New Orleans Sunday

Check back tomorrow night for work pics.
AE

New Orleans Arrival

Parents, Friends, and Church Family,
We have arrived and are getting settled in. We arrived around lunch time and have been mostly taking it easy (though most of us did take our first M.A.S.H. style showers after we got here). No pics today. They'd be pretty boring anyway...mostly on the bus. Check back tomorrow for pics from our trip to the French Quarter, etc, and then check back starting monday for work pics.
AE

Final New Orleans Trip Info

Travel Details:
• Going there:
o We plan on leaving at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 28th from the church building
o We should arrive at the Tammany Oaks Church building somewhere around lunch time on Saturday.
o You should plan for up to 2 meals on the way to Tammany Oaks (breakfast and probably lunch), but you should eat dinner before we leave.
o We will be traveling on a charter bus with a professional driver. Also, we will be changing drivers along the way so that one driver will not be driving the entire way.
• Coming back:
o We plan on leaving Tammany Oaks (Mandeville), at 8 a.m., on Friday, August 4th.
o This should put us arriving at Grand Central in the (very) early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 5th. (We figure this will be alright since you will be anxious to see your kids and they will be anxious to rest in their own beds)
o You should plan for 2 meals on the way home (lunch and dinner). We will eat breakfast at Tammany Oaks before we leave.
Money
• The cost of the trip is $274. This cost is significantly reduced if you participated in fundraisers. This money should be turned in as soon as possible. If you are unclear on how much you actually owe, see Adam or Dana.
• Also, if you have been unable to raise all of your money, see Adam and Dana as soon as possible. We want you to go on this trip and will help make it possible.
• Your $50-$100 spending money is to cover your meals while we are traveling and our day trip (meal, souvenirs, etc.) on Sunday. This money will not be turned in to us. Each individual is responsible for their own spending money.
Contact
• Adam’s Cell: 304-210-8949
• Dana’s Cell: 304-210-8944
• Bruce Cox (Operations Manager): 985-373-5504
• Renee Ramsey (Volunteer Coordinator): 985-264-0947
Misc. Info
• You will need to turn in your “Volunteer Sign-In” form to Adam or Dana before we leave (adults too). You may download one from the youth blog (www.gcym.blogspot.com) or get one from Adam.
• We are strongly recommending work boots and jeans for the work sites (check Steve and Barry’s to get these items cheap). Tammany Oaks will provide shirts for the workday. The “jeans” thing is not a moral/modesty type rule. This is about safety. You may wear more casual (though modest) shorts, etc. in the evenings. We will be attending Tammany Oaks Worship service on Sunday morning, but the dress is casual.
• Also, you will want some sort of sandals for the shower.
• Tammany Oaks has air mattresses available, but if you have your own, it might not be a bad idea to bring it.

New Olreans Trip Form and Info

Below are links to the New Orleans Volunteer Sign-In Sheet and two other informational files (all files are Word files). If you don't remember filling out a form, then you probably didn't. Please fill it out and turn it in ASAP.

CLICK HERE for Volunteer Sign In Sheet

CLICK HERE for "What to Bring"

CLICK HERE for Volunteer Guidelines

The following is a list of those participating:
TEENS
1. Brandon Bucklin
2. Matthew Bucklin
3. Lindsey Knost
4. Matthew Jonas
5. Nicole Wooten
6. John Wooten
7. Ceyleigh Wooten
8. Sam Butterfield
9. J.T Spivy
10 Marcie Uhl
11.Garrett Harper
12.Rachel Craddock
13.Candice Miller
14. Madison Pavan?
15. Jenna Pavan?
16. Anna Spivy
17. Lane Knost
CHAPERONES
18. Carissa Bucklin
19. Eric Bucklin
20. Ryan Ice
21. Jessie Ice
22. Susan Ryan
23. Adam Ellis
24. Dana Ellis
25. Doug Reeder
26. Kathy Reeder

AE

Mystery Mission Trip 1

CLICK HERE for Anna's Old Lady Dance

Mystery Mission Trip 2

Mystery Mission Trip 3

Matisyahu Beatbox Clips for Jake, Evan, and Shae

Matisyahu Beatbox clips for Jake, Shae and Evan AE

WorkCamp '06: While You Were Out

CLICK HERE for David Fraze's Lessons from Tuesday and Wednesday Nights ("Legacy" and "The Chair").

