Pure Rebellion: Second Night

After the amazing response the first night, we knew Jonny had to take more kids the second night.  This was a little crazy because we were supposed to go to a wedding that day, which meant I went alone, at night, all the way up to Mt. Angle, with all four boys!  But that's another story for another time.  :)  Now, for those of you who didn't go to the event, I want to say that this was not a preachy, churchy-like purity event.  It was very modern/relevant and very engaging.  The gospel was presented, along with testimonials, a doctor's perspective of "safe sex", hip-hop dancing, dramas, and music.  It was AWESOME and so, so powerful!  

Here's our email to our House Church from the second night:

Hey guys!  Just wanted to send one more update from the second night.  Jonny & two other YL leaders took 15 more kids last night.  This group was a little more shy, but two girls went up at the end. More were moved, but too shy to go up front.  One boy kept repeating over and over how powerful it was and how he wished the whole school could hear it.  Another boy who came is from a hard home life- his dad was just arrested before Christmas and charged as a sex offender.  It was in the paper and the whole community knows about it, so he's been having a real rough time.  Jonny said he was in tears during the program and again as they walked to the car.  He's really shy, so pray he can find a good role model to feel comfortable with getting close to.

Here's a couple FB statuses: 
From a junior boy:  "My life has been opened up and filled with Jesus Christ."
From a sophomore boy:  "When everyone is smoking and drinking it's no longer rebellious, If you want to be a true rebel, follow Jesus.  It's the only rebellion left."

There were students who commented on these posts saying they wished they had come.  

Between the two nights, there were a little over 30 kids from the Turner area.  We're excited to see how this can impact the culture at Cascade!

~Jonny & Jess

Pure Rebellion: First Night

Here is an email I sent out to our house church (home fellowship group) after the first night.  We haven't even been a part of our house church this year (I think we went twice) because our life has been so crazy, but I am so thankful that they were praying for us and the students all week.  

Hi Dear House Church Friends,
Wow. Wow. Wow.  After our week of kidney stones, children with fevers, ear infections & freakish rashes, out of town company, and overall STRESS, God did a great work in the group of students we brought to Pure Rebellion.  Our turn out wasn't the 30 students we anticipated, but God knew who needed to be there.  The enemy seemed to be against getting us there all week- even on the way there we were running late in the pouring rain and were stopped by an unmoving train.  We re-routed and finally made it and the Lord met us!  We had guys and girls in tears over the final skit of Jesus taking our suffering upon his shoulders. And our entire row went up to bow down & surrender to Jesus at the end!  When it ended the whole group circled in prayer.  As we walked to the car, the kids were saying things like, "AWESOME!"  "Thank you for bringing us!"  "That was so good!"  "I want to come to your church!"  and one boy wiped his eyes and said about the skit, "I haven't cried like that in seven years!  I loved that skit. At the end when Jesus jumped in and took it for her, I was like YEAH!!  They should record that skit; I want to see it again!" The car rides home were more of the same things... excitement over the event and repeating/sharing the things that they thought were cool.  There were girls who really liked hearing from the married couple about when a guy is willing to wait, that is REAL love.  When we all got back to Turner, Jonny and the other two leaders stayed late at the club building talking and praying with the kids.  The things that stood out were the topic of a kiddy-pool christian and rebelling against our culture to live pure lives.   

One really cool story:  There was a sophomore boy who moved away after last year and has been (we think) living alone in Cottage Grove.  He came from a terrible home and is now an emancipated minor because of abuse from his parents.  He randomly came up to visit one of the other sophomore boys and ended up coming along.  At the end of the program, when they gave the first invitation to follow Jesus, he bolted from his seat with a look of urgency and went up front and bowed down.  The boy sitting next to him put his hands on his face and burst into tears.  Jonny went up front to sit with the boy and through the next two invitations to follow Jesus and live a pure life, they all came up.  Jonny encouraged them to pray and lay it all down before the Lord, and that He would be faithful to start a redemptive work in their lives.  At the end of the night they gave that boy a bible, and its looking like a christian family in Turner may be opening up their home for him to come live with them.  PRAISE THE LORD! 

There were so many more that we wanted to come, so Jonny is going to try to bring more tonight.  We'll see what kind of response he gets. 

Phew, talk about goose bumps!  Love you guys & thank you for praying.  Keep praying that these kids could be set apart at Cascade High School and be a witness to their unsaved friends!  

