Elbow Grease

Greetings, faithful parental units. Tomorrow at FlipSide we will be having a night of outdoor games and competitions. Make sure your teen dresses to get sweaty or at least brings a change of clothes, lest you have a smelly ride home.

Speaking of getting sweaty… it’s time for SPRING CLEANING AT The ROCK!! We have designated Saturday, April 28th and Saturday, May 5th as church workdays. FlipSide will be in charge of cleaning the Kitchen on April 28th and the FlipSide room on May 5th. Both days will go from 9a-12p.

I’ll be announcing to the teen’s tomorrow night, “it’s time to clean your room!” (clever huh?) However, I’ve learned that my voice doesn’t speak nearly as loud as that of a parent. Please encourage your teen along with yourself to come and serve with us. Send me an email as soon as possible letting me know which Saturday (or both) you and your teen(s) can volunteer.

Thank you all for your help. We’ll have a blast!!

Matthew

I got in a fight last night!!

Hey ya’ll!! FlipSide went great last night. It was the second week into our series of “How to Lose a Friend” and I spoke on selfishness. The teens were a bit shocked halfway through the message when Matt Forstner raised his hand with something to say. He took the microphone and began to share how he feels that he’s been taking the backseat for too long and believes he should have a more prominent place in FlipSide. He and I disagreed and I told him we needed to talk about this after FlipSide instead of interrupting the message. He refused to concede and it escalated into a fight that Megan ultimately broke up. By the end of the episode, the crowd realized they had been tricked by clever theatrics. The point was made very clear about what happens when we only think of ourselves in our friendships, and I’m confident that Matt will go down in the history of The ROCK as the only teen to ever start a fight with his youth pastor.
FlipSide is growing and you’re playing a large role in it!! Thank you so much for understanding the importance of bringing your teens every Wednesday night as well as encouraging them to bring their friends. If any of you are interested in volunteering any amount of your time to help in FlipSide please let me know. During the month of May I’ll be speaking about living life at 100% and pouring everything we have into everything we do. Please don’t let your teens and their friends miss out.
We have some pretty big things in the works for this Summer, and I hope everyone can be a part of it. If you will be taking a family vacation, I would love to know about it so I can do my best to plan accordingly.
Don’t forget Friday, April 20, we’re having a FlipSide movie night in the FlipSide room from 7-930p. This is the same night as the marriage conference so we’ve made it incredibly easy for you to be a part of both! Thank you all for the blood sweat and tears you invest in your teens. Keep it up, we’re going places!!

Matthew

We’re Back…

… and we’re all alive… even me! We had a great time at Acquire the Fire. Several teens re-commited their lives, many lost their inhibitions in worship and nobody wanted to come back (well… except for me). The focus of the sessions were about losing the brand of the world and becoming known for the brand of Christ. It was a much needed trip with far reaching benefits.
This month at FlipSide I’m speaking about “How to Lose a Friend.” Yes you read that right. Last night I taught on gossip and the power of our tongue. Using a knife as an illustration I demonstrated how our words are sharp instruments able to speak life or death into another. I shared the importance of being a friend that others can trust. Next week I’ll talk about being selfless with our friends and not putting ourselves first.
I want to thank all of you for the effort you put into helping your teens bring their friends to FlipSide@LARGE last month. It was a huge success. We averaged 40-45 teens throughout the month and broke 50 one week. We saw 7 salvations and had multiple teens respond to the alter calls. God is certainly stirring the hearts of our youth to spread the truth and be fearless in their faith. Please continue to partner with your teen in helping them to bring their friends. God is doing great things in FlipSide and I don’t want a single person to miss it. Thanks again for all you do.

P.S. We will be having a movie night on April 20th from 7-930p in the FS room during the marriage conference. Please bring your teen along with $5 and we’ll also feed their bellies.

Gods & Yours,
Matthew