AE

Summer Events Update

Here's the Summer Events Update that is being mailed to your parents this week. Be sure to download the summer calender from the sidebar.

Events

• Summer Blast Off Party—June 16th—This event is similar to a game night, but is designed specifically to welcome the upcoming 7^th graders into the group. This event will be held at the youth house and we request that all teens, with the exception of upcoming 7^th graders, bring $3 do help with snacks.
• Mid-Ohio Valley Workcamp—June 18-23—Sign ups are already closed out on this event and you should already have all of the info. Cost is $60, and more info can be found at www.movworkcamp.com
• Mystery Mission Trip—July 8-14—This trip is the brainchild of our intern, Ryan Ice. Not much can be said in the way of details, because most of them are a part of the “mystery”. However, we can say that it will be similar to the vbs style mission trips the Grand Central Youth Ministry has done in the past. Cost is $25. See Ryan for more details (though he may not tell them to you…it’s a mystery)
• Mountaineer Christian Youth Camp—July 16-21—We know that there are many camps in the area that are attended by teens from Grand Central. We also know that people tend to be fiercely loyal to the camp they have grown up attending. However, our own minister, Joe Spivy, is the director of this particular camp. Please consider attending Joe’s week of camp for a life changing experience. Cost is $100
• SonTreasure Island VBS—July 23-26—This is Grand Central’s VBS program for the summer of 2006. We are strongly encouraging our teens to help make this event everything it can be. With all of the skills our teens have developed doing VBS for other churches on mission trips over the years, we should be able to contribute to making GC’s VBS an overwhelming success.
• New Orleans Mission Trip—July 28-Aug 5—We will be partnering in the hurricane relief work that is being organized by the Tammany Oaks congregation in Mandeville, Louisiana. We will be traveling by charter bus. The cost for this trip is $274 per person. We recommend another $50-$100 for meals during travel and one meal out. Sign Ups are officially closed for this event (but if you or your teen still wanted to go, Adam would probably let you in).

Ongoing Events/Programs

• Sunday School—Teen classes will continue to meet on Sunday mornings in the youth house for the hour before our worship assemblies.
• Small Groups—The teens have been split into small groups that will be meeting in host homes for the summer. You should have already received a mailing regarding the details.
• Wednesday Night Classes—We will continue to meet for class in the youth house on Wednesday Nights. Teens will go to P.T. in the fellowship hall instead of class on the first Wednesday of each month and also when most of the group is on a church related trip.
• TAG at Powell—Our teens will continue the TAG program at Powell Apartments on Thursday Nights through the summer.

AE

Sam's Birthday!

Sam's birthday is this Friday (June 2). Anyone who would like to come is invited to have dinner at Applebee's. We're meeting there at 4:30. Afterwards we will be going to the auction. After the auction we're going to have a party for Sam at the youth house. You may want to call Sam and tell her if you're planning on going to Applebee's (just so she knows how many are coming).

Much Love

Anna

More updates and a couple of calendar corrections

• Game Night tonight at the youth house. 7-10 p.m. $3 donation requested to help with snacks.
• Powell night this Sunday night.
• The parents' meeting has been moved from Sunday, June 11, to Wednesday, June 14 at 6 p.m. at the youth house
• The "Welcome to Youth Ministry" Game night (to welcome the 6th graders) has been moved from June 9th to June 16th
• This Monday Heart to Heart will be held at Williamstown Park from 5-7 p.m. We plan on playing volleyball. Bring your own food (sack supper, drive thru food, etc.)

AE

Update

• OVU Lock-In this weekend. Meet at the church at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Have your parents pick you up at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the SAC. Cost: $10
• Sign-up Deadline for WorkCamp, New Orleans Mission Trip, and Mystery Mission trip is Sunday, May 21st.
• Forms and Money for WorkCamp are also due Sunday, May 21st.
• Graduation Sunday is May 21st.

