What's up everyone?? It has been absolutely crazy around here! Continuing to operate during all this has been a huge challenge to say the least. Despite the difficulties and added stress, however, I think everything is going extremely well. Our students are interested in coming and participating, we are seeing new students frequently, and we are sharing the gospel with them every week! I call that a win!
Decisions about youth and the ways we have chosen to handle things have not been decided without much prayer and thoughtful discussions. That being said, I realize that some of you would like us to handle things differently. I completely respect any decisions that you make as far as your students go, and I only ask for your understanding as we try to handle things the way we think is best.
There are some things I want to make you aware of:
1. We are having a fundraiser for church camp! We are selling 2BC t-shirts to reduce the cost of church camp for our students! We have short sleeves, long sleeves, and hoodies available! Plus they are super soft and awesome quality! Tell everyone you know to buy a shirt or hoodie! Buy a bunch of them for your kiddos too! The more we sell, the more successful the fundraiser. People can order shirts by visiting our website (www.secondbaptistmonticello.com) and clicking "Support the SWAMP" or by calling the church office! Please push these as we always try to make church camp cost as low as possible for you all!
2. We will be having our Christmas party Monday the 21st at 5pm. There will be games and food and fun. Also we will be playing Silly Dirty Santa (or white elephant). For those of you that don't know how that game works, each student will bring a goofy, cheap, wrapped gift (the crazier, the better), during the game in a randomly decided order students will choose to open one of the presents. Throughout the game, presents will be stolen and stolen again. It's a great time:)
3. We will not be having Youth Group on the Wednesdays during Christmas break (23rd and 30th). We will pick back up on the 6th. DGroup will be dependent upon how many students are still in town at those times.
4. We will be having a Lock-In on New Year's Eve from 8pm to 8am. I still have no idea why students like these so much, but last time, everyone had a blast so we are going to do this thing again. We will be spending all night long playing games, eating, and having an all around great time. Like last time, there are some VERY important things that you all need to be aware of when sending your student to a lock in.
1. The lock in will be from 8 PM Dec 31 to 8 AM Jan 1. I will not be sleeping during this time. PLEASE be on time to pick up your students Saturday morning. Failure to pick up your student will result in them not being allowed to attend next time.
2. There will be some students that fully intend to stay up the entire night, but there will also be some who intend to sleep at a certain point. The students who decide to sleep will have designated spaces to sleep so they can be separated by gender. Students will only be allowed to sleep in those designated places. Students may want to bring a sleeping bag, or a pillow and blanket for sleeping. Remember, this is not a sleepover. There will not be any quiet places to sleep.
3. There will be several games planned for a big chunk of the night. Please encourage your students to participate in all of the games. Otherwise, they will not have very much fun:(
4. Either Stormy or I need to be made aware of any medicine that needs to be taken at any point during the lock in. Along with this, we need to be made aware of any and all food allergies. We will have food for the students to eat, and here at Second Baptist Church we pride ourselves on not intentionally poisoning people :)
5. In the event, that a student is behaving badly and refuses to correct the issue or if the issue is severe, you will be contacted and will be expected to come get your student. If we can't get a hold of you, we will drive them to your home and drop them off. Bad or dangerous behavior will not be tolerated during these types of activities.
6. Students may wish to wear pajamas or some other sort of comfortable clothing. We are perfectly fine with this, but all outfits must be appropriate. We expect you as parents/guardians to be the ones responsible for appropriate attire. Students will not be allowed to stay at the Lock-In in revealing or inappropriate clothing.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me!