elevating a generation

Here’s the powerful video that Pastor Patrick used in his message to us on Saturday night at Snow-Inn 2008.  Several of you have requested to see it again; here it is…

Here’s the long story made short: we were all planning on going to the annual youth convention in Pierre this weekend with about a thousand other students from all over the region.  That didn’t happen because of a snow storm that swept through South Dakota leaving I-90 closed down for a good portion of Thursday and Friday.  On Friday evening we made the hard decision of canceling the trip and planning an alternative weekend with a few of the churches here on the West side (1st Assembly and Bethel Assembly of God).  As sort of a bad joke, we decided to call the event “Snow-Inn 2008″ (we booked the Quality Inn hotel for the overnighter).

Now this was no small feat!  I feel like we’ve been “on” since Thursday evening - watching the weather, pushing back the trip departure, sending out all the trip updates (no small task to get everyone informed), eventually canceling the trip, and then deciding to plan and execute an alternative event.  The student pastors gathered at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning to plan the next 24 hours.  Talk about God’s hand on this thing!  For the amount of time we had to plan, it was amazing to me how great everything played out.  What an amazing, impacting weekend!  Here’s our video highlights that we debuted at the service last night…

Last night our students shared about their weekend and what God did in their lives.  I sat there with tears in my eyes through the whole thing.  I was so overwhelmed (and probably just plain physically fatigued, too :-)) by how FAITHFUL God was to touch students live exactly where they needed it.  Several of our students were praying and fasting leading up to this event and God answered their prayers.  Several of them stated that they were glad that we DIDN’T make it to Pierre for the simple reason that what happened this weekend wouldn’t have been able to happen if we had.  Wow!

Click here to listen to student testimonies from Snow-Inn 2008 (mp3); you might want to fast forward through the music part (that’s when we were showing the video).

Now, I’m all about the cool effects, great worship band, the big dodgeball tournament at the aquatic center, and the wow/pizazz of youth convention in Pierre.  The AG youth district puts on a very excellent event in Pierre and that’s why we’ve made it a priority to be a part of it for several years now.  It’s impacted our students in HUGE ways.  I was a little bit concerned that this weekend was going to “fall short” of all of that expectation… but again… can I say it again?  God is so faithful!  I didn’t hear one student mention/complain that we didn’t get to go to Pierre this weekend.  That’s HUGE!

We went out and served our community through a two-hour “Impact Rapid City” event where we simply went around and shoveled in our comminty (sidewalks, driveways, and in one case shoveling out a truck).  We worshiped God through music and word in two services, we had some pool/hang-time at the hotel, some crazy late-night activities, and met with God.  Pretty simple but so powerful!  So thankful for our amazing students, leaders, and volunteers who helped make it what it was!

Click here to see pics from the weekend!

We are sorry to report that the 2008 youth convention trip is a “no-go”.  We’ve talked with a state trooper who told told us that travel would likely not be safe, looked at the Department of Transportation reports, and even heard news of a Trinity Bible College van going to convention that flipped (please pray; no students were seriously injured): - all of these things together point towards unsafe travel to Pierre from the west side.

We are currently planning an alternative gathering of students and leaders (potentially with three churches that weren’t able to go from the west side of the state).  Our plans are to meet at 2:00 PM at the Quality Inn Hotel on Lacrosse in Rapid City.  Please bring shovels, warm clothes and weather proof shoes for an outside service project, and everything else as noted before in our posted hand-out.  The weekend we are planning will include worship, messages from the local youth pastors, some hang-time at the hotel swimming pool, and more.  Three meals will be included for the event starting with Saturday evening’s meal.

If you are a student who was registered for convention and plan on coming to this event, the total charge will be $30 for the weekend.  This will come out of your Extraordinary Youth Convention fee with the remainder refunded back to you after the weekend.  If any other students (who were not registered for convention) want to jump in on the alternative event, contact us ASAP to get the details and confirm that we have space available.  Thanks much!

If you want to keep up-to-date with play-by-play text and pic updates from youth convention this weekend, visit us online at Pastor Shawn’s Twitter account: http://twitter.com/shawnmichael.

Also, we just found out today that Sunday’s Night’s evening celebration service @ 6:30 PM is going to feature student testimonies from convention.  We hope to see you there!

I’ve been getting a few phone calls and texts this morning in regards to the Extraordinary Youth Convention.  As of present, all plans are still on despite the weather.  The tour bus company says that as long as the department of transportation is declaring the roads safe, they are “all in”.  So, that means we still need you to be there at 8:30 AM tomorrow morning as planned.  We may get to our destination later than planned, but it looks like we’ll get there.

If you weren’t able to make the informational meeting last night because of the weather, you can download the hand-outs here…

Some important things to remember (included in the hand-out):

• pack a sack lunch for Friday’s afternoon meal; we’ll eat it upon arriving in Pierre
• no electronics (including cell phones, iPods, music players); we want to help you foster relationship this weekend - EXCEPTION: digital cameras are allowed
• bring cold weather clothes (including winter coat and walking shoes)

If anything changes, as far as cancellation of the trip, we’ll make sure to contact everyone right away.

UPDATE @ 5:45 PM Thursday night —————

The road conditions have not gotten any better and D.O.T. is still reporting the interstate shut down. Our plan for now is to still go to convention, but we may not leave at the same time depending on what happens overnight. Pastor Patrick will talk with the tour bus company at 6:30 AM Friday morning and we will re-assess the road conditions in town, on I-90, and in PIerre at that time. We’ll post updated information here, on Twitter, and on Elevate Electric (for those subscribed) as we get new information. We are looking at a possible 12-noon or even 3:00 PM departure time, if needed.