Call or email Adam if you have any questions.
AE

Important Update

Wednesday Night

· This Wednesday night, Teens will be in PT, HOWEVER, the teens will meet at 7p.m. at the youth house for a short (15 minute) but important meeting, and then go to PT from there.

o In this meeting we will discuss: what happened w/ the 36^th St. Youth Rally, Mission Trip update and Fundraising/Price reduction opportunities, and general updates.

WorkCamp

· You should have received an info packet on Workcamp with registration forms a couple of weeks ago. We don’t need to tell you what a great opportunity to serve and what a great experience Workcamp is. Please get those forms in to us as soon as possible. Workcamp won’t be the same without you, and you won’t be the same after Workcamp.

Friend Day

· Please remember Grand Central’s Friend Day this Sunday (May 7^th). The challenge has been made for each member of GC to invite 5 friends. This challenge applies to you as well. Show them how it’s done.

AE

A couple of reminders.

1. Heart 2 Heart will meet tonight at 7 p.m. at the youth house. Tonight H2H will be led by Ryan Ice (it's Adam and Dana's 7th Anniversary).

2. Wednesday Night at 6 p.m. there will be an important mission trip meeting at the Youth House. This meeting is for teens, parents, and any other adults or college students who are interested in going. Please attend this meeting.

Here's the update we just sent out to parents. (A few dates have been edited. check for red font) ( New Calendar Available on The Sidebar)

Dear Parent,
I apologize for the tardiness of this update. A few things beyond my control were still up in the air, and I didn’t want to give you incorrect info. Again, I highly recommend that you visit our blog www.gcym.blogspot.com and subscribe by entering your email address in the appropriate form. If you do this you will receive regular updates. I have enclosed the updated calendar for the next 3 months. Note: some things are different than the tentative calendar you received at the parent meeting.

A few things I’d like to highlight:

• The Jr. Youth Rally will be held on April 22. We will need teens to help with this event as well as set up in the days leading up to it.

• There will be a Mission Trip Meeting (New Orleans) on April 26 at 6 p.m. This meeting is for teens and adults who are interested in going on this trip. We will give more detail and begin to solidify who is actually going.

• We will have a youth house workday on June 3. We need teens and adults to help us paint upstairs and put some finishing touches on the youth house.

• OVU will be hosting a lock-in on May 12-13. They are planning some interesting new things for the program that look quite promising to me.

• Graduation Sunday will be held on May 21. If you are the parent of a graduating student, we need your pictures as soon as possible. Garrett Harper has agreed to put together the slide show for us, but we need to show our appreciation by giving him as much time as possible to work on it. Also, please remember that you will need to set up a table in the foyer for your graduating student before Graduation Sunday.

• We will be hosting a Youth Ministry Game Night on May 26th at the Youth House.

• We will be hosting a Summer Blast Off Party on June 9 at the Youth House. This even will also serve as a “Welcome to the Youth Ministry” event for students graduating 6th grade.

• There will be a parent meeting on June 11th. This meeting will be much shorter than the last meeting and will be mostly informational. We are rethinking our approach to adult leadership which will slightly change the nature of these meetings.

• Mid Ohio Valley Workcamp will be held June 18-23. We have enclosed the registration and health forms for your student. Please help us by filling out these forms if they are planning on participating (and by encouraging them to participate). These forms are due by May 17 (no exceptions).

Small Groups:

• The majority of the teens (Jr. & Sr. High) will be meeting at the Youth House on Sunday Nights at 5:30.

• A much smaller group will be meeting in a group discussing financial issues (in the context of faith, of course) led by Doug Reeder. This group will meet at Doug’s house. He will be contacting the teens in the next two weeks with the details of when it will start, etc.

Upcoming events:

• We are thinking about going to “Spirit Song” at Kings Island on July 7-8. This is a Christian Music Festival plus and amusement park trip. This is by no means definite at this point.

• We plan on making a big push for the week of camp that Joe directs in July. Please encourage your teen to consider going. It would be great if we had a big group go together

• Ryan Ice (who has agreed to serve again as our intern for the summer) will be heading up an additional Mystery Mission Trip. It is open to everyone, but is an especially good option for those who can’t go on the New Orleans Trip.

