Merry Christmas

There are no more youth group events for 2007. Please come back for the first youth group of 2008 on January 8. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Small Group of the Week

The small group of the week is Nichole's group of 11 and 12 graders.

What do the girls like about small group?

The girls feel comfortable with each other and are able to be open and honest, almost like a sisterhood. They like the fact that the group can be fun and serious at the same time. There small group room always smells pretty.

What do they do at small group?

They communicate cuz they are girls, duh.

New Weekend Youth Schedule

We now have a Saturday night service at CCBC. The service starts at 6:00 pm. This is the new youth schedule for the weekend.

Saturday night during adult care group hour (7:30-8:30) we have youth group for 7-12 grade. This group will meet in the last modular.

Sunday during third hour adult care groups (11:30-12:30) we have youth group for 7-12 grade. This group will meet in the last modular. Note there is no longer a class during the second hour service, so please join the rest of the church for the worship service during this time.

On both Saturday night and Sunday morning we will be discussing Pastor Gordie's sermon, sharing prayer requests and other items that come up. Please pay attention during the sermon to take full advantage of this new direction we are taking.

Small Group of the Week

This is Deb and Jolene's Junior High female small group. Ivy likes to come to small group to learn about and grow closer to God. Alyssa's favorite thing about small group is that she can trust people and develop good relationships.

Jr. High Guys Small Group

Here is the first small group of the week picture. I plan on having funny comments or witty sayings from some of the members, but for this first group you just get some pics right now. Hopefully some of those other things will come soon.



Colin says, "Well i think that our small group is one of my favorite places to go I would bring my friend (if i could get a hold of him) and I enjoy being with everyone in it and I hope to go to it for many more years."

Girls, Girls, Girls

What's ups ladies? Here are two events coming up that I wanted you to know about.

Sup? It's Mariah. The Fear Factor Tuesday was pretty nasty huh? Well all thank the brilliant genius Carl of course for the delicious meals we all had. And of course Mr. Crain for setting up the hunt and such. Well, lets get the lowdown on what happened…
We all got there, but the chairs away and then . . . we took them back out!? Yes, we did and made 3 rows of chairs. We all gathered into 2 groups, Jr. High and High School, then we were separated once more into 3 groups, Blue, Red, and Orange. (I was Blue F.Y.I)
We all had to take our shoes off and tied them together to make a rope that can pull back a bucket, man did it smell up in there! Especially since I was in a group that was manly guys! IT STUNK BAD! After pulling our bucket on our side, we put our shoes on and headed off. We were the first to receive the flashlight, and stuff…but finding the reflector was NO easy task. We ended being last, but we did find the reflector…in the woods. We found Red team's reflectors though. We grabbed the note inside, and headed for the Sanctuary! Inside, we had to get a pumpkin in between our knees and walk around a row of chairs, which was pretty hard. I ended being the last person on our team, and the other teams were long gone, so Deb let me put it on my stomach, and I, being a master at scooting on back, finished that course in seconds. After that, we received…another pumpkin, it had a verse on it and we rushed to the rooms in the back, picked up a bible and read the verse…11 times because everybody was talking! We finally learned that we had to go outside, and DEMOLISH our pumpkin, which was fun. We pulled the letter out from the inside, which was the second decoder, and we raced over to the DOOM SPOT. I have never seen so much barf in my entire LIFE! Carl was pretty proud of himself for planning all those nasty food. I made it very clear that I would get him back for making me eat Clam juice. Another guy on my team (Faker) had to drink vinegar! Of sick, and there was SPAM! AND MUSTARD, WITH BARBQ SAUCE…and something else. Once again, Blue team was last, I had to eat a Jalapeño and my tongue swelled up, holy cow that was hot! Charles ate the other one, and his tongue swelled up too. We got the key out of whatever that thing was at the other table and raced off to the buildings in the back. We solved the code easily and headed up front. The winners were clear…The Red team one first, Orange was second…and Blue team was last. I didn't really care my tongue was on fire!
It was great fun, but man… Fear Factor Tuesday was something I'm glad we only do once a year.