~Jonny & Jess

Our week leading up to Pure Rebellion

We've been planning for a month or so to take a bunch of kids from Cascade to this Purity event at our church, but we did not plan on the attack that came leading up to the weekend.  The first thing that happened (Sunday night) was my kidney stone drama.  Monday was a holiday, so Jonny already had the day off, but he did not go to Young Life that night, and missed the opportunity to be reminding/inviting kids to come.  Then he took Tuesday off because I was still sore... which meant another day to not being able to talk to kids about coming.  Wednesday was good.. That night, at Campaigners, Jonny was able to teach about baptism and one girl was baptized!  I stayed home in case the pain returned.  Praise the Lord it didn't, but Eli and Noah both woke up crying about 10pm.  Eli had an ear ache and Noah had a fever.  That night was not a good night for sleep.  Ahh!  Thursday rolled in with exhaustion and stress.  Eli woke up with a strange rash all around his mouth, and we had out-of-town company coming Friday.  I didn't know what was going on with Eli and I had a very messy house to clean!  Noah was fine, but Eli's ear pain was off and on.  Thursday night, both at the end of ourselves, Jonny and I were less than patient with each other.  Friday morning brought hope with a phone call from church saying that they were praying for us.  I was so encouraged and my spirit was lifted.  After a mess up involving timing of someone to watch Eli (Ugh!  I'm so dumb!  And I'm not a big fan of leaving our kids, especially all of them, for someone to watch, so I had them split between three different people.)  We finally were walking into the church building ready for Pure Rebellion....

... stay tuned... 

Young Life

Jonny has been a part of Young Life for almost two years now, but just recently God has opened the door for Jonny to be more involved and take on the role called "teacher staff".  Its basically like a part time job that will take the place of his coaching jobs, and will allow him to spend more time discipling young kids.  Young Life is an outreach for unchurched kids.  It is not a youth group, nor is it associated with a church.  It was strange for us to get used to because the Monday night- club night- is so wild and crazy.  Its basically just provides a safe place for high school kids to come hang out- in an organized way.  They play lots of crazy games, sing songs, dance... mostly be LOUD!  The boys and I go usually twice a month and Eli loves it, Siah is somewhat okay, and Noah is velcroed to my side.  Zeke sleeps through most of it.  The kids that know the Lord participate in the events that have some actual scriptural substance to them.  Then, those kids are encouraged to invite their unsaved friends to attend club night where a very warm and fuzzy, watered down "Jesus talk" is given. 

Some of the opportunities Jonny has had with Young Life includes sharing the gospel at weekly Young Life meetings (club), leading bible studies in his classroom and at Wednesday night YL bible studies (campaigners), leading worship and taking kids to spiritual retreats.  I have also been attending the bible studies and am a "leader" for the girls when we break apart for discussion and prayer.  Its been really fun!  

Jonny has had it on his heart for a long time to start an all Cascade youth fellowship meeting- joining all the youth groups (and christian kids who don't attend youth groups) together for one night each month.  We had our first meeting, called One Voice, and it was awesome!  (funny story... our church used to have something similar, called One Voice, and when Jonny was explaining the idea he mentioned the name and the youth pastors loved it!)  75 kids came, and Jonny led loud worship with some students.  We broke apart into groups by grade.  I went with the junior girls... all 25 of 'em!  

We are also going to be inviting groups of kids into our house to join our family for pizza & game night.  Jonny has been meeting with three youth pastors in the Turner/Aumsville area and has a desire to work along side them and help kids get plugged into churches.  He might start taking turns attending their youth groups.  ALSO Jonny has it on his heart to develop a bible/theology/apologetics (Jonny's passions) course or courses that students from the high school can take during the school day at one of the churches for high school credit! The opportunities for reaching the students at Cascade High School are abounding! 

Since this ministry is becoming such a big part of our lives, I may be starting up a blog just for ministry related things... so people will know how to pray for us and be encouraged by all that God is doing in these kids' lives.  Tonight is a bible study night and Jonny is teaching on baptism and some of the kids will be getting baptized!  Then on Friday night we are each taking a car full of students to an awesome purity event, Pure Rebellion, our church is hosting.  The event will be a radical presentation on sex and relationships.  The presenters  will be sharing in a relevant and powerful way as they speak bluntly about porn, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, addiction, bullying, same-sex relationships, sexting and suicide.  Steve & Tammy, the YL team leaders who we've grown to love, are also bringing cars full of kids!  Pray that these kids will be met by the Lord in a powerful way!

Here is a pic of one of the YL girls watching the boys for us at Steve & Tammy's house during a leader meeting.