Classes:

• We encourage you to check out what your teens are being taught. Most of our Wednesday Night Classes are available for you to listen to or download at www.ellisadam.podomatic.com . If you don’t have internet access or have trouble listening online, we will be happen to provide the lessons for you on CD.

Adam Ellis
Youth Minister
Grand Central Church of Christ
adamellis76@gmail.com
Cell: 304-210-8949

Birthday Lunch

Hi all! Well as some of you may know, my birthday is this Friday. If you can make it, I wanted to get some of us together to eat lunch at Applebee's. We'll meet at 1:30 and hopefully I'll have us a big table. I was planning on just having the girls, but if anyone else wants to come you are more than welcome. If you can tell me before Friday whether you can come or not I would appreciate it. I just want to make sure I get enough seats. =) Most of you probably have my phone number, so just call me.

Much Love,

Anna

Crowder/Third Day Concert Details

We will be leaving at 4:30 p.m. from the church building on Thursday (Apr. 13). You will need to pay the remaining money you owe for your tickets before we leave. Tickets are $24, but most of you should have already payed a $10 deposit. You will also need money for a fast food meal on the way to Charleston. We will be taking the Church Bus and a couple of people have agreed to drive mini vans. Call me if you have any questions
AE

Girls Retreat

Well, we had a great weekend together. We had great chaperones, the girls were great, and everyone chipped in and did more than their part. Thank you to Megan for her hard work and some great lessons.

PS:
Some of you still owe me money :)

The Continuing Drama of the Crowder/Third Day Concert

Just so you know...the concert is still on...but with a couple of changes.

I got a call this morning from the venue in Beckley. They said something like "oh yeah, the concert has been cancelled and rescheduled for the same day in Charleston at 7:30...but my tickets weren't good any more and they were refunding my money. I spent this morning on the phone getting new tickets. I really hope we enjoy this concert, because it has been a lot of work. ;)
AE

Updates (MAJOR EDIT!!!)

• Heart 2 Heart is tonight at 7 pm at the Ellis' house
• Teens will go to P.T. in the Fellowship Hall This Wednesday Night.
• Adam is speaking at Rally In The Valley at OVU this Friday Night. If you would like to go, we will meet at the fountain at 6:45 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.
• EDIT!!!! The Third Day Crowder Concert is back on! The venue called me today and released the tickets. We called everyone we could get on the phone who had signed up (though we couldn't reach some of you). We ordered the original number of tickets, so if we didn't get in touch with you and for some reason you are not able to go, let us know as soon as possible so that we can sell your ticket to someone else.

AE

Chili Supper Fundraiser

We will be having our first fund raiser for mission trip April 1, 2006 beginning at 6pm in the fellowship hall. We will be having a chili cook off, silent auction and entertainment.

Since this is a fund raiser and you are a parent of a teen or a person who has expressed interest in going on mission trip this year, we are asking that you bring a crock pot of chili, cornbread, simple dessert and a 2 liter. If you have more than one teen in the youth group just bring a little extra or maybe two 2-liters. Please have your items in the fellowship hall by 5:30. Don’t forget to put your name on the bottom of your crock pot for the contest. We will have a small prize for the winner for the best chili. You can make any type of chili you want.

We want all the teens at the building by 3:30 and we will have a list of things that must be done before, during, and after the fund raiser. If you are interested in raising funds to go on this mission trip you should be present in order to ensure you get your part of the profits from this event.

We are opening this up to congregation anyone who is interested in being a part of the chili contest is welcome to make a crock pot of chili and enter our cook off. Also, if you would like to donate something for our silent auction please let me, Lorrie Miller or Ronda Harper know as soon as possible.

We will be asking a $20 a family or $5 a person donation. Adam will be at the entrance gladly accepting the donations. We would like to know in advance if you are going to be participating in this, please let one of us know as soon as possible.

Bowling on Monday

We will be bowling on Monday at Emmerson Lanes at 2:00 p.m. The cost will be $8.50 for 3 games (this includes shoe rental). Let me know if you can go (there will be a sign up list on Sunday).

