No Oasis Tonight

Reminder: We will not be having Oasis tonight due to it being Halloween. We will return to our normal day and time next Sunday as we begin to take a look at the series on Invisible. Check below for details on the series.

ACTS: What Does It Mean ?

In the future, you will be hearing about ACTS. We are not trying to be "sacrilegious" but we will be using it (ACTS) as an acronym to describe a philosophy of ministry. We recognize that each student is at a different spot in their Christian walk and we want to gear ministry to each one of them. Here is a brief summary:

Attract

We want to attract students to Christ and to the ministry of Christ The Savior.

Connect

We want to connect students to God to to fellow students already connected to Christ The Savior.

Transform

We want students lives to transform into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Savior.

Send

We want to send students out to be the hands and feet of Christ so we can influence our community and impact our world.

The Invisible Series

THE INVISIBLES:

Series Overview

We are surrounded by the invisibles. These are people who simply want to know someone cares, someone notices—people who want to know God cares. Some of us would even say we feel that way—invisible to an entire world, daily passing us by. Whether that feeling is a familiar one or not, the reality is that each one of us has felt invisible at one point or another. But we didn’t stay that way. God saw us. He sees the invisibles. And because God took notice of us, we are able to open our eyes to see those around us.

Session One: Can You See Me? (November 7)
Sometimes you can stand in a room or walk down a hallway or sit in a chair and no one notices you. It’s not that you have some type of special ability that makes you invisible—people just don’t see you. They know nothing about you—nor do they seem to want to know anything about you. It’s like you’re not even there, even when you are physically in the room. You’re invisible. The good news is Jesus sees invisible people—even those who never realized they were invisible.

Session Two: In Focus (November 14)

Some people go unnoticed. There are people in the background of our lives we never see. Maybe it’s the guy at the gas station or the girl at the coffee shop. Maybe it’s the girl sitting in the lunchroom, or the guy hanging out in the back of the youth room. There are people all around us who we treat as invisible. But because of how God has seen us, because of what we’ve experienced personally, our vision is changed. How can we begin to see the people in our lives every day that may normally go overlooked? How can we see the people halfway around the world that go unnoticed? What can we do to bring those around us in focus?

Session Three: Seeing Beyond the Seen (November 21)

Sometimes what we really want isn’t what we are asking for. Sometimes what we really need is invisible to us. Thankfully Jesus sees us, really sees us. He sees the obvious physical needs and the more subtle spiritual ones too. And not only does He see them, He cares enough to do something about them both. When it comes to reaching out to the invisibles, when we provide friendship, water, help—sometimes it just isn’t enough. There’s a deeper, spiritual need that can only be met through Jesus Christ. And because of that, we do both—we help with the physical need but point them to Jesus Christ for the spiritual one.

No Oasis: 24th & 31st

Remember, we will not have Oasis on the next two Sunday's. The 24th, we are off for Fall Break and the 31st, we are off for Halloween. We will come back on Sunday, November 7th when we start the series Invisible.

Hayride: October 15

We took a hayride in the Eagle Creek Park. Here are a few photos. If you want to see the whole album, check them out on facebook.

Hayride

Annual Hayride and Bon Fire

Just a reminder that our annual Sr. High Hayride and Bon Fire will be Friday October 15th at Eagle Creek.

We will take a bus to and from Eagle Creek. Check in will begin at 5:30pm on the 15th and we will leave CTS at 5:45pm. The cost is $12 and includes transportation, hay ride, hot dogs, hamburgers, hot chocolate and of course s'mores.

We are still looking for a few parents who would like to help chaperone. If you are available and interested in hanging out under the stars with us, please contact either Jeff or Lise.

Friends are welcome! EVERYONE must have a current CTS Medical Consent form on file in order to participate. We don't have very many on file yet this year. If you aren't sure if you have completed one for your student this year, please complete the attached form and bring it with you Friday. Friends must also complete the Medical Consent form.

Students will need to be picked up at CTS at 9:30pm.

Steps ....

On Sunday, we took a look at the lesson through the video teaching of Jarred. He gave us a great message and here are some of the highlights of the talk:

Life is a result of steps

Myth: Following Christ requires a "leap"

Every leap is made up of steps (Prov. 20:24)

God wants you to walk through life, one step at a time.

Here are some scriptures to take a look at ....

- Mark 8:34-35
- John 8:11
- Matt 5:48

We also enjoyed a game of broom ball and were led in worship by Jon's band. It was a great night !!

Parents: Forward Motion

Forward Motion:

We’ve all made resolutions and set goals, but too often we fall short of what we expected to accomplish. Unfortunately it’s often the same when we try to become the Christian we really believe God has called us to be. We fall short of the goal and become increasingly discouraged. In this series, your student will learn that following Christ is more about the small steps we make every day, not about the huge leaps of faith that we think we need to make. They will set a goal, determine the first step and then make it. The series will end with a celebration!

Week One (October 3)

Following Christ is about steps, not leaps. This week your students will be introduced to the myth: that Christianity is all about taking big leaps of faith. They will encounter some of Scripture’s most daunting verses, and wrestle with what it means to have a life of spiritual growth. Each student will set a goal for himself or herself, and the next few weeks they will revisit their goals.

Week Two (October 10)

The way you get from where you are to where you want to be is one step at a time. This may sound ridiculously obvious, but we all forget it. We want to go to the gym one time and look like a model; we want to make one smart comment at work and be promoted right to the top. But we know deep down that isn’t the way things work. The good news is that in our spiritual development, God has not left us alone to work out the mess. He has sent His Spirit to guide us. This week, students will look at the power of the Holy Spirit to guide their paths, and they will make a plan for beginning to take the first step toward their goals.

Week Three (October 17)

Celebrate the steps you take in your relationship with God, and celebrate the steps others take as well. It’s all about celebration, not the cheap kind of celebration that comes from making a big deal out of nothing, but the real party that comes naturally when we know that we have made even the slightest move in the right direction. Your students will talk this week about what it looks like to encourage each other and celebrate with each other whenever they make progress toward one of their goals.

EXPERIENCE:

Many of you crave forward motion in your family. You know what you want your children to be. You want them to be kind, respectful, responsible, intelligent, creative individuals. You want them to be able to succeed when they grow up and leave your home. But sometimes you look at them and you think that it may never happen.

This month, think about helping your student make one step. Think of one new thing that you would love for your child to do. Maybe it’s to improve his or her science grade, learn how to do laundry, cook a meal or change the oil in the car. Once you have decided on one goal for your child, communicate your desire to teach this skill and let your child know why it is important to learn it. Then spend time during the month helping teach your child how to accomplish the goal.

If you want your student to improve his or her science grade, sit with him and study flash cards. If you want them to know how to do laundry, do a load or two together until he or she gets the hang of it. By communicating to your child why you want him or her to know or do a certain thing, you communicate respect. By spending time helping them learn, you are letting him or her know of their importance to you. You will also alleviate your child’s fear of disappointing you if they get it wrong.

The most important thing that fuels forward motion is celebration. Make sure that you celebrate your child’s step! Tell him or her that you are proud of them for working so hard or for learning something new. When your child knows that they can make you proud, they will be much more motivated to continue working on their new goal.