FAMILY PLUS High School - July 21

Hello HS Parents:

It's tough to believe that summer is almost over. I know the past several weeks have flown by for many of you just as they have for me. The next week and a half will fly by as well, and before you know it your students will be back in school.

We have had such a great week in the New Orleans area with your high school students. It has been my privilege to work and serve with them again in St. Bernard Parish. I've watched them be selfless and give more of themselves than a reasonable person could expect…and most of it under some pretty adverse conditions.

By Friday night of this week we will have worked on five homes and served 35 children at KidzDays in the Parish. The impact on the children and families we serve AND on our students as a result of these opportunities is quite humbling. It's difficult to comprehend that people still need help six years after The Storm. Hearing people share their stories with us about the chaos that has been their lives since Katrina affirms, again, that our strategy and focus are correctly placed in the heart of this area.

This Sunday we will continue our study in the District on Abba during our Bible study time. We will be discussing what it means for God to be sovereign and using as our text: 1 Samuel 2:2-10 and Isaiah 46:9-11.

Please be in prayer for our students and leaders as we complete our week of missions in St. Bernard Parish. Pray for safety as we travel home and for God to continue His work in the lives of people in the New Orleans area. Please contact me if I can pray about something specifically for you or your family.

FAMILY PLUS High School -July 16

Hello HS Parents!

As I write this I'm on a bus with many of your teenagers on our way to New Orleans. Don't worry -Robert's driving right now! I'm so excited about this trip as it is one we have been preparing for nearly three years. Many of our previous trips have served as the ground work for this missions opportunity for your students.

This week we will have about three construction teams working in St. Bernard Parish and Orleans Parish. Yes, there is still MUCH to be done in the rebuild effort in the Gulf Coast areas affected by Katrina - or as the locals refer to it: The Storm. These rebuild teams will continue to be a apart of our longterm strategy in New Orleans.

A new opportunity for us this week, though, is our initiative to provide a KidzDays camp similar to the one we provide in Gladeville. We have rented a local park in St. Bernard Parish as our camp facility and haven marketed the camp for the past several months. Our prayer is that we will encounter the students we have come to know through our work in the local school system.

Please pray for the work God will do in the lives of your students this week and the lives they will touch on behalf of His Kingdom. "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." Romans 10:15b. Your teens are bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to children and families in the New Orleans area.

Students who are at home this week will be tackling the second week of our Abba study on Sunday morning. This week covers the question: What is the Trinity. The Scriptures we will use are 1 Corinthians 6:8, John 1:1-3, and John 16:13-15. I challenge you this week to try to articulate to your spouse or a friend what the Trinity is. I suggest this as a practice for having a similar conversation with your high schooler.

I would also suggest that you refrain from Googling the Trinity and using those search results as the basis of your conversation with your student. Our church library has some excellent resources for biblical questions and the library staff can point you to other solid resources to help you as well.

Thank you for your prayers this week. Please contact me via email or cell phone if there is something you'd like me to pray about for your family.

-Michael

FAMILY PLUS High School - July 9

Hello HS Parents

Only one more week until we head out to New Orleans for our July Mission Trip. We'll be doing a KidzDays camp in St. Bernard Parish (just east of New Orleans). This is the same parish we work with students in the public school system. We'll also be working in homes in St. Bernard.

Tomorrow we begin a new study in our student area entitled "Abba." This study will last four weeks and will provide solid answers about who God is. On the surface, it might seem that this type of study would be elementary for high school students. My experience, though, is that these are the types of questions that students have a difficult time answering/articulating verbally. Many of them "know" the answers to these questions, but they don't know WHY they know them.

Lastly, I want to share with you a new class that will be starting in August. David Watkins and I will be co-teaching a Family Plus parenting class for parents of students. Here is the copy that will be in our fall connect book regarding this class opportunity:

Family Plus Class for Parents, Taught by Michael Eubanks and David Watkins, Sunday mornings at 9:15

Our New Generations ministry operates on a principle we call "Family Plus." It's simple - we believe that parents are the key voices in the lives of preschoolers, children, and teenagers. We also believe that the church is a strong, and necessary, voice in the lives of preschoolers, children, and teenagers. We are resolved that although young people will benefit from either of these voices in their lives, the greatest benefit with the strongest impact comes when they have both of them in their lives. To that end, we believe that the messages from each needs to be a clear, united message.

Family Plus Class for Parents facilitates another layer of support from our church to the success of your family. It encourages you as a parent trying to rear your child in a godly home. It equips you to be a godly parent and helps you, and our church, unite the messages we both send to your child for the purpose of seeing spiritual transformation in their lives, your lives, and in your family.

If you are looking for a Sunday morning connect opportunity, I hope you will consider this class. I hope you're having a great summer with your students and seizing EVERY unplanned opportunity to model and discuss matters of faith with them. Let me know if there is something I can pray about for you or your family.

Michael

FAMILY PLUS High School - July 2

Hello High School Parents

This past Wednesday night we wrapped up our 2010-2011 year with a heated game of Minute To Win It against the middle schoolers. J.D. Young took home the grand prize - $50 gift card to Providence Cinemas. Wednesday night programming will resume on August 3rd at the Back To School Bash.

This coming Sunday in our Bible study time with high schoolers we will continue (actually complete) the last study on patience. I thought we would finish it this past Sunday, but there is content from the midweek portion that I want to cover that we have not gotten to yet. It relates, specifically, to the question, "Where should my patience show? We'll be looking at James 1:19, Galatians 6:9, and Hebrews 12:1-3.

This Sunday also marks the last day for high school graduates to be in our Sunday morning Bible study. On Sunday, July 10th, they will begin their new classes. I've communicated their options this week in a personal letter, but if you need help getting your graduate transitioned to a new class - please email me or give me a call.

My challenge this week is for you to practice and model patience with your teenager, his or her siblings, and your spouse/their other parent. If things are rough in your home, think of ways to model Christ's patience with you in the things that you're facing. If your teen's other parent doesn't live with you and that situation is stressful - think of how to show Christ's love to him or her as a means of modeling Christlike behavior to your student. This is one of the toughest areas to live as a parent, spouse, heck...as a human being!!!! Thank goodness we're in it together and have the PERFECT model to show us the way!

If I can pray about anything for you or your family, please contact me via email or phone.

-Michael