SUMMER2012 part 1

Well, it's been a crazy busy summer for us staff.  So cyber-relations have gone on the wayside, but we're back up and running and want to share with you what is happening with us at the Drop-In!

First off, we survived the wonderful mayhem of the Niverville Fair as we undertook a $35,000 project to bring the popular Christian rock band called Red, as well as a Christian professional skater, Brian Sumner, AND running a Sunday morning service on Main St. with a FREE lunch afterwards.  YIKES!  But God is so good, as many people came together to make it happen, and many people came out to make these events worthwhile.  We still faced our share of difficulties with the workload, and trying to raise the funds necessary to make it happen.

Frontman for Red was very engaging

Everyone "sardined" close to the stage

 

My band leading worship on Sunday morning

Our local Prayer Centre leader, Daniel Williams, praying with Brian Sumner

Sumner engaging with the audience

the HEART behind the Fair

What is God doing at the Niverville Fair?

This past Saturday, May 5th, there was a small gathering of people at John Henry's to hear and spread the vision of what's happening behind the scenes for the Fair, this year and years past.  Here's an excerpt of the heart that I (Mark) shared:

       To be involved in a ministry such as the Drop-In Centre, one must face an ongoing battle between relationship and events.  Two forces; each with the ability to consume or abandon each other.  But what about working together?
       In my 10 year-tenure in youth ministry, I had become a little jaded from event planning coming out of a lack of relationships.  So instead I spearheaded a ministry lifestyle of availability and relationships, abandoning the events.  But there was something missing to access our youth and this town.
      You've probably heard the saying that it takes a community to raise a child, well in the years of our youth ministry we've seen that to be the case.  And so we've sensed that it's as if God has given us a key to unlock a door into our community, that speaks its language, brings unity and therefore the very holistic relational approach we've hoped for.  So the Niverville Fair is a tangible vehicle to get started on the larger scale vision of seeing long term transformation in Niverville.
       As for the Fair weekend itself, our vision as YFC staff is to step in the gap to intentionally connect with our youth.  A tradition has developed of wild drinking and drugs, especially Friday night, and sadly this tradition has been growing in fame, drawing more and more youth in each year.  The last few years we've been throwing a wrench into the system, and this year's wrench has only grown with bringing in the band RED.  We've also just seen a vision birthed for this year's fair, where we offer a chance to respond to Red's concert with a late night worship gathering right after the show. 
       On the town ministerial front, we're looking largely to bring together the body as one, and see God move through it, reaching out to the lost, and disenfranchised believers alike. We as YFC staff have been commissioned to spearhead this vision with the unified blessing of the local pastors and spiritual leaders of our community.  What an honour!

So with all that said, check out the VISION video!
 fairvisionvideo

1 on 1 x 110

This school semester we had our very first student in the history of Niverville YFC (as far as we know) sign up for a full credit volunteer placement with us. This means 110 hours of volunteer labour!!!

We're so stoked on this, and not because of the free labour actually. Yes, we'll get a few more things accomplished around here (hopefully) but really it will take us much more time out of our schedule to facilitate all the work.

So why are we stoked?
It's 110 hours of building into this young man's life!
And for this...we will make necessary sacrifices, hopefully instilling godly character, new experiences, and values with eternal impact! Oh, and not to mention a high school diploma.

So YFC welcomes Jared (a.k.a. Jar-Head or Helen Keller)

skate or die

There's a very interesting door that God is opening into the youth culture.

In the last year, a skateboarding scene has developed unlike anything Niverville has ever seen. Young people have been flocking to our skatepark by the droves (as you've probably already heard a few times), creating a natural connection between us YFC'ers and the skaters.

Now pretty much every culture has the potential to be consumed by either good or bad forces. Skateboarding is no exception, it can be infused and transformed by faith, or manipulated to destruction by the world. The opening door we have in front of us is a chance to infuse this culture with faith to a deeper level. We make plans. God laughs...and then He directs our steps.

We hope and pray there will be regular times at the Drop-in coming soon, where having a "skate sesh" will involve discipleship, prayer, open-hearted discussion...with the Way, the Truth, and the Light!

Please pray this will come about. And soon!

a year in review...

2011 - the year of the timelapse, the year of slow motion.

to understand what we mean, please check out this relatively short vid that was shown at our Banquet in November.