Well, we just wrapped up Student Takeover yesterday and it was a total blast! We had such a great turnout of student volunteers for both services that morning, and it was awesome to see the younger generation step up to lead the church that morning! It was also Mothers’ Day, and we put up a fun slideshow dedicated to our moms. So if you’d like to see that, go check out CCC Middle School Ministry’s facebook page.

Now we are on to a new (and fairly short) series called “20/20.” No, it is not modeled after a nightly news show. Actually, we came up with the name 20/20 in reference to the clarity of hindsight that we have when reflecting on past decisions. We’re focusing in on both David and Solomon’s insight and experiences, examining their decisions and learning from the choices they made.

5/20 – David

Have you ever been surrounded by people but felt completely alone? Maybe certain things have happened to you in your life that have caused you to abandon your close relationships, and just when you need someone to pull you through, you look up and you realize….you’re alone. In this message we’ll look at David during a time in his life when loneliness was the closest thing to him. When lonely, David passionately sought after God, and we’ll explore what it looks like for us to cling to God in times of loneliness.

5/27 – Solomon

Why do we always want more? More food, more money, more popularity…it seems that today’s culture is constantly consumed with “more” and always seeking the next big thing because we’re never fully satisfied. The Bible tells a story about a man, Soloman, who dealt with this same issue, and the lessons he learned still hold true today.

6/3 – Cultural Step Back – Wisdom / Prophecy

We’re taking a “cultural step back” to look deeper into the wisdom literature and prophecy found in the God’s Word. By digging deeper into literary context, we’ll understand the message and meaning of these passages so much more fully, and can better grasp what it is that God is saying through the wisdom writers and prophets. Get ready to have your mind BLOWN–there’s tons of practical advice that we can apply to our lives through these writings, as well as a ton of information that shows us just how trustworthy the bible is.

This is just a reminder for some of the stuff we’ve got coming up really soon!

1. Student Takeover

It’s this upcoming Sunday, you guys, so get pumped! If you signed up to be a part of this, you’ll be contacted by this week to give you the final details of what you’ll need to do and where you’ll need to be. It’s gonna be such a great morning and don’t forget that we need as many students as possible to come up on stage at the end of the service. Even if you didn’t sign up for a volunteer job that day, we still want you up on stage there with us!

2. Mother’s Day

It’s the same day as Student Takeover–don’t forget to show some love to your momma! Pick her some flowers, bake her a cake, serve her breakfast in bed, or make a fun card.

3. Missions Trip

We had our first training session last night, and the next one is coming up on May 20th, so don’t miss it! These are mandatory meetings and are vital to preparing you for the trip. The trip is coming up soon, only a little over a month! We leave on June 17th and come back the 22nd.

4. Have a wonderful day, a wonderful week, and get pumped ’cause summer break is almost here!

It’s almost here!

This is one of the most exciting days of the year for Student Ministry. Why? Oh, we’ll tell you why…

On May 13th, Student Ministries gets to run the show in our Traditions, Connections, and Access services that Sunday morning. Students are involved in just about every part of the morning, along with Klint Bitter (Middle School Pastor) and Brad Mock (High School Pastor) teaching in each venue.

What kinds of things will our students be “taking over”? Here’s a list of the ways students can get involved:

Greeters and Mother’s Day Gift Distributors

Students will be located at each of the building’s entrances, ready to greet incoming church attenders with a friendly face and a handshake. Word on the street is that some of those greeters might also be doing a little more high energy greeting… like cheering and clapping when people enter the building! So we may need a few outgoing, energetic people for this part of the job! At the end of the services, our greeters will move to the exits of both venues, ready to give each mother a special gift in honor of Mother’s Day. If you’re a people person, this job is definitely for you! And don’t worry, we will still have some of our regular greeters there that Sunday to train and help all of our students.

Ushers

This is a big part of our services, even though it doesn’t seem or sound “glamorous.” We need ushers in all of our services to help church attenders pass out programs and welcome people into the venues, help individuals and families find open seats in the venue, and to pass out the offering baskets. You can think of it this way: greeters are the friendly faces that meet people coming into the building, but ushers are the friendly faces that welcome people into the service–you can make a HUGE difference in someone’s day, even by simply passing them a program and saying “welcome!”

