April 2011

WHO IN THE WORLD IS … Nikki Upton?

Nikki is one of the newest members of Momentum and is in
6th Grade @ Azalea Gardens Middle. She likes to hangout with
Caitlyn, Olivia and Malena and is rarely, if ever, seen without the
infamous penguin hat! She is a huge asset to Momentum and is
at almost every ministry event. I appreciate her spunk and
willingness to do whatever is needed to share God’s Word with
others. She took a break from a Friday Night Hangout to answer
these 10 questions:

1. What three people in the Youth group are most likely to become pro wrestlers?
Caitlyn, because she is little and David and Wes because they are big.

2. Do you have any brothers or sisters?

One sister, Mary 27, and two brothers, Robert 25, and William 18.

3. What was your favorite stuffed animal when you were younger?
My blue bear because he kept my nightmares away.

4. Would you rather be rich and alone or poor with lots of friends?
Be poor because when you have friends around you, you have everything.

5. If you could be any cartoon character who would you be?

SpongeBob, because he is awesome and he doesn’t care what others think.

6. Would you rather embarrass yourself or have your parents embarrass you?
Embarrass myself, I embarrass myself enough without my Mom’s help.

7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would want to be taller; I am short like my Mom.
8. What is your favorite Scripture verse?
John 3:16, because it tells us all how much God loves us.
9. What are the three things you like most about summer?
That’s easy. No school, hanging out with friends and sleeping in late.
10. What is your first memory of Youth Group?
Meeting everyone at the lock-in and having fun.
 Here’s The Deal!

I want to start by saying how proud I am of you! Maybe I don’t say it often enough but I
want you to realize what a blessing you are being to those around you and what you are accomplishing
in the name of God. Spending a Saturday raking and cleaning up a church may seem like a pain in
the butt or like you may not be accomplishing a lot but to hear the Pastor of that church talk about it,
you would think that you gave him a whole new church!
Truth be told, that is exactly what you have done. One of the great benefits when we choose to
share God’s love with others is how encouraging and uplifting it can be to a person, or in this case, to a
whole church. You did things that day that they did not have the resources or finances to do. It is
amazing to see what sharing God’s love with others can do for them and for you.
I am sure by now many of you have heard me talk about the South African mission team I was
a part of a few weeks ago. When I left to go to South Africa my intent was that others would see God’s
love for them through what we accomplished as a mission team and want that for themselves. I am
sure that the mission team did make an impact on South Africa but I am more certain of the impact
the people of South Africa have made on me. I saw people who had little to nothing in terms of
worldly possessions but had such a pure love for God. When I first experienced this I said to myself
“they have so little to be thankful for but look how thankful they are for every single thing they have”.
I compare that to who we are here in the states and see how we have so much and instead of being
thankful for the little things, the important things, we want more and more and more!
While in South Africa, I witnessed the thankfulness and contentment of the people there for
and I also saw how they love, trust, and honor God. This was displayed in many ways but none more
prominent than through their worship. It was by far the most uninhibited worship of God I have
experienced in my life. More importantly, I realized that the thankfulness and contentment of the
Zulu people in South Africa, their intense love of God and the way they honor God through an
amazing worship of Him; is exactly what God desires of you and me!
When you took the time on that Saturday to help Lighthouse Community Church, you did much
more than rake or paint or fill bags with debris; you were encouraging that church in the work they do
for that community, and the people of that community witnessed God’s love through you and what you
were doing for that church! My prayer is that this mission project made an impact on you, even if in a
small way. I am proud of you not because of the work you did, but because you chose to honor God by
serving a community who needs it most!
 The Top 5
1. Passport Committments
I am encouraged by everyone who is going to Passport and their willingness to participate in six
(6) ministry opportunites each month. April 1st is the due date for the final deposit for
Passport. Please get those payments to me so we can make
our final payment to Passport camp! As a reminder, everyone
going to Passport camp this summer needs to participate in six (6)
activities per month. There are multiple opportunities each week.
There is Fusion Discipleship, which I am opening up to all
students up to 10th grade, (there has to be at least 3 students to
start a class) on Tuesdays @ 4:00 pm, a church-wide Bible Study of
Matthew that is open to everyone on Tuesdays @ 7:00 pm,
Momentum Wednesday Nights @ 6:00 pm, Merge Discipleship for
11th grade through 1st year college students on Thursdays @ 5:30 pm, Contemporary Worship Sunday
mornings at 9:30 am, Afterburn (Sunday School) at 10:45 am, and Traditional Worship at 11:00 am.
These are offered each week so fulfilling the requirement is actually very easy to do! We will be going
to Passport Choices in Wingate North Carolina July 17-22. If you want to check out some info on
Passport click here ….. http://www.passportcamps.org/home/youth/Youth_2011/Choices.html

