Update On PCC Student Ministry

Here's an update on what's going on in Student Ministry from Angie Frame, Minister to Students at PCC.

Summer Student Ministry

Our student ministry, Phusion, is running fast and furiously this summer. Forty-one high school and college students and adults went on a mission trip to Knoxville already this summer. A week later, another team left. They are at a camp in South Carolina right now called Passport Choices. Next week the Macedonia mission trip departs for Europe. Whew! Makes me tired just trying to wrap my mind around it, and jet lag isn’t even an issue yet!

In the midst of all that travel, we are still offering some local ministry events. It’s summer, so we’re taking a break from our weekly small groups and our program (FOCUS). Instead, we’re offering events that students can come to, but more importantly that their friends and families can attend, too. Our summer schedule is designed for students to be able to come and have fun, even if they’re new. It’s a great, unintimidating time for students to invite their friends. We also welcome families and parents! Last Sunday we went to the movies together, and some parents and younger siblings came with the teenager.

Here are the remaining summer events. Hope to see you and your family there!

July 12 Bogey’s Sports Park 3-7
August 2 Laser Tag (RSVP to 598-1174 by July 12)
August 9 Karaoke @ Powhatan Village Building
August 16 Lake Party @ the Huffs’ home
August 30 Shaving Cream War @ the Hughes’ home

For more information about any of these events, please contact Angie Frame - PCCangie{at}gmail{dot}com or 598-1174.

Guest Blogger Beth Brawley

Guest blogger Beth Brawley leads the Creative Arts Team at PCC and is an avid blogger.  Here's a copy of her post from her blog - Grace, Every Day - about how an experience at last year's Leadership Summit continues to impact her.

PCC will be going to the Summit again this year, August 6-7.  Find out more about the event here.  If you're interested in going with us, contact Lori at the PCC office (804.598.1174)

At last year's Leadership Summit I was introduced - via video - to Carly Fiorina. She was a dynamic, engaging speaker and I was captivated, listening to a strong woman talk about leadership and empowerment. I picked up her book, Tough Choices, and have referred to it off and on throughout the past several months.

Truth be told, I'm just reading it VERY slowly - it's sort of a monthly devotional book for me, with constant encouragement and information about leadership.

Okay. Honest truth? It's in the bathroom.

Midway through the book Fiorina talks about the creation of Lucent Technologies, which arose out of AT&T getting rid of a collection of assets called Newco. She was tapped to be Executive VP of Corporate Operations. Here's what she says:

"For some, the words aspiration and inspiration are mumbo jumbo; or hype; or soft, nonoperational stuff. These are people who forget that every income statement and balance sheet in the world is produced by the everyday hard work of everyday people. And people achieve more when they're motivated by a purpose worthy of their efforts. They align their individual actions in to a more powerful collective effort when they know they strive for a common and commonly understood goal. Nowhere are aspiration and inspiration more important than in a large, complex organization undergoing major change. In large companies myriad actions taken and countless small decisions made must add up to the bottom line. And in a period of change, each employee must break old habits and learn new skills, and every employee's actions and decisions must align in new ways to produce something different."

In the midst of everything that we are doing as PCC staff members, in spite of what we're feeling and experiencing on a personal level, regardless of the current status of our personal relationship with God, we are in the middle of some major changes at PCC. We are the folks who are not only doing the "everyday work of everyday people", but we are also inspiring and leading volunteers who are doing the same thing as they serve at PCC.

We each have unique goals for our ministry areas that are hopefully clearly and commonly understood by those folks who serve with us. But I think it's important to still remember that we are, technically speaking, a "large, complex organization undergoing major change."

Our mission is to reach and lead. That is the purpose worthy of our efforts. Lives are changing because of what God's spirit is doing through PCC.

I just want to challenge each of us - myself included - to continue to live in the awareness of the challenges of change, and to take to heart the necessity of breaking old habits, learning new skills and aligning our actions and decisions in new ways. God is using us - and he is also changing us, through this time of change. It's a remarkable thing that ultimately results in eternal impact for our community. We are led by a senior pastor and an executive pastor - but we are also given the great responsibility and even the luxury of leading ourselves.

I'm focusing on praying for us as a body today, and thankful that God's drawn us all together for the sake of His name.

Teens And Porn

Guest blogger Angie Frame is Pastor to Students at PCC.  Her interaction with teens gives her unique perspective and insight regarding spiritual and emotional issues.  Here are her thoughts regarding the issue of pornography and its effect on students.

This past Sunday Brian addressed the issue of pornography, especially how it affects adults. However, many people who view pornography as adults began viewing it as preteens or teenagers. Therefore, it is helpful to examine the issue of pornography from the preteen and teen perspective. Some of these students view pornography purposefully and for gratification, others do so accidentally (at first) or for curiosity. Preteens are very curious about sexuality, and pornography offers a crash course in the human body and sex. For example, I’ve heard of middle school students hearing slang sex terms on the bus, then coming home and Googling those terms just to see what they mean. What they got was an introduction to pornography.