"Happily Ever After" Girls Retreat

We will leave for the girl's retreat April 7 and return on the 9th. It will be in Deep Creek Maryland. The cost is $30. If you want to go, I need to know soon.

Love from Above,

Dana

4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Game Night

The Night was lots of fun. The Junior High teens did a great job hosting the night and welcoming in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade!! Great Job You Guys!

GCYM Blog Wordcloud

Hey I ran across this WordCloud generator that you can use on you blog and I thought it was kind of cool. You should be able to use it for blogger, xanga, or whatever. CLICK HERE if you want to try it on yours.
AE

4th-6th Grade Game Night

Our Jr. High Group will be hosting a game night for the 4th-6th graders at the Youth House this Friday (March 10th) from 6-9 p.m. Jr. High students are expected to bring a 2 liter drink. 4th-6th graders don't have to bring anything. Just come and enjoy yourselves. As always, parents are welcome to attend.
AE

Third Day and David Crowder Band! (updated)

I just found out that there is a concert featuring Third Day and the David Crowder Band in Beckley on April 13 (a Thursday) at 7 p.m. I need to know very soon if anyone is interested in going. Tickets are $24 if we have a group of 10 or more. Let me know ASAP!

Edit: We have decided that we are going to take a group to this concert. If you would like to go, you must tell Adam by this Wednesday (March 8th) and pay a $10 non-refundable deposit. The balance will be due before you can get on the van to go to the concert.
AE

Girl's Retreat Planning Tea

There will be a girl's retreat planning tea at the youth house at 5:30 p.m. on Wed. March 1st. See Dana if you have any questions.

Attention Girls!

Hey everyone. The girls (sorry boys) will be going bowling this Saturday, February 25, at Emerson Bowling Lanes. We will be bowling from 12-3. You will need to find your own ride to and from Emerson. If you have no way to get there, call Jessie and we will try to work something out. If you would like to eat there please bring money with you. You will need atleast $10 , which will cover:shoes, two games, and food if you would like. This is not an official youth event. A few of us would just like to get some girls together so have some "bonding time" as Nicole would say. If you cannot make it, it is ok.

If you have any questions call:
Anna, Sam or Jessie

Much Love

WINTERFEST

Wednesday Night's Lesson

Whether you are a teen who missed Wednesday Night's class or a parent who wants to know what your kids are learning, you can CLICK HERE for audio of Wednesday Night's Lesson. The lesson was the first in a new series called "Join The Revolution", and in my opinion it's pretty important for the identity of our youth ministry.
AE

New Wednesday Night Series

What if Jesus isn't calling us to a comfortable ordinary life? What if he wants more out of us than just belief and good behavior? What if what Jesus really wants is a Revolution?

"Join The Revolution"
A new series of Lessons on Wednesday Nights.
Taught by Adam.

Superbowl Party

Don't forget the Superbowl party at the Wharton's this Sunday night. The party begins at 5 p.m. You don't need to bring anyting but yourself. Parents are more than welcome. We will have a devo at half time, just in case the Rolling Stones have a wardrobe malfunction (nobody wants to see that).
AE

Update

CLICK HERE for the updated winter calendar.

Teens go to P.T. this Wednesday Night.

Don't forget the Superbowl Party at Gene and Joyce Wharton's house this Sunday night @ 5 p.m.

Shopping! : )

Saturday January 28, 2006 all girls are invited to go shopping. We will meet at the foodcourt at noon, and eat lunch together then shop for a while. Hope you all can join! P.S. some of us will be going to the OVU games afterwards!

love y'all,
Anna, Sam, and Hannah

Mission Trip

I am posting a link to the organization that we will be working with this summer on our mission trip. CLICK HERE for a blog on which people talk about their experiences with this project. Also, you can CLICK HERE for an article that describes the work.
AE

Bible Bowl

Are you interested in being on the Bible Bowl team this year? If so, let Adam know as soon as possible. You can even let me know by commenting on this post. The subject this year is Genesis.
AE

Movie Night

Tomorrow night after evening services, the Ellis' will be hosting a movie night at their house for the youth group(as indicated on your January Calendar). We will be watching "Batman Begins". Parents (or anyone interested) CLICK HERE for a review. We will be using a Language Filter.

