After the service I got an email saying our order was in at the Dollar Tree so I ran out to the store to get it. We'd ordered aluminum water cans to use as our prize for attending church 20+ times and I wanted to be sure to have them available at the start of the year. Afterward, Tamara and I sat down and reviewed things for when I would be out of town.
We talked about Fathers Day at Kids' Church. The kids then made "World's Best Dad" pins as gifts.
That evening was our Graduation Celebration. We had a time of song then had our three high school graduates (the most we've had in one year) talk about their plans. Two are going to Graceland University this fall while the other is planning on going to the police academy. We then shared in the two cakes (brought by Earl and Janet), lots of ice cream, and fellowship together.
It’s been a busy few weeks at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
In the end, we had only 6 pieces of cake left. I took them out and shared them with neighbors who were out on their front steps.
On Monday morning, my family and I left to visit family for a couple of weeks. While out, Sarah brought the message one Sunday while Earl did so on the other. Gloria and Earl presided over Morning Worship while Tamara, Sarah, Robert, and Kathy were responsible for youth ministries.
June 30 brought the end of our attendance year for youth ministry. With that we have the statistics for last year:
-We officially had 924 kids attend at least one activity at church. That compares to 752 in 2009-2010.
-When you factor in kids who attend activities for which we cannot track attendance (Peace Pavilion, Narcotics Anonymous, etc.) we easily served well over 1000 kids last year.
-We had a total of 6238 attendance instances. That is over 100 more per month than 2009-10.
In every category we measure, we had both an increase in both the number of kids in attendance and an increase in the frequency of attendance by kids. In other words, we had more kids come more often to more activities than any time in our congregation's history.
Some kids who came to Pizza Church this Friday came there from a funeral. A teenage friend of theirs had been murdered last week.
Several people gathered at the church shortly after noon on Saturday in preparation for camp. Sarah and several staff members stopped by to get some supplies from the church that they were using at the campgrounds. Tamara and Ebony also met there and traveled to the campgrounds to help get things ready for the campers' arrival.
Other camp needs were addressed throughout the day. I had one kid stop by the house all but begging to go again this year. We did not have the resources to take him. I got another call about a kid needing a piece of luggage and another who had everything but a blanket. We were able to fill the last two needs thanks to people who have given us used luggage and sleeping bags in advance.
Saturday night brought our monthly Solid Rock Cafe. The group was well behaved but VERY loud. The energy and excitement about camp was raising the noise level of the whole group. One young adult who will be on staff brought his luggage to the church to be ready for Sunday's travels.
Looking ahead to next week we have a different schedule of activities. Sunday morning is our annual camp service. We'll be joined by some kids from the Dundalk Congregation who are riding with us this year. Once the service is over the kids, Quentin, Robert, Lennard, and I will board the bus for camp. Vonceil will follow behind to bring Robert and me back to Baltimore once the kids are all registered. Though we've cancelled Kids' Church, the rest of our activities will follow their regular schedule throughout the week. On Saturday, Vonceil and I will drive back to the campgrounds to gather the kids back on the bus for the trip home. Though we'll be "on call" throughout the week, we're hoping not to have to make a mid-week trip to camp to pick up a kid due to medical or behavioral problems.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Stinchcomb Family
The Moore Family
The Richardson Family
The Latham Family
The Jackson Family
The Allen Family
The Pringle Family
The Miller Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
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