Coffee/Cafe Servers

If you’ve ever had dreams of being a barista, this is your moment to shine! We need a few volunteers to work at our coffee bars to take orders and pass out coffees and cappucinos. It’s fun and fast-paced, and if you’re tired when you come to church that morning, well…you’ve got your caffeine fuel right there in front of you!

Orchestra

We know there’s TONS of talented middle school students who play instruments, and we’d love for you to showcase your talent! We need orchestra players in the 9 am Traditions service, and we fully expect you guys to show the congregation just how well you can rock out!

Choir

We also know we have quite a few amazing singers here in Middle School Ministry, and we need you to sing it out at the 10:45 am Connections service. You’ll be singing alongside some of our regular choir members, and your voices will be a welcome addition to the team!

Graphic Design

If you love to draw and design, then listen up: we’ve got a design contest for the student takeover logo that will be used that Sunday! Everyone who signs up for the contest will be contacted and given instructions for the kind of design we’re looking for. After you submit your drawing, we’ll choose one to be showcased on Student Takeover Sunday, and all of the other submissions will be presented in a slideshow up on the BIG SCREENS, so no matter what your artwork will be shown!

There’s lots of places to plug in on the 13th, so be thinking of ways to get involved if you haven’t signed up already. This is such a great opportunity to have input and influence in the church congregation, and it’s such an honor that high school and middle school have been invited to run this Sunday! The church values your talents and ideas, so take advantage of this special opportunity. Plus, we won’t be having our normal service in the middle school room that morning, so you’ll be totally free to come participate!

Signups will be available again this upcoming Sunday, but if you just can’t wait to put your name on the list, email me (Caitlin) at caitlint@cccomaha.org and I’ll get you placed where you’d like to serve!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

We’re gearing up for another series again as we make our way through Project 4:4. Can you believe we are already more than 3 months through it? It’s CRAZY!

This new series is called “God, I Feel…” and it’s all about the Psalms. Psalms tends to be a favorite for many Christians, I believe because it resonates so closely with our own hearts. It pretty much covers the entire emotional spectrum, and it seems that there is a Psalm for almost every emotion we feel. We’re covering just a portion of that spectrum in this series, which spans over four weeks:

4.15.2012 — “Anger”

We’ll be talking about anger, based out of the perspective of Psalm 10. This Psalm asks many questions that we face today which cause us to be frustrated, confused, and, well…angry. Questions like, “God, where are you right now? Are you far away from me? Why are all the people who do what’s wrong living such a good life?” We’ll dig deeper into the heart of these questions and find the same hope the psalmist finds at the end of Psalm 10; that God hears and responds to the cries of those who are frustrated and in pain.

4.22.2012 — “Grief”

Grief is an emotion shared by all, but in many different ways. We can experience grief over the death of a loved one. The loss of a close friendship. Broken relationships within families. Divorce. Sickness. Rejection. All of these things grieve us, but where is God in the midst of that? We’ll be taking a look a Psalm 6, an intense outpouring of David’s heart as he describes his agony. Here we encounter the hope that he rests in despite his grief–his hope rooted in God. David says, “…the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy…” We too can rest in that same confidence, that while we experience anguish, God knows what we’re going through and is right there with us.

4.29.2012 – “Seeking Forgiveness From God”

Psalm 51 is an honest prayer about the confession of sin. Sometimes asking for forgiveness from someone can be hard, but not when it comes to God. We can freely come to God with our junk, lay it down before him, and be completely transparent with him about our lives. This psalm turns away from the empty rituals of the time that were supposed to provide forgiveness for a person, and instead makes it clear that when it really comes down to it, God desires us to have a broken heart over our sin and offer it up to Him in repentance.

5.6.2012 –  ”Praise”

If you’ve been in church for a while, you’ll probably recognize that some of the lines from Psalm 136 have been used in popular worship songs. It’s a wonderful psalm of praise–why wouldn’t we be repeating the same lines thousands of years later?! Sometimes the emotion we feel is just pure, unadulterated praise. We want to praise God for who He is and what He has done in our lives; but praise is not just an emotion. It’s a response to God–it’s us declaring the greatness of God and His worthiness to receive our everything! Praise goes deeper than feelings; praise is a state of worship that we choose to live in before our God and King.

5.13.2012 – No Middle School Worship… It’s Student Takeover!

Have a great day and we’re looking forward to kickin’ off this new series with you guys!

We need your HELP this summer, and this is how:

We try to switch things up here at CCC Student Ministry Headquarters, and part of keepin’ it fresh is updating our stage designs with each new sermon series. Sometimes it can be a lot of work to brainstorm ideas and then set everything up with only a few people on hand. That’s why we’re looking to get a middle school stage design crew in place! We want some creative and hardworking students to get involved with what we do here—here’s the details we’ve got so far:

We need you to BUILD:

• For building each project, it will be a one-day, afternoon kind of deal; a set-designing day will most likely be on a Thursday or Friday. Once we get an idea of how many students want to get involved and what days work best, we’ll get a calendar and time-schedule in place.

We need you to be CREATIVE:

• We want you to be brainstorming some creative ideas. When it comes time for us to plan the stage design for a new sermon series, we want your input! If there’s something cool that you want to see our stage look like, sketch it up and show us what you’ve got! We’ll work with you on practical details and refining the final look

We need you to be AWESOME:

• Anyone not awesome need not apply

Be thinking if you want to be involved in this—it would be a great opportunity to refine your artistic and/or construction skills!

-CCC Middle School Ministry Staff

Hey Parents! Just in case you missed the parent letter that was sent out regarding the series we’re studying in Wednesday night Journey Groups, here it is:

Hello parents! 

This letter has found you because you are the parent of a sixth grade student involved, one way or another, in Student Ministry at Christ Community Church. 

 I want to give you a heads up on the study we are using to wrap up this semester of Wednesday night Journey Groups.  We have already started this series and it involves tackling topics geared specifi- cally to help your student navigate their teenage years well.  The past few weeks have been spent covering a few of the “easier” topics such as avoiding comparing ourselves to others and love versus infatuation.  In the weeks to come, we will be talking about sex and peer pressure. 

 On the back of this letter I have included a brief synopsis of each lesson in this series for you to look over.  My hope is that you are already having conversations with your student about these issues and that we will be building upon them here at church.  If that is not the case, use this as an opportunity to begin those conversations. Having an open dialogue about sex, sexuality and dating issues is critical.  If your child isn’t “there” yet, they will be soon.  Though it may be awkward and a little uncomfortable, your kids really care what you think.  Making time to have awkward, uncomfortable conversations means a lot to them, even if they don’t show it! 

Take a look at the schedule on the back and contact me if you have any questions, would like more details or if there is any other way we can serve you and your family.  I would also love to hear your input!  Please note, there will be no Journey Groups next week, April 4, due to spring break. It’s an honor to serve you and your students! 

 Klint Bitter 

Middle School Pastor 

402.938.1538 / klintb@cccomaha.org 

This Sunday we are having a worship night in the Chapel at our Old Mill Campus. This time of year it can get really hectic in our day-to-day life, and we totally miss opportunities to slow down and worship Jesus. Especially with Easter on the horizon, we wanted to create a space where students can have a change of pace from their normal Sunday night routine and really focus in on connecting with God through song. We’ve got an amazing band lineup from our talented volunteers here at CCC, and this will be an experience that students won’t want to miss. We really wanted our 6th graders in on this night as well, so we are happy to bring them in on a Sunday night and let them experience something a little different than their usual Sunday routine as well.

Remember: It’s this Sunday, April 1st (no, it’s not an April Fool’s Joke!), and it will go from 6 until 8 that night.

Bring your singin’ voices and get ready to worship–can’t wait to see you there!

I can’t believe our Spring Retreat is already over! It was an amazing weekend of learning and serving for our students, our leaders, and our staff. We packed a lot of stuff into 25 hours, and I’m still processing everything, even a few days later!

What did the weekend look like, you ask? Well, it all started off in the Student Center. Students met up, checked in, and got a general overview for the weekend from Klint, and then they were off to Compass Ministries. Compass is an organization that CCC has partnered with for a long time, and their passion is to  share Jesus Christ with the students living in north Omaha and meeting  their academic, social, and spiritual needs with their after school and weekend programs. You can find out more about Compass here.