Winterfest Deadline

Our deadline for students to sign up for Winterfest will be Sunday, January 15.
AE

Heart 2 Heart

Just a reminder that Heart 2 Heart has moved to Mondays. In January H2H will be on the 9th and the 23rd, at 7p.m. at the Ellis'.
AE

TAG Meeting

There will be a meeting about TAG after Sunday morning services. We will be having pizza and "pop" that is a direct quote from Melissa :). Please let Melissa know if you plan to attend. Everyone is welcome to come. We will discuss some changes we will be making at TAG and the movie day on the 14th.


"...and whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

-Matthew 18:5

New Years Eve Party

January Calendar

Click Here for the January '06 Calendar
AE

New Year's Eve Party

You should have recieved a post card in the mail with the details, but the party at Adam and Dana's runs from 9-12:30 tonight (New Year's Eve).
AE

Teens go to Prime Time

Due to the renovations going on in the youth house, the teens will be going to Prime Time tonight

Applebees

Tonight before church, the youth group is going to Applebees to have dinner together. We will meet there at 5:15. Don't forget about TAG tomorrow night, meet at the old thrift store at 6:15 - 7:30! Hope you all have a good day! - sam and anna

Christmas Party

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! We will begin our long journey back home tomorrow. Here are the pictures of the Christmas party. Thanks to the Eckels for letting us do it at their house! It was lots of fun despite my very fun game that you guys complained about. You guys look really cute in your Santa beards. Garrett, we want to see your pictures too!!

Love you all,

Dana

Merry Christmas

Dana, Emma, and I hope you are all enjoying your break and having a great Christmas.

We will be having class next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Youth House. I will be walking us through Romans 14. If you'd like to read it between now and then, that would be great.

Don't forget the New Year's Eve Party at our house at 9 p.m. (umm...on New Year's Eve).

AE

Christmas Party

Christmas Party--Saturday, 6-9 p.m. @ the Eckels'. Bring a wrapped gift appropriate for a guy or a girl. There is a $10 limit on the gift. We are still in need of a few food items. Contact Adam if you would like to sign up to help with food.

Everyone Needs To Bring A 2-Liter.

There will be several games with prizes.

Call or email Adam if you have any questions.
210-8949
adamellis76@gmail.com

Update

Wednesday Night (Dec. 14)--The plan is to go "Christmas Caroling" to a few of our homebound members during the hour we are normally in class. Meet at the Youth House, and we'll go from there. We are still trying to contact some of the people we are going to see. We are in need of a few parents with vans or minivans to help us transport everyone. Contact Adam if you can help with this

Christmas Party--Saturday, 6-9 p.m. @ the Eckels'. Bring a wrapped gift appropriate for a guy or a girl. There is a $10 limit on the gift. We are still in need of a few food items. Contact Adam if you would like to sign up to help with food.

Call or email Adam if you have any questions.
210-8949
adamellis76@gmail.com

Sunday Night Narnia Movie

There will be no Teen Small Groups on Sunday Night.

Instead, We will be going to See “Narnia” at the Grand Central Mall.

We will meet for dinner at 6 p.m. at the food court.

We will be attending the 7 p.m. showing

Adam will be buying tickets in advance. If you would like him to purchase tickets for you, the cost will be $8 and he will need to know by noon on Friday. You may contact him one of the following ways:

Cell: 304-210-8949

adamellis76@gmail.com

*You May Not Be Able To Get In If You Don't Purchase Advance Tickets

CLICK HERE for a review of the movie

GCYM @ PT

Teens go to P.T. this week in the fellowship hall. Go to the devo in the auditorium at 7.

Dont forget to SUBSCRIBE for email updates. (check the sidebar)
AE

Subscribe

GCYM members,
Please subscribe to the youth blog. Enter your email address into the form on the sidebar and click the "subscribe me" button. You will then recive email updates from this site. This will be very useful for you if you don't visit this site every day. We would like all youth group members to subscribe. Thank you.
AE