It's coming . . .

Yes it is. Stay tuned.

Franklin Graham Festival

Franklin Graham Festival
November 3, 2007.
Meet at CCBC at 5:00 pm.
Cost is $0.
PLEASE SIGN UP W/ PASTOR JOHN.

Casting Crowns - Who Am I

I was searching youtube and only found this because friend first sent it to me. Check this out. It is truly amazing.



Blessings....

YAM Overnighter (Student Edition)

This is going to be a new feature for the blog. Rather than always having my perspective about what happened, I am going to have guest student writers to give their take on the events that we do. I asked Renee first, so here you go. Enjoy!!

Hi! This is Renee from CCBC. I'm sure you've seen me around youth group and church. I make sure to go every week. Anyway, I was asked by Pastor Gruber to write a report on what went down at the YAM overnighter. So, I gladly obliged.
It all started at around 6:25 PM last Friday. I packed my bags and headed to the church. We prayed and then were sent to our car groups. I was lucky enough to get Deb as my driver! The drive from Puyallup to Lacey is extremely long, and there was a wreck on the highway, so we got there a little late. After we got our stuff put away, we met people from the other church. They all looked nice, but they must have been nervous, because they weren't saying hello to Kelsey or me. But, Brandon, Blaine, Alex, and Colin were with us, so I don't blame them. I'm just kidding!!!! =D
So we played a get to know you game, where we had to find a bunch of people that had things in common with us that we didn't know. That was interesting. I got in a group of all guys, and they were like, "Hey! You're from the same planet as we are! We have that in common! Hehehee." I was like, ooookay, sure. So we pretty much stared awkwardly at each other for about 8 minutes until the game was over. Then I went back to Kelsey.
After that, we had worship and a sermon. I enjoyed the worship part; all the people in the band were very talented. I do wish that they played more upbeat songs, though. The songs they played were kind of sad. I thought they could've cut out a couple of songs to make it shorter, but it still was nice! Then Pastor Gruber did a sermon about how Christianity is a journey. It was very helpful to my Christian walk. But, again, I think that it was about 20 minutes too long, because after the worship and sermon it was like 10:30, which is usually when I go to bed, so I was kind of tired.
We had pizza (ladies first!), then we went to the YMCA! I love going to their YMCA because it has a rock climbing wall, but unfortunately they forgot to get someone to work the wall, so there was no rock climbing. We did link tag and other games that were really um, interesting, and very painful. They made me extremely sweaty and the guys held on to my arms too tight during link tag, so my arms were all red. But it was still fun! I straightened my hair that day, and it became all curly again, which made me pretty annoyed. It takes like an hour! I think that we should've done the roller skating first, because everyone got all sweaty from the YMCA and it was really gross having to get in the car again and be so close to everyone. But back on the Y, I didn't get to swim because Kelsey forgot her swimsuit, and I didn't want to go swimming without her, so we went to the exercising room. Brandon and Kelsey and I went on the treadmills. We were racing each other, but Brandon won, of course. Then Brandon tried to use the weight machines. That was hilarious! Next we went on the play place area, which I know is for little kids, but I haven't been on one of those in years. It was good getting in touch with my inner child! There were two lights in the room, so it was very dark. It made me scared, and it didn't help that Brandon kept on grabbing my ankles and screaming. (I watched 1408 the night before.) But anyway, that was really exciting. Then there were some troubles in love land, so Kelsey and I tried to help out. Of course, I don't really think we did anything, but it's the thought that counts, right? =) I tried to air-drink Alex Berger's mountain dew, because apparently I have girly germs and that is just not acceptable on his drink, but anyway, I completely choked and got a bunch of dew in my nose. Boys find this funny, apparently. IT WAS NOT FUNNY. I'm sure everyone who is reading this really wanted to know that information. You're welcome! =D Anyway, once we got all sweaty and icky, and my hair got frizzy and curly again, we drove to a roller skating rink. That was so cool, because they opened it just for us! I wish we could've done the corn maze, like last year, but I think it was cool that they tried something different. I don't like skating that much, because it gets pretty boring after a while. It didn't help that it was like 2 in the morning, and I was pretty exhausted. I really wanted to go to bed. We spent like 4 hours there, I believe. No one knew the songs, but Kelsey and I tried to dance to them anyway. Blaine, Brandon, and Cody used our hair bands to do their hair, which looked very interesting once they were done. (Guys, please don't braid your hair then put barrettes in them. Not a good look.) Kelsey and I took pity on them, though and tried to help. We did the hokey-pokey on roller skates. That was really fun! There were supposed to be roller skating races, but they changed their mind, so I took my skates off, then they changed their mind again and decided to have them, but I didn't feel like putting my skates on again, so I didn't participate. Once we were even sweatier from the roller skating event, we went back to the church. I almost got ran over by a car because I wasn't paying attention, but Kelsey saved me. Thanks, Kelsey!
The church sympathetically gave us a really yummy snack with a variety of food! We had about an hour to do whatever, so Kelsey and I played ping-pong for a bit, then tried to sleep, which is very hard to do when people are bothering you, so we did not succeed. At about 5:30 AM, it was bedtime. I laid on a church pew and tried to sleep, but there were people talking and a really annoying air vent or something that kept on making noises. I got about 2 hours.
In what felt like 12 minutes later, Deb woke us up. I put all my stuff together and buckled myself into Deb's van. She was so sweet and let us go to Starbuck's. We got lost, though, and didn't go to the right one, but that's okay. I got a delicious tall Double Chocolate Chip Frappechino. (I think I spelled that wrong.) Unfortunately, Deb got lost. Very lost. I admire how patient she was when she decided how lost we were. She was like, "Oh no, I think I'm lost." It was pretty funny. We went the wrong way down a one-way street. Then we tried to get on the highway, but apparently the people in Olympia don't like it when you do that, so they made it impossible to get on! Deb bravely asked a cop how to get on the freeway, and he told us. Even though we must have driven for at least 1 and a half hours, we got to the church only 20 minutes late. I really enjoyed going to the overnighter, and I hope to see you there next year!

