my own questions & fears, I have to ask myself…what’s the most important thing to students? And I think the answer to that is simple - being with them. We may have times when all we do is laugh at their inside jokes. We may have times when we never say a word, just listen. We may have times when the conversation seems meaningless. We may have times when we don’t know the right thing to say. But, there we are…being with them. And to them, that’s the most important thing. Of all the places in the world we could be, we chose to be with them. They know we care. They know we are not perfect. They know we need Christ. They watch when we are not looking. They hear even when we think words fall on deaf ears. And little by little they begin to imitate, as we do our best to imitate Christ.

God help us to invest our time well – life is short & we don’t want to miss an opportunity for kingdom impact. Thank you for the many high school students placed in our path. Help us be good stewards of the time given to us & help us invest well into the lives entrusted to us.

-Terry Ebers

The 3% Challenge

Greetings to you all from the desk of the Christ Community High School Intern! For those of you who may not know me, my name is Alex Ehly. I am about a fourth of the way through my two-year internship and it has been amazing to see the ways God has moved here in the high school ministry. Seeing God change lives on fall retreat and hearing the stories of so many different students is so exciting! I expect to see God move in many more ways as I continue on this journey.

The past few months of having my first fulltime job in ministry have given me the opportunity to learn how to balance my time. Trying to find time to spend with my fiancé, my family, students and leaders easily fills up each day and each week. However, after recently giving a message in RushHour entitled “Noise”, I asked the question; Does my schedule, my time, my life look like that of a person who wants to hear God’s voice? I have really been challenged: What should that look like in my life? How much time do I even spend talking to God and listening to His voice?

After doing a little math, I figured that after taking out the 8 hours of sleep (that I know we all get every night) in a 24-hour day, thirty minutes is equal to 3% of the remaining 16 hours. I have committed to spending at least 3% of every day with God. For me, it is starting off my day by giving the first 30 minutes after I wake up to time with God. Spending time with God (and without distractions) is such a powerful spiritual discipline. I don’t know what your 3% will look like, and by no means does it need to be limited to 3%, but I would challenge you to give God at least 3% of each day. Don’t let the other 97% get in the way of the most important 30 minute conversation you can have each day. I know we have all heard it said “that the greatest gift we can give the ones we love its time,” how much are you willing to give to the one who loved you first?

In His Grip,

Alex

Bringing in the new year...

I love New Year's Day!!!

I love to look back at the year and take inventory as well as look forward and dream big. Now I'm not talking about resolutions here. I think people need a few less resolutions and a little more resolve. I'm talking about dreaming of how God can take us to places we've never imagined.

With that in mind, I wanted to let you know a few of the things I'm dreaming for IMPACT in the New Year. These are the very attainable, "we should and can do this" kind of dreams. I'll leave my "big, giant, only God..." dreams for some other time:

1. I'm dreaming that the IMPACT High School Ministry grows healthier than ever.
2. I'm dreaming that the IMPACT High School Ministry be both a deep and a wide ministry.
3. I'm dreaming that the IMPACT High School Ministry reach out to more students who far from God than any year before.
4. I'm dreaming that the IMPACT High School Ministry be a safe place for students to be honest and transparent.
5. I'm dreaming that the IMPACT High School Ministry will encourage students to be known, feel known and know they're known.

These are just a few of the dreams I have for IMPACT this year, and these dreams can be reality! It's my prayer that we will humble ourselves, pursue Christ's calling, and be faithful to carry it out. Together, we can do this!

I pray you're dreaming big things this year too! What dreams do you have for the New Year? Whatever they are, may you dream BIG!!!!

Happy New Year everybody!

His and Yours,

Cory

Greetings....

Greetings Everyone,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cory West and I am the new High School Pastor at Christ Community Church. I’ve served in churches in Missouri and Texas for the past several years and I’m thrilled with the opportunities for Kingdom impact here in Omaha. Here are a few details you may be interested in: I was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, where I met my beautiful bride of nearly 10 years, Carrie. While Carrie and I don’t have children of our own, we have thousands of “kids” throughout the country from camps, ministries and churches we’ve been affiliated with over the past decade of ministry. I’m a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan and Cardinal Red is really similar to Husker Red, so becoming a Nebraska fan should be pretty easy. But the greatest thrill of my life is journeying with people. I love witnessing Christ crash into people’s lives. Walking with others through the transformation process is a rollercoaster- it’s messy, crazy and painful, but it’s full of hope and the only life worth living!

That leads to some of the things that I’m really excited about that are happening in the High School Ministry. Every Sunday morning at 9:00 am RUSH HOUR meets in the Student Center. The atmosphere is fun and casual, and the topics are relevant to your teenagers. On Sunday nights, life-changing small groups meet throughout the community. Inside Out Groups help students navigate through life with other students and caring adults, and they serve as a great place to connect. Finally, we have several upcoming events, from our Christmas Talent Show on December 20 to our annual ski trip, January 21-24. Be sure to check out the inserted calendar or visit our website, www.cccomaha.org/highschool, for additional information.

I look forward to getting to know each of you in the days ahead and hearing a part of your heart and story! Thanks for making this transition as smooth as possible!

His and Yours,


Cory