Not all that long ago, young people got access to porn by sneaking a dad’s Playboy or erotic video collection. Now it’s just a click away. One of our students blogged about this Sunday’s service, and she said that students use porn much more than drugs and alcohol.

You’ve likely heard recent news coverage about teens taking nude or partially nude photos of themselves or others on their camera phones. This is a new way for students to view pornography, but it’s also the most potentially harmful way. Now a girl takes a photo of herself and sends it to her boyfriend (or vice versa). This is problematic even if the photo is only viewed by the intended recipient. The problem gets bigger when the recipient then forwards the photo to other people. Imagine if a photo of your teenage daughter’s chest was circulating around the high school. Imagine the humiliation your whole family would feel. This has happened at Powhatan High School and probably the junior high, too; I just don’t know of any specific examples.

Pornography is easily accessible to young people today, and it negatively affects their lives and relationships. The consequences of viewing pornography are felt by users of all ages, not just married adults. One student put it this way, “I feel like I’ve been living a double life.” The guilt, shame, and weight of carrying around such a secret can affect a student’s personality and interactions with other people.

Two books you may consider purchasing to address this issue are Every Young Man’s Battle and Every Young Woman’s Battle. Here are some excerpts:

“Almost every day I would go back to the naked picture files in my brain and view the collection…It felt like the women weren’t real people to me. I didn’t see them as fully human; they were just something to give me physical pleasure.”

“I learned the hard way that when you fill your mind with sexual images, you awaken sexual desires that should only be entertained and fulfilled within marriage.”

Viewing pornography as a preteen or teenager causes guilt and shame, breeds an unhealthy and unrealistic view of the human body and sexuality, and sets students up for problems in their future marriages. 

If anyone would like to discuss this issue further, feel free to contact me at angie{at)powhatancommunitychurch{dot}org.

An Update On PCC Finances

Dennis Green is husband to Brenda and dad to Leah and Denny - and Dennis serves as PCC's executive pastor.  Part of his role, along with his ever-present "I'll do whatever needs to be done" attitude, is to keep us on track and informed financially.  Dennis is our guest blogger today, with some important information about PCC's financial state.  

You can contact Dennis via email at powhatancc.org; you can also keep up with him on his Facebook page!

Wow! Can you believe that Easter is here already? Spring has “sprung” and exciting things continue to happen at PCC.

The economy is still anybody’s guess, unemployment is affecting many in our families - and yet hope mixed with realities drive us forward each day.

As a staff, we faced one of those realities in January. Based on 2008, (especially the last quarter) we looked at the most probable scenarios related to giving as we moved into 2009. We made painful adjustments to our staff and to our salaries. Also, we cut our travel, our conferences, our leadership development and other expenses in an effort to remain absolutely faithful in our commitment to you; to keep PCC financially sound and in a strong, healthy position. Through all this, we worked hard to communicate the financial realities to you.

I am extremely proud and grateful to report that through this first quarter, our giving at PCC is actually up slightly over the same period in 2008. We are not making our weekly budget for 2009, but let me reiterate that we are not spending our budget for 2009 either. We are keeping a close watch on what we spend, always mindful of our responsibility to be faithful stewards of what God, and you, have entrusted us with. 

You can see the financial summary from the first quarter of 2009 by clicking this link. Should you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

It has been and continues to be an honor and privilege to serve beside you as together we press onward toward this mission God has called us to.

Dennis

Conformed Or Transformed

Guest blogger Bob Pino serves in various ways at PCC; an inspiring musician, small group host, teacher, mentor, faithful pray-er and good friend, he also helps spearhead our iD team.  Bob is passionate about discipleship and the need to grow in your faith through bible study, fellowship, accountability and the word.  Here are some of Bob's thoughts relative to iD.

In the New Testament Paul writes to the Romans to prepare the way for a visit he plans to make to the church at Rome. His plan was to work among the Christians there for a while and then head to Spain. He wrote to explain his understanding of the Christian faith and its practical implications for the lives of Christians.

I am challenged by Paul when he writes these words:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  Romans 12.1-2

Before Christ I was being conformed by the world. I would see things and hear things that were mans’ ideas, desires and opinions.  I could agree with them, make up some of my own, and - by the world’s standards, as long as I wasn’t hurting anyone - I could pretty much do , say, or believe what I wanted. When I accepted Christ in my life on September 20, 1979, everything went crazy. It took over 10 years for me to realize that without pursuing a relationship with Christ through transformation, I was just another person that went to church on Sunday and did what I wanted to the rest of the week. I realized that in order to know Him and to be transformed by Him, I would have to study His Word. It was then that Christ began to go from my head to my heart. This is a daily process in the life of anyone who wants to be a Christ-follower.

The Bible says in John 1 vs. 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. “ If I believed that, then studying the Word was to study Christ! How awesome! My life started to change because Christ started to change my life. My outlook, my thought process, and my attitude began to be different and the cool thing was that people - even my own kids - would ask,“What’s different about you?” It was my mind being transformed by the washing of the Word. 

