Greatest Returns

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me…for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

The Barna Research Group have consistently shown that the majority of people give their lives to Christ before the age of 18, but this recent study is the first that has shown the probabilities at various ages. It also has shown that the evangelistic impact is getting younger.

The study points out that children and adolescents are most impacted evangelistically by family members, peers and their churches activities like Sunday school, Kids Church, Vacation Bible School, etc. In fact, the years prior to age 12 are when a majority of children make their decision as to whether or not they will follow Christ. This is one of the reasons Debbie and I want to invest the next years of our lives and love into our four grandchildren, all of whom are 10 and under.

At Celebration Community Church we concentrate a lot of our time and resources on Children, Youth and College ministries. We invest in programs like our school, Victory Christian Academy, our C3 Kids children’s ministry which just finished Vacation Bible School and puts on a summer camp June 8^th -June 10^th and KIDFEST on August 19^th. SO many kids get connected and grow in their faith through events like these.

Even though the Barna study says that only 4% of teens have a likelihood of trusting in Christ we at C3 believe it is a good investment to pour a tremendous amount of time and money into relevant youth and college ministries. Our CrossCurrent student ministries goes on yearly mission trips, puts on summer camps for Middle School and an upcoming High School camp, June 2^nd -7^th. CrossCurrent is also sponsoring a Youth Conference called “The Event” this August 4-5^th.

Our Encounter College Ministry has in the last year been reaching around 400 FHSU students every week and continues to meet throughout the summer since returning 40 students from a Haiti mission trip.

There is no summer slowdown when it comes to doing whatever we can to reach young people for the Lord at C3. Thank you to all of you who support these ministries through your ongoing tithes and offerings.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Memorial Day

This weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day, I ask you, “What does Memorial Day mean to you?” - the beginning of summer vacation, bar-b-ques in the back yard, family get-togethers, the running of the Indianapolis 500? All kinds of things happen on this holiday. It is good for us to pause & think about what Memorial Day really means, for its very name, "Memorial Day", calls us to remember the ultimate, sacrifice our armed forces have made to protect our nation’s freedom.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. Understanding that Memorial Day is a uniquely American holiday, I like to think of this holiday originating in the city of Jerusalem.

"on the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

This Memorial weekend we certainly want to remember the brave service people who died to insure the freedom our country offers. Every weekend we seek to never forget the ONE who died on a cross to set us free indeed.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Stay Positive

This weekend at Celebration Community Church we are beginning a brand-new message series called “Stay Positive”. I'm so excited about this message series because we live in a society seemingly obsessed with negativity. All news channels are packed with stories about violence, deaths, or the latest celebrity scandal that portrays only the worst aspects of humankind. Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum berate and belittle each other. Our national media outlets focus so heavily on the negative that it rubs off on us the viewers. When all we hear on the news is about Syrian gas attacks, North Korean nuclear tests, suicide bombers in major European cities and climate change melting the ice caps in Antarctica, we begin to feel hopeless and positive change in anything appears to be a daunting and insurmountable task.

Well I’ve got good news for you. For the next few weeks, we're going to talk about some very important, positive biblical qualities like gratitude, encouragement, generosity, enthusiasm and confidence in our identity as children of God. This weekend we will be kicking off the series talk about optimism and I am so looking forward to you coming to one of our four weekend services. Saturday at 5 or Sunday at 8:30, 10, and 11:30.

In writing to his brothers and sisters in the city of Philippi, the Apostle Paul encourages us as well with these words, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

Be sure to be a part of this positive and uplifting series at C3.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Choose Wisely

Do you remember the Milton Bradley game from the 1960’s “LIFE”? At the games start it gave you a choice to either go directly into business or go to college. For some reason as a kid I always chose the college path. And interestingly when I later played the Game of Life with my kids…I would always encourage them to take the college route. Not that there is anything wrong with skipping college if you are not well suited for it. As graduation for both Hays High School and Fort Hays State University takes place this week, I got to thinking about my own kids graduations.

Graduation was a time filled with mixed feelings -- fulfillment and sadness, anxiety and eagerness. Saying goodbye to the comfortable and secure life within the confines they were accustomed to in order to embrace a new environment. The uncertainty of the future looms large over new graduates as they spread their wings. Armed with diplomas and idealistic dreams, they will charge ahead hopefully with enthusiasm. Graduate need lots of advice, inspiration and especially wisdom.

The Bible’s King Solomon is often called the wisest man who ever lived. When he was young he was told by God that he could have any one thing. What do you think Solomon asked for? Money? Power? Position? Popularity? These might be things that any one of us would choose if given the same offer Solomon had. Instead Solomon chose wisdom. And in doing so, through obtaining wisdom, he became the richest, most powerful, and popular person on earth. What a wise guy!

As graduation approaches we affirm that knowledge is good, but there is a vast difference between "knowledge" (having the facts) and "wisdom" (applying those facts to life). We may amass knowledge, but without wisdom, our knowledge is useless. We must learn how to live out what we know.

A Baccalaureate Worship service for the Hays High School graduating class and their families will take place at the 12th Street Auditorium this Wednesday May 10th at 7pm. Celebration’s Youth ministry will be well represented and the message will be delivered by CrossCurrent’s leader Nick Eiden. All are welcome to attend.

Regretfully Debbie and I will not be able to attend the service or the upcoming HHS & FHSU graduations as we will be traveling to Tucson Arizona to visit my brother Eddie who is still in critical condition in ICU there.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

And to all the Celebration graduates from Encounter and CrossCurrent ministries…

ConGRADulations,

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

“I Believe, Help My Unbelief”

In our current series, A Case For Christ” we follow Lee Strobel’s journey from atheism toward faith. For some, the beauty, order, and wonder of nature serve as the strongest evidence of God’s truth. For others, the testimonies of changed lives are the strongest proof. Some people need more tangible evidence. Remember Jesus’ disciple Thomas? He was one of the Twelve. He had been close to Jesus and had been taught truth straight from the source himself. Yet, Thomas still struggled with doubt. After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples, but Thomas wasn’t there. So he didn’t believe it. Thomas needed to see the risen Lord with his own eyes. And guess what? Jesus gave him what he needed— Jesus appeared to Thomas and told him to touch the scars on his hands and his side, to stop doubting, and to believe John 20:27.

Do you ever feel like Thomas—the testimony of others is great, but you need to see the truth for yourself?

Every weekend at C3 we are looking at the challenging questions of the historic life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and then every Monday night in a small group discussion format we are responding to questions of faith and doubt. In this series, we seek to pursue all the avenues we can to discover spiritual truth. As we ask hard questions there may be times when the answers aren’t obvious, when the truth may be hard to discern, when your unanswered questions could cause pain and doubt. But you can trust that God is there in the midst of your search.

If and when you struggle with matters like this, you can pray a prayer like the father who took his son to Jesus to be healed in Mark 9:14–27. You can honestly say to God, as he did, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”

Join us this weekend at one of our 4 services on Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 8:30, 10 or 11:30am. If you want to dig deeper come to C3 this Monday at 6:30pm.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle