THIS WEEK (Sep. 2-8)

Miniature Golf (Sep. 2)
Students in grades 7-12 are invited to meet at Gator Golf just off of I-30 near Baseline Rd. We’ll meet there at 6 PM and play miniature golf until 7:30 PM. Cost is $8 for the golf.

Refuge (Sep. 5)
Refuge is our mid-week youth worship time for students in grades 7-12. The purpose of this weekly time is to 1) exalt Christ as Lord; 2) encourage our teens to bring a friend for whom they’re praying; 3) create an atmosphere where students are loved and encouraged to live more like Christ. We provide dinner for students from 6-6:45 PM each week for just $3. Our worship time begins at 7 PM with games and activities. We conclude each week by 8:15 PM. Please pick your teen up no later than that.
Let me know if your child needs transportations. Parents are more than willing to carpool and bring teens. This week’s menu is chicken spaghetti, green beans and French bread. We will serve banana splits as well.

LOOKING AHEAD

RAMP Groups (Sep. 9)
RAMP is our small group ministry just for students in grades 7-12. Each Sunday night from 6:00-7:30 PM, we will meet in the Nichols Ministry Building. Students are divided into age/gender-appropriate groups. Each group is led by a spiritually mature adult who has agreed to mentor these teens for the school year. This is a time for our teens to be encouraged and challenged to grow in their relationship with Christ. Once a month RAMP leaders will pick an activity away from the building to do with their RAMP groups. They will communicate these to you in advance. We have the following groups this year (Adult leaders are in parentheses): 7/8th grade boys (Chad Nall); 7/8th grade girls (Erin Reed); 9/10th grade boys (Doug Campbell); 9/10th grade girls (Linda Murphy); 11/12th grade boys (Tom Walker); 11/12th grade girls (Schell Gower).

Caving Trip (Sep. 15)
Barry Napier and I would like to take the teens caving on Saturday, Sep. 15. We will leave LRC at 7 AM and return around 7 PM. Students need to wear clothes that can get really dirty, bring a change of clothes, head lamp, sack lunch, water bottle and a little money for dinner on the way home. We are planning to explore Copperhead Cave. Barry has been taking teens on trips like this for years and is a paramedic. Contact Barry or Chad if you’d like to know more details about the cave or what’s involved in exploring a cave.

Best Friends Retreat (Sep. 28-30)
Our annual Best Friends Retreat is approaching very quickly. This retreat is done with several different student ministries from the Little Rock area. It’s for all our teens in grades 7-12 and is at Camp Tahkodah. This year’s theme is “Crushed!” Several adults from LRC will provide transportation to the retreat where we’ll spend the weekend exploring how God uses the events and things that happen in our lives to bring about his glory. Please talk to your teen about this weekend. They are certainly welcome to bring a friend. That’s one of the purposes of this retreat. It’s great if they bring a friend who they bring with them to Refuge. Cost for the retreat is $65. Please sign up and pay for your teen by Sunday, Sep. 16.

Understanding Your Teenager seminar (Oct. 14)
Many of you have already registered for this important seminar. For others of you, it’s not too late. I can’t encourage you enough to sign up for this three hour seminar hosted by a youth and family ministry organization called Home Word. Home Word is dedicated to helping parents of teenagers raise their teens. Our seminar presenter is youth ministry veteran, Mark DeVries. He will do an amazing job. Please make plans to attend. Registration is $15 per person. Make checks payable to LRC. We’re even providing child care for those of you who have younger children.