Tues 16^th Sep       Understanding the other half!   Youth Centre   7.15 PM

Sat 20^th Sep          Each small group hangs out socially, you can do whatever you want.

Sat 4^th Oct            Sunrise Morning and Breakfast together & Working Bee at Church  Meet at Youth Centre     5.00 AM – 9.00 AM – 12.00 AM

Fri 17^th  – Sat 18^th  Oct      Global Leadership Summit – Volunteers needed NOW

Tue 21^st-Wed 22^nd Oct   Passion Trip to Sydney (If you want to come contact me ASAP)

Sat 15^th Nov        12two “New Community” –The Cockerill’s house    10.00 AM – 7.00 PM

Tue 2^nd Dec         Rohan’s Trivia Extravaganza Youth Centre  7.15 PM

Sat 13^th Dec        12two Christmas Party  Youth Centre 7.00 PM

Sat 11^th –Sun 12^th Jan      Radical Difference    Church

We’re hanging out at a local park, BBQing, playing, chatting and hanging out. If you’re a young adult and you’d like to join us, we’d love to get to spend time with you.

Starts at 12 pm; Sunday 24 August; On Thorngate Dve; Cost $3

Let us know if you’re coming so we can cater for you!

Tonight we went to Nick and Luke’s birthday bash at Sizzler. We, being many of the Newlife Young Adults.

I walked up to the desert counter (after having eaten far to much already), and a lady who I had never previously seen walked up to me and said “Are you the Youth Pastor of that Youth group over there?”

I said “yes” (knowing full well I should pretend I’m not and flee the scene of teh crime!), only to avoid the awkward conversation that these ‘youth’ were all actually adults, but anyway, back to the story.

And she replied “Well I just wanted to say how extremely…” and she sought of paused long enough for me to feel as though I REALLY didn’t want to be in that conversation any longer, then she continued “… impressed at their behaviour and the way they have conducted themselves.”

*Phew* I thought to myself.

“You should feel very proud of them. I was standing in the line just behind all of you (where we stood for over and hour) and was very impressed.”

You know what? I am proud of you guys. But not just because we could behave in Sizzler, but because people are beginning to see Jesus in us. Well done everyone, I’m proud of you!

But the night then got better. I was talking with one of the guys who told me that we need to make sure we keep meeting regularly, that it absolutely imperative that we keep meeting because for the few weeks, he said, that ”I haven’t come, I’ve realised how much I’ve changed because I’ve been a part of 12two.”

“No way” I said.

To which he said “Yes, the other week I was almost nice to someone.” I know what you cynics are thinking, but what this friend of mine was saying is that ‘God is slowly transforming me, and I can tell.’

Makes sense that we’re all about Romans 12two “Do not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of you minds.” There’s nothing like the Church when the Church is working right!

Have you ever gone on a prayer walk? Me neither till last Sunday night. I wasn’t sure how it should work or what it should look like, but we did it anyway, we walked in four groups, taking four different routes from the Q1 building in Surfers to the Surfers Paradise sign in the mall.

When we got there we huddled, all 42 of us and prayed for the city. What I didn’t realise is that as we were praying, many people who were in the mall began to wander over, get on tip toes or climb on surrounding constructions to see what we were looking at. Turns out we were just focusing on Jesus.

Interesting isn’t it… that when we get out of the Church building, get together as a Church, and focus on Jesus, that the rest of the world wants to get in on the action, and look at the one we’re looking at.

From Q1 to Cav Ave Praying

Further to this on Sunday afternoon I asked a whole bunch of people around Australia and overseas to pray for us. The request was simply, “please pray that God would go before us, with us and behind us.” Then last night Mum called and said that they had been praying for us in Church, and that she had a vision of a legion of Roman Centurions forming a group ready for battle, with their shields protecting them on all sides. Mum shared this at Church and the response given was that someone else had a similar vision, except that, that one battle unit divided into four smaller battle units. It was at this point in the story that I told Mum, ‘that’s exactly what we did, four groups, not one, walking through the city.’

So God really was before us, with us and behind us.

Next week, after Sunday night Church we’re going on a prayer walk.

As we conclude our “Stepping into the Darkness” series, we’re going to actually go and do it. As a 12two community we’re going to walk from the Q1 building to the mall in surfers on a prayer walk. We’re going to pray for the people living in that area, we’re going to ask God to open our eyes to what he wants us to see, and we’re going to see what happens. So the service next week will be a little shorter, then those of you who want to begin living what we speak of each Sunday are invited to jump in a car, meet at Q1 and come with me as we pray through the city.

We’ve launched the 12two group on facebook, so join up if you’re on Facebook.

Next two Tuesday night there is no organised Tuesday night 12two gathering.

We’ll be gathering on Tuesday 15 July, in the Youth Centre to hear from some Chinese Missionaries: 7.30 pm

In the coming weeks we’ve also got a variety of things happening.