YAM Overnighter Pics

YAM Overnighter

This Friday Night is the YAM Overnighter in Olympia. We will be joining with four other churches for this event. Meet at the church at 6:15 pm. The cost is $20. Bring your pillow, sleeping bag, modest swimsuit, your play clothes, and anything else you need for a night away (this would include deodorant for those of us who smell after physical activity). Roller skating, the YMCA, worship and finger rockets are all things we will be doing at the overnighter. We will return to CCBC at 9 am Saturday morning. Please contact Pastor John or the church office to get on the list.

First Friday Night Hangout

Yesterday night was our first Friday Night Hangout. We had video games, including DDR, Guitar Hero and Super Smash Brothers, basketball, movies and crafts. Jolene brought some delicious Nachos and cheese. It was great to see many of the students there, 24 when I counted.
The staff had discussed not having this event, but it seems the students want this and we will continue it for sure. There may be a small detour next month as the Franklin Graham Festival is in town the first weekend of November and there are going to be three great bands at the Student Night.

Soul Fuel: FREE Weekly Curriculum

Soul Fuel: FREE Weekly Curriculum for You - Dare 2 Share Youth Ministries, International

I mentioned this in Sunday School and told everyone I would repost the link. Check it out!!

Our Staff

Back row from L-R: Trish, Bruce, Deb and Clint
Front row from L-R: Nichole, John, Jolene and Carl
Baby row: Lily

Small groups

We started our new small groups on Tuesday. We will be working through a series from Simply Youth Ministry entitled Experiencing Life Together. I feel that an indicator of small group success is when they go over time because of the sharing and discussion. All of the groups on Tuesday went overtime. I am excited to see what is going to happen in our lives because of these groups.