I heard a wise Christian man say, “Imagine that you’re holding a glass of dirty water. It’s full of all kinds of particles, sand, and dirt. If you were to start pouring good, clean water into that glass and let it overflow, eventually all the dirty water would be gone and you would have a glass of perfectly clear water. Your life works the same way. You are renewed by the washing of the water of the Word of God. You may be carrying particles of dirt from the past. You may have old destructive habits or mindsets that you are trying to get rid of. But the more you pour God’s Word into yourself, the more clean and alive everything becomes. Don’t choose to sit around with that mucky, dirty water on the inside of you. Allow His Word to cleanse you by reading and declaring it over yourself every day. As you choose His Word, you choose His life, and you’ll experience His hand of blessing in ways you never dreamed.”

I am happy to tell you that the staff at PCC believes in the study of God’s Word. For my wife and me it’s the main reason we attend PCC. This January, through the iD program, we will have at our disposal several classes to choose from that will help us to be transformed by the study of God’s Word. It doesn’t matter if you are new to the journey or you’ve been following Christ for years. We never get to the point where we know it all or where we have arrived. Even our pastor, who has his PhD, is in the Word learning, seeking, understanding, and growing as he leads us.

Registration is now open and you can choose to grow and be transformed, or you can be conformed to the world around you and miss the rich blessing of our Lord who will get you through life with strength, peace in the midst of storms, joy beyond measure, and the ability to love and serve the One who gave His life for you! Come to the registration table on Sunday, or go online and register today! It will change your life!
For more information, check out the PCC website, where you can read more about specific courses, or call the church office (804.598.1174)

Guest Blogger Ray Crews

Guest blogger Ray Crews is a member of the PCC Steering Team as well as a volunteer on the Production Team.  Ray is also a blogger; you can check out his blog here.

Here's some great insight into the workings of PCC's Small Group Leadership Team, of which Ray is also a part (he's a busy guy!).

The A Team

In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men and women promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Powhatan underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team.

Do you belong to a successful team? I do.

I belong to a group called the Small Group Leadership Team, which works to assist my friend Sammy with the Small Groups program at Powhatan Community Church where Daleen and I attend. As a rule, I am a sucker for a good cause and unless I stop myself, I will pretty much always say yes when asked to volunteer for something. So, when Sammy asked me to help him, I don't think I even paused for a second before saying, "Well of course, I'd love to be on your team!"

For those of you who don't know, Small Groups is, in my opinion, where our church resides during the week in-between Sundays. Ours is such a large church, there is no way the church staff can work with everyone on an individual basis, and there is no way people can really form meaningful relationships on just Sunday mornings. Also, in my opinion, there is just not enough time for an in-depth discussion on some pretty deep topics in a one hour service, one morning a week. So, Small Groups were formed to bridge that gap. They are small groups of folks who usually get together during the week to just talk, eat, keep tabs on one another, and help each other out when needed. Of course, these small communities also do studies on the bible as well as other topics such as financial management, relationships, etc. Basically they do what I believe can't be done in an hour on Sunday mornings... build relationships/community, and have more in-depth discussions in a safe, comfortable environment.

So, the Small Groups Leadership Team is responsible for helping my friend Sammy with planning activities for the small groups community, providing training for small group leaders, finding new people to lead and host new groups, and get people who are interested plugged into a group that will suit them.

As a team, I would say like all teams, we have had our high points and low points. There have been times where I think we have been on our game, and times where I've felt like we're spinning our wheels and not going anywhere. We are friends, but there have been times of conflict. But the whole time, I have felt good about the people on the team. Everyone is committed to moving this thing forward and making it grow. I have no doubt about that.

Last Monday evening, Sammy and I met up and talked for a couple of hours. We're both some pretty busy guys and it had been a while since we just sat down and talked. We were both very honest in our discussions about our team and and we talked about what we had done well and what could be done to strengthen our team. And then, like many discussions we had before, our talk shifted into a more upbeat tone as we began to talk about what we could do to make the Small Groups program at our church grow and improve. This is the part when I think our team is at its best, when we start brainstorming ideas about possibilities. Everyone on our team is kind of a dreamer and I think everyone begins to smile a little more when the ideas begin to flow (I know I do). The best part is, nobody on out team is all that negative when it comes to the pouring out of ideas. We are a bunch that instead of asking "Why?" always asks "Why not?".

On Monday night, we exchanged several ideas which I think were great. I know others on the team have also met with Sammy and I'll bet they have also contributed some good stuff. The bottom line is that after thinking for a couple of days since our meeting, I am now a lot more energized and positive about our team and what we are doing than I think I have ever been, and it feels great. In fact, now I feel like I'm the one not doing enough and I need to catch up. It really feels awesome.

I am excited about this team I am on and I think we are going to make some pretty amazing things happen in the next year. In fact I know we will and I'll definitely be telling you about it here. I'm just thankful to be on a team with people who are willing to work together as a small community, a small group if you will, to build up something that involves people and relationships in such a positive way. I think when it comes to what we do, we are definitely the A-Team. However, I am still working up the courage to get a mohawk, a bunch of gold chains, and start saying "I pity the fool...."