·        Jon Morris, the previous Youth Pastor here is coming back from Hawaii to preach – 13 July

·        Katie Wallis (to check out her music go here: www.myspace.com/ktwallis,) a young adult from Brisbane, has produced a CD and is selling it in order to put the proceeds toward Mission in Zambia – 20 July

·        We’re going to hear from those attending the Surrender Conference in Melbourne – 27 July

·        We have a world renound guest speaker and author Shannon Etheridge, coming to speak to us – 17 August

In Sydney on 21st Octber, Passion – A World wide movemetn of young adults, who provide us with lots of our songs like “God of this city” and “How Great is our God”, are doing an international tour and we’re going to send a group down, but tickets go on sale very soon. So if you’d like to be a part of that trip, please let me know ASAP. Check it out: http://www.268generation.com/worldtour/high.html

I’m going to be away from Thursday 17 – 20 at the Surrender Conference with 7 others of you. Then I’ll be flying to Peru for two weeks.

In Peru I’ll be working in an orphanage, in the slums and sewers and on the beaches there. Any prayer you could say for me would be greatly appreciated.

Well as you found out last week Stu is pulling back from his hands on involvement in Young Adult Ministry as of now. Coupled with this Liz Adams is the middle of exams and unable to fit in a girls group this week, so we’re moving to the backup plan.

On Tuesday night we’ll meet at the Youth Centre. I want to begin really nutting out small groups, what they look like, when they might be, when they are going to run, who will be in what group. That’ll take about 20 – 25 minutes.

Then I want us to brainstorm and then vote on what to call the Shane Claiborne conference in January.

Entries so far include:

• A radical Difference
• Revolution
• The Irresistible Revolution

We’ll vote and unless it’s 50/50, we’ll go with the winner, having said that any expansions on these ideas or new ideas would be great. I trust you’ve got the gist of what he’s coming to talk about as we’ve mentioned nearly every 12two Sunday night. Basically he’s coming to speak to us about following Jesus into the dark places of the world, together as a community, and seeing how God can use us there.

Then we’ve got two options, coffee/ refreshments in Broadbeach or a movie, or maybe you’ll come up with a better idea, but I doubt it because I’m not convinced many people actually read this. So there is the plan.

See you Tuesday

We started a new preaching series this week on Nehemiah, which we’ve called “Stepping into the Darkness”. Nehemiah was a leader who stepped away from his comfort, security, peace and future to respond to something big God had laid on his heart. Over the next six weeks we’ll be looking at such things as:

Responding with heart

Following your passion

Overcoming the odds

Joy determines everything

“Go restore something”

What do you do with success

I hope you can be there on Sunday nights and in our small groups when we discuss and tackle these elements of what it means to live as a Christian Young Adult in this age.

This week we’re meeting for Small groups guys at Stu’s place, girls at Liz’s place. Attached are a few questions to chat about, think through, ponder or throw out Feel free to use them as a personal study guide, or in small groups.

In July (18-20) a group (which hopefully will include you!) will be travelling down to Surrender 08 conference. Check out http://www.unoh.org/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?id=369&nav_cat_id=164&nav_top_id=69&dsb=954 to see what it’s about. It’ll be a great time for us to go together but also to be equipped and challenged to move out in the Gold Coast on mission, something that is vital to our existence  as a community of young adults, passionately wanting to love and follow Jesus. Please let me know if you’re interested in the next week or so… you’re not signing up to anything, but if I could know whether or not you’re keen that would help lots in the organising for us to go.

Not this Sunday night but the following we’ll be beginning a 6 week series on Nehemiah. Nehemiah was called by God to go back to Jerusalem after the wall had been destroyed and rebuilt it. We’ll be looking through the lens of what God calls us to, and how we are to be part of what he is rebuilding. I’m looking for a catchy phrase to title the series, if you have any cool ideas can you shoot them through… I can’t guarantee I’ll use it, but I’d really love your help on this, Thanks.

12two is the name of our young adults (18 – 35 y.o.) ministry taken from Romans 12:2, a verse in the Bible that speaks of the transformation and restoration that God wants to bring about in our lives and then enable to happen through our lives to affect the world in which we live.

12two is about being part of a community that is following Christ toward the heart of God. It is a community where everyone is invited and welcomed to be a part of, as we discover who God is, and what God challenges us to do with our lives.

There are three main environments that 12two is expressed in: Worship @ 6PM on a Sunday; Growth through small groups; Mission where we are actively engaging head-on the issues of injustice and poverty in our world, both on the Gold Coast and further afield.

We’d love to get to know you and we’d love for you to become part of this movement.

I look forward to getting to know you. Ralph, Young Adults Minister.

If you’d like to speak me (Young Adults Minister), please email at Ralph@newlife.unitingchurch.org.au, visit my blog www.thebeanbag.typepad.com (a space where culture, Christianity and life can mix) or call the Church and ask for me.