Youth Group has been kicked off!

Last night we kicked off youth group at CCBC. We played some games, heard some words from yours truly, reunited staff versus students football and had a great time reconnecting after the summer hiatus.
Unheard of in youth ministry history we played a game with four teams and after five minutes of playing the teams were all tied. Each team member had a spoon in their mouth, had to a carry a Runt on the spoon a certain distance and then drop the Runt into a bowl. We then played a two minute sudden death and all the teams were still tied. We are going to continue this game next Tuesday.
Also starting next Tuesday are the small groups. We had a connecting time at the end of this week's youth group and are excited for the small groups to start.
We also unveiled the theme for this year.

Hillsong United Band Concert

Hillsong United Band Concert
Date: August 7, 2007
Location: NW Concert Center
Hours:
Gates open at 6:00 pm
Show begins at 7:00 pm

Admission: $15

If you're interested in going contact Carl ASAP

As if we wouldn't do it again MAN NIGHT!!!!!

Men of CCBC Youth Group. Man Night is this Friday 8/3.


Last Man Night was a blast! Show up at the church at 7:30 pm with a sleeping bag and your sense of adventure. We will try and sleep but we will see what happens. Mostly we will be eating some man food and hearing about how to be a Godly man as well as playing games, goofying around and most important having a great time being men together!. The event will end at 9:00 am on Saturday. We would love to see you there. Please contact Carl if you are planning on coming.

Tacoma Rainiers

August 2, 2007. 5:30pm at CCBC.

$10 for ticket hot dog, chips and a drink.
America's pastime and youth group, is there a better combination?

Field Day - AKA GAMES IN A FIELD!

MAN NIGHT!!

Men of CCBC Youth Group. Man Night is this Friday 7/13.


Show up at the church at 7:30 pm with a sleeping bag and your sense of adventure. We will be sleeping in tents, exploring the church property, eating some man food and hearing about how to be a Godly man. The event will end at 9:00 am on Saturday. We would love to see you there. Please contact Carl if you are planning on coming.

Graduation Celebration

Tonight at youth group we celebrated the 2007 graduates. We started off the night with a potluck, played a game, gave away a guitar and wrote our well wishes to the graduates. Sadly, this was the last regularly scheduled youth group of the school year.

The four graduates and Pastor John

Sabrina won the guitar and we practiced our best rock and roll poses

Ode to the CCBC YOUTH Class of 2007

We been on a journey together for the past few years. Some of you longer then others. I am truly proud of you all and apologize I will not be a youth group on Tuesday. I am sad that I can not be there with you but want you all to know that It has been truly a pleasure to serve with you. I can't wait to see what God has planned for you on your journey of life. I want to share a couple things with you all.

1) at times your going to get down and frustrated, know that its ok and that YOU may not be able to handle things on your own. Turn to God during those times. I pray that He will be your pillar to lean on.

2) Pray, pray, pray, pray. continue to draw near to Jesus. The stronger your relationship is the more it will help you in life. I can't express that enough. You will have many distraction in life but stay on course and continue to read and pray.

3) this one is the most important, LIVE AT HOME AS LONG AS YOU CAN SERIOUSLY!!!! Bills are poopy and if you can get away from not spending your money on rent DO IT!!! I would if I could right now!


Congrats Class of 2007 it has been an honor and a privilege serving with you. I pray you remember the wonderful things God has done these past couple year and you continue to build off those!

Blessings.....

Ultimate Frisbee Mud Dogs vs. Roughnecks

It was an exciting rainy day. All I can say is that everyone who wasn't there missed out. Ultimate frisbee was a success. Check out some of the pictures from the day!

Summer Camp

Its about that time again, Summer Camp! See Pastor John for more info!!

Youth Group is cancelled!

On January 16, 2007 we are canceling youth group because of the inclement weather. Have a great night, stay safe and warm.

Christmas Memories

Here are some pics from our Christmas Party that happened on the 20th of last month.