The staff at Compass was gracious enough to let us use their building for our sessions on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and also let all our girls stay there overnight. Our boys stayed the night at a building owned by Abide Network, another organization seeking to reach people in Omaha’s inner-city (check out their dream and mission here).

We had three sessions during the weekend in which we talked about seeing like God sees, serving like Jesus did, and dreaming with God to impact the world for His kingdom. In our second session, the students actually ran the show by sharing what they did at their service sites with the rest of the group.

Which brings up the biggest part of our weekend–serving! On Saturday morning we headed out to different service sites in north and south Omaha for a few hours. At those sites, our students learned about the organizations we were partnering with and the impact they are having on our city, and then were able to jump in and help them with various projects. Here’s a list of the ministries we partnered with including Compass Ministries:

Heartland Hope Mission, Hope Center, and Bridge Church

After the morning of serving was finished and we had our second session, our entire group went to the Gene Leahy Mall (a.k.a Central Park), and had some time to do a guided prayer walk with their leaders. It was a great time to wind down a little and take some time to communicate with God. We even had a little extra time to go on the giant slides, too.

We finished our weekend with dinner and our final session back in the Student Center at CCC. Klint did a great job of encouraging our students to see the big picture about God’s movement in the world by sharing stories about students just like them who dreamed big for God and were able to make a huge impact for His kingdom.

All in all, the message of the weekend boils down to this:

It’s time to wake up. There’s a whole world around us that has needs , but we tend to get stuck in our own method of living, not really seeing people how God sees them. When we allow Him to open up our eyes to see beyond ourselves, we begin to see how He sees. When we see like Him, we become moved to serve like Him. As Christians, we are called to lay down our own agendas to follow Christ–to love and serve like He did–as we testify to the truth of who He is and the salvation he brings to a hurting and dying world. When start seeing and serving, God leads us to dream alongside Him. He desires to use the skills and circumstances we’ve been given to further His name and His glory on this earth, no matter how big or how small the task is.

We want to see students dream about using their God-given talents to declare the good news! Maybe that means starting an after school bible study with your 8th grade basketball team. Maybe that means making bracelets to raise money for clean water in South America. Maybe that means starting a facebook group that shares daily encouraging bible verses with your friends. It could be a lot of things, let’s just say that! We as a ministry, and we hope all of you parents out there, want to encourage our students to pursue their passions to be used for God’s glory!

The weekend was fantastic, and we’re excited to see God begin to stir in the hearts of our middle school students.

Have an amazing day and rest of the week!

Greetings parents!

It’s an exciting time of year with spring knocking on our door and a busy summer just around the corner.  In this letter, you’ll find a couple updates to keep you in the loop on what’s happening in our Middle School Ministry.  As always, you can find this content on our website (cccomaha.org/middleschool), the Middle School Ministry blog, through our facebook page or by contacting us.

The Middle School Spring Retreat, for all 6–8th grade students, is a totally new event for our ministry this year!  We’ll be trekking up to north Omaha and having all of our meetings and meals at Compass Ministries.  The girls will spend the night there, while the boys head over to sleep at the Abide Network’s building, just a few blocks away.

During the weekend our students will be challenged to grab hold of God’s love for them and the world, have the opportunity to serve with some great ministries on Saturday morning and be encouraged to dream about the Kingdom impact God wants to have through them.

The deadline is to sign up for the retreat is this Sunday, March 11!  The $40 registration covers everything, including dinner on Friday and Saturday as well as a t-shirt.  Please note your student’s t-shirt size on the registration form.

We’ll cap off the event at Middle School Worship on Sunday morning, March 18, as we spend a little time inviting students to share some of their thoughts and responses to the weekend.  You are invited to attend Worship and hear about the impact God is having on their lives.

In closing, I’d like to remind those of you at the Old Mill Campus about the parent meeting we are having in the Student Center this Sunday, March 11, immediately following the 10:45 AM services.  We’ll be announcing our Summer Mission Trip, passing along all the important information and opening the trip registration.  The mission trip will take place June 17–22.  If your current 7th or 8th grade student plans to come, don’t miss this meeting!

It’s a joy serving you and your family!

Klint Bitter

Middle School Pastor

klintb@cccomaha.org / 402.938.1537