Again, check back here, Twitter, or your e-mail inbox for updates tomorrow morning. We’re trying to direct all traffic here so that our phone lines won’t be ringing off the hook in the morning. Thank you.

For your information, we’ll also be posting weekend updates and pics on Twitter all weekend long if you want to follow our progress.

UPDATE @ 9:00 PM Thursday night —————

The departure time has been officially changed: we are meeting at First Assembly of God Church at 11:30 AM.

We received an e-mail from convention coordinator, Mark Entzminger, stating the following:

“It appears that the roads will open again tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM which means traffic should be flowing at a decent pace shortly after that time. It also appears the Blizzard Warning/Winter Weather Advisory will be lifting tomorrow before noon.”

Leaving at the later time will allow all current warnings to expire and give the state a good jump on cleaning the roads. Thank you so much for your understanding throughout today as we gathered information to make a decision that reflects the safety for all involved. We will see you at 11:30 AM for what we believe will be a powerful weekend of meeting with God.

Again, if anything changes, we will continue to post updates here, on Twitter, and through Elevate Electric.

UPDATE @ 10:00 PM Thursday night —————

As for the current plan (meeting at 11:30 AM @ 1st AOG), please either eat lunch before your arrival or pack your sack lunch to eat on the bus.

A reminder to PLEASE pack warm winter clothes.

UPDATE @ 8:00 AM Friday morning —————

The current gathering time is still currently planned for 11:30 AM at First Assembly of God this morning.  If you foresee problems getting there because of road/weather conditions (if you are still waiting for a plow, etc.), please notify us immediately via cell at (605) 209-1105.  We need to be informed.  Thanks much.

As we have been stating, please check back here before leaving this morning to double-check that there haven’t been any changes in plans.  You guys are the best!

UPDATE @ 9:00 AM Friday morning —————

Okay, thanks for calling us and letting us know about the road conditions.  We are officially moving the departure gathering time to 2:30 PM at First Assembly.  Stay tuned.  If we have to delay until tomorrow, that’s what we will have to do.  We’ll post updates here!

IMPORTANT: Let’s still plan on bringing your sack lunches.  We’ll eat those on the bus for dinner this evening if the current plans play out.

As of present, we have confirmed through D.O.T. and families close to the interstate that I-90 has not even started to be cleared.  We also heard from several of you that are still waiting for the plow to come through your areas.  Don’t worry; we won’t leave until driving conditions are safe according to D.O.T. and the tour bus company.  That is our first priority.

UPDATE @ 11:30 AM Friday morning —————

The departure has been cancelled for TODAY.  We are trying to get word from D.O.T. and other sources to see if a departure time tomorrow would be feasible.  Check back on the blog this evening for any updates.  Please call if you have any questions.

The D.O.T. did not advise travel today and I-90 is still not open on our side of the state.  If you want to leave us feedback as far as whether you still want to go or not, please do so at shawn@elevationgeneration.org.

UPDATE @ 3:30 PM Friday afternoon —————

If you haven’t yet, please let us know what you are thinking about tomorrow.  Would it be worth it to go for the last of the convention (if the roads clear up)?  As of now, the SD Department of Transportation is still reporting most of western South Dakota roads unsafe for travel.  We’re going to keep an eye on the reports and make a decision, but we still want to hear from you.  Shoot us an e-mail.

Check on South Dakota travel updates here:

I was watching Youth Specialties’ podcast this morning, which featured live footage from last weekend’s National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) in Pittsburg.  It moved me… I’ve attended several of these in the years past but wasn’t able to go the last couple of years as I was saving up for a trip to Israel (which was also a life-changing experience).  But… I’ve really missed NYWC and can’t wait to get back this year at the event in Nashville.  Here’s the YS Podcast for those of you who are interested…

Watching this took me back to the last NYWC Deanna, Amy, and I attended back in 2005.  The location was Sacramento, CA and we had little-Mikella (less then a year old) with us for the trip.  So fun!  So many great memories…

Did I say that I can’t wait for Nashville?!  This year I have the added joy of being one of the event’s live-bloggers.  You’ll be able to join Deanna and I in real time at http://nywc.com/live (will go live during the convention).  Again - so fun!

I’ve been studying this generation since my last year at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, TX.  This generation is said to be “socially engaged”, “the best volunteers you’ll ever have”, and students intent on “making things right”.  I believe in this generation and in God’s purpose for them to exact His loving justice, peace, and mercy in our nation.

The term “Generation WE” has gone viral with this new YouTube video (ht to the Source for Youth Ministries) bragging over 700,000 views… a good glimpse of what this generation looks like.

Sometimes you’ve just got something inside of you that needs to be let out (like this raccoon):

ht Neatorama

So excited to be able to help out my friend Jason Salamun by singing at Project Church tomorrow night, 6:00 PM @ the Alternative Fuel Coffee House. I’d love to see a few familiar faces there, if you can make it!

I met Jason earlier this year through our blogs and have had a few meals with him since.  I love the guy’s passion and heart.  Project Church was planted downtown last month and is reaching out to a group of people that many traditional churches don’t generally reach.  I love it!  Here’s a video highlighting their current message series.  Tomorrow night’s message will address the question, “Why does God allow suffering?”

Some fun with Kella in the park as I share a little bit about the new message series at Elevate…