2. April Mission Project

We will be helping to fill the food pantry shelves of Lighthouse Community
Church and Calvin Presbyterian Church on April 23rd. There are actually two
steps to this mission project; the first step is to place door hangers at the homes
in the surrounding community on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th during
Momentum. On Saturday, April 23rd, we will then drive down the streets where
we placed the door hangers and pick-up any bags of food that have been left.
The really cool aspect to this mission project is that we will do it with the youth
group from Calvin Presbyterian which is just across the street from Azalea!
We will be leaving the church parking lot at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 20th and be back in
the Hut by 7:30 pm. On Saturday, we will meet in the Azalea Parking lot at 9:00 am and head into
the neighborhoods to collect the food. We should be done no later than 1:00 pm.
Remember, this project counts toward the required 2 mission projects before June for those
going to camp. We will be doing a mission project with everyone going to camp in June so be prepared
and please plan accordingly. You must have a completed permission slip to work on this project.

3. BBQ Meal After Worship

The BBQ luncheon on March 27th was a
huge success and I thank God for blessing us with
a loving group of folks who donated $900.00
towards the mission trip! I am proud of everyone
that helped, as I have heard nothing but great
compliments from the folks that were there. This
fundraiser went so well that we will not need to
have the car wash in May! I Praise God that in
this economy Momentum received so much support from the church family.
4. Busch Gardens!
We will be going to Busch Gardens on Tuesday, April 19th! We will
leave the church parking lot at 10:00 am and return about 5:00 pm.
You will need to have a pass or bring money for admission to the park
as well as any money that you are going to need throughout the day.
Seating in my vehicle will be limited and if there are enough youth
going I will try my best to get other drivers for the day. Plan now for a
great day at Bush Gardens and pray for sunshine!
http://www.buschgardens.com/Bgw/Plan/ParkInfo.aspx

5. A Quick Look Ahead

As we look ahead a little bit; please remember that the car wash on May 14th has been
cancelled. We also have the Youth Family Cookout on May 20th from 6:30-9:00 pm. Busch Gardens is
also having Glory At The Gardens again this year during the month of June. June 1st is also the first
of four consecutive Passport Wednesday’s!

Saturday, June 11th @ 6:00 pm

MaryMary with Brian Courtney Wilson
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145279495536743
Sunday June 12th @ 6:00 pm
Mercy Me with JJ Heller
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144817192248620
Saturday June 18th @ 6:00 pm
Casting Crowns with Matt Maher
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198823843469540
Sunday, June 19th @ 6:00 pm
Donnie McClurkin with Trin-I-Tee 5:7
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168161946567777
Saturday, June 25th @ 6:00 pm
CeCe & BeBe Winans with the Harlem Gospel Choir
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186800158021719
Sunday, June 26th @ 6:00 pm
Toby Mac with Sanctus Real
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186778301359939
 APRIL 2011
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1 2

6:30 – 9:00 PM Happy B-Day

Aaron!
3 4 19 6 7 8 9
9:30 Contemporary
Worship Passport
Deposit #2 is
10:40 Afterburn
Due!
6:00-7:30 PM 5:30-7:00 PM
($75.00) 5:00-6:00 PM
11:00 Traditional
Worship
10 11 19 13 14 15 16
9:30 Contemporary
Worship

10:40 Afterburn
6:00-7:30 PM 5:30-7:00 PM 6:30 – 9:00 PM
5:00-6:00 PM
11:00 Traditional
Worship
17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Happy B-Day 5:30-7:00 PM

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Olivia!
5:00 – 7:30 PM 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
24 25 19 27 28 29 30

9:30 Combined
Sunday School
E A S T E R
11:00 Combined 6:00-7:30 PM 5:30-7:00 PM
5:00-6:00 PM
Worship