Published March 17, 2017
Grace Baptist Church, Batavia, New York
Corey
Ministry Highlights
Family Visit: It was a huge blessing to have my parents visit. They were able to officially meet their newest grandson! Jaycee and I had a great time catching up and spending quality time with them, it was refreshing and recharging to our souls
Snow Camp: Snow camp was a blast for both our leaders and teens. It was a great weekend to just get away from our everyday distractions and then be challenged by God’s Word in a fresh way. The biggest “win” was seeing youth leaders make progress relationally with students and as a result fall in love ministry even more.
Equipment Provision: The youth group was in need of some “new activities,” so I found some volleyball poles on craigslist for $25 from a local college in Buffalo. When we arrived to pick them up the man generously gave us two bags full of collegiate quality volleyballs, a box of hockey sticks, and a bag full of replacement hockey blades. We offered him more money but he refused to take anything for the extra items, he was just glad to give them to a church. In something as simple as this situation, I was able to see God’s care/provision for even the littlest of things.
Preaching: Getting the opportunity to preach is always a highlight for me. The feedback I received was very positive and I am excited for my next opportunity!
Key Prayer Requests
Salvation: Please pray for the salvation of my fellow hockey coaches. A few of them have expressed interest in coming to church and I know that they will come in time!
Youth Seminars: I will be teaching a workshop at Youth Seminars in March. Please pray God uses this workshop to challenge teens with how well they love the “hard to love” people in culture today.
Finishing Strong: I am not sure if I am “behind,” but I know I am definitely not “ahead” when it comes to projects/internship requirements. Please pray that I am diligent, able to make the necessary time, and successfully complete what is required.
Wisdom: Please pray for continued wisdom in navigating my different roles as a Husband, Father, Pastor, Coach, Student, etc. I desire to honor God to the best of my ability in every opportunity that He has given me.
Prominent Lessons
Parents, in today’s culture, tend to be harmful enablers rather than useful trainers of their children. In handling disciplinary issues on the hockey team, I realized that many kids “get it honestly.” The parents were more difficult to manage than the kids at times.
A little visit goes a long way. I was able to visit my fellow coach while he was in the hospital over the course of 8 days. Just a handful of visits for 30 minutes to an hour seemed to mean the world to him. I realized that no one else really visited him during the day, so me visiting during that time was super encouraging to him. I am thankful for the opportunities that God gives me because I am in pastoral ministry.
Retreats have the potential to do great things in the lives of teens and leaders. I feel that snow camp was such a success because it stripped them of distractions (technology), encouraged them to be relational with their peers and leaders, and caused their attention to be focused on the things of God.
Having people in your home increases your opportunity to positively influence someone towards Christ. Jaycee and I had two of the hockey coaches over for dinner on a Friday night. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an incredible time. They both stayed late, talking about life experiences, hockey, and genuinely had a great time. It was a great opportunity for them to see a godly marriage relationship, hear us pray in our home, and be exposed to joy that a relationship with Christ brings.
Key Goals for the Next Month
Applied Bible Analyses 3 and 4 (complete).
Project 3 (complete).
Project 4 (75% complete).
Get together with the coaches for dinner again.
Jaycee
Ministry Highlights
Visit with Corey’s parents: It was great to see them/have them meet Trevin in person and spend time with them.
Snow Camp: We had a great weekend with students and leaders. It was neat to see new connections made between our group.
Meals: This month we had several opportunities to have meals with several people from church and from Corey’s hockey team. It was encouraging to make connections with more people.
Key Prayer Requests
Youth seminars coming up.
My continued growth as a mom and ministry life.
Prominent Lessons
God cares about me and knows what I can handle. He is there for me no matter how I feel.
Key Goals for the Next Month
Attend ladies Bible study.
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