Fight Night

Last Sunday night our Student Ministry hosted Fight Night with Shawn Michaels (otherwise known as, “The Heartbreak Kid”). If you weren’t able to attend this is what the night was all about: get as many area Middle School and High School students as possible to attend the event, present the Gospel, and connect new students to our Student Ministry. Our team spent the better part of two months planning, sitting in meetings talking through all kinds of different ideas for games, skits, and more. And what we ended up with was better than what anyone on our team could have predicted. Approximately 400 students, 150 adults, and 75 volunteers.

The sanctuary at North Way Christian Community – Wexford transformed into the Fight Night Arena.

Ligonier Camp and Conference Center brought Laser Tag and from 5-7pm students were able to play thirteen on thirteen games of Laser Tag. In addition, we had sumo wrestling, pedestal jousting, a bounce house pillow fight, a snowball fight, and an obstacle course! That, and a photo booth and an awesome food truck (thank you BRGR)!

The photo booth allowed students, interns, and volunteer leaders to take awesome pictures like this one throughout the night!

All of the different game and activity stations were open from 5-7pm and then from 7-9pm we hosted a program in the sanctuary of our Wexford campus that culminated with Shawn Michaels speaking and an invitation to begin a journey with Jesus.

Brad Beggs, the Director of Student Ministry at NWCC – Sewickley Valley (left) and Vince Giordano, the Director of Middle School Ministry at NWCC – Wexford (right) in our Fight Night skit.

Shawn Michaels telling his story at Fight Night.

Discipleship Experiment

Life changes happens best in small groups. It’s a simple statement, yet, I believe, profound. Life change brings images of transformation and evolution. A person becoming something more than they were before, a person growing progressively into the person that they’ve been created and purposed to be. It also carries images of breaking free from anything that might repress or oppress. Whether it be someone who, by the strength and power of Christ, overcomes an addiction, or begins to believe God’s words about who they are and how valued they are as compared to culture’s words of identity and value, or whether it’s someone who is freed from a vice, “life change” points toward profound things.

At North Way and in our High School Ministry we believe that we are here to see people set free to follow Jesus. So, creating and cultivating environments where life change and transformation can happen are of utmost importance. They should also be of the utmost importance to the church – to you, who are the church.

For the past several weeks our Student Ministry (at all of our campuses) has been working through a teaching series entitled, “#nofilter.” We’ve been trying to uncover the ways that we apply filters to our lives that change our appearance, or our ways of acting in different situations or in different groups of people, and to the ways that we hide our struggles so that we will not be perceived as weak. I believe that the best way for our students to take forward steps towards living an unfiltered, authentic, consistent life is for their minds to be renewed by the power and Word of our great and loving God.

So, this year we’ve launched our discipleship initiative and we’ve called it “Discipleship Experiment (DE).” We’re focusing primarily on getting our students connected to mid-week Bible Studies where they can learn the Word of God and be in community with other students. It is through these groups that profound life change can and will happen for our students.

Here are the meeting dates/times:

• Monday Guys: 7-8:30pm at North Way – Wexford w/ Dennis Allan and Tanner May.
• Monday Girls: 7-8:30pm at 4000 Conifer Ct. Apt. 205, Wexford w/ Emily Domasky
• Tuesday Guys: 7-8:30pm at North Way – Wexford w/ Ted Deitrick and Matt Hrydil.
• Tuesday Girls: 7-8:30pm at North Way – Wexford w/ Rachel McConnell.
• Wednesday Co-Ed: 7-8:30pm at 640 Lincoln Road, Bradford Woods w/ Karen Fitting.

If you have questions regarding Discipleship Experiment (DE) please contact Dennis Allan at dennisa@northway.org.

The Mission Field

Every year I begin our ministry season by sharing some statistics with our High School Ministry volunteer leaders and college interns. These are the enrollment statistics of the five area High Schools that the majority of the students engaged in our High School Ministry attend. North Allegheny Intermediate and Senior High: 2,735. Pine-Richland High School: 1,567. North Hills Senior High School: 1,470. Seneca Valley Intermediate and Senior High: 2,300 (approximately). Mars Area High School: 830. In total, that’s 8,902 High School students. When you add in the other schools represented in our ministry (Hampton, Deer Lakes, Eden Christian Academy, and North Catholic) that total number jumps to over 10,000 students.

But, let’s stick to the 8,902 High School students in our immediate area. Let’s allow that number to settle into our minds and hearts.

How many of those students do you think are following Jesus with their lives? I’m not even asking how many of those students are attending church with their families because church attendance does not equate to living a Jesus-centered life. Seriously, how many of those students do you think are following Jesus?

We could simplify our brief conversation by focusing on the number of students who, because they haven’t been rescued by Jesus and claimed as His own brothers and sisters, may spend eternity separated from God. But that would be too easy. Because we know that our faith isn’t just about an eternal destination. It’s about a way of life. It’s about being a disciple who makes disciples. It’s about understanding that no matter how much darkness there is only a speck of light is required to push the darkness back so that hope can be seen and discovered. It’s about an abundant life that brings an abundance more rich than physical pleasures or financial success, but the kind of abundance that fills us with lasting joy and peace no matter the circumstances. I could go on, and probably should, but I won’t for the sake of time and space.

So, how many of the 8,902 High School students in our immediate area do you think are following Jesus, living as disciples who make disciples, and who hold tightly to the promise of hope in all things, trusting that the Lord will lead and guide them? We’re the local church. We’re the hope of the world. And the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is in us.

Do you pray for our area High Schools or do you believe that youth culture is too far gone for the Gospel to not only reach our youth but to transform our youth? Do you pray that the friends of your students will know Jesus or do you believe that they need to find their own way and their own truth?

I believe that we should be on our knees praying. Because what happens to our community if 4,501 High School students are living their lives sold-out for Jesus? What would it look like if our area High Schools were outposts of hope and love?

We begin our ministry season this Sunday, September 8th. And I’m believing that this school year our ministry will care for 2% of the immediate High School population. That’s 178 students. And we’re already over half-way there. This is do-able. Will you pray with us?

Pittsburgh Mission: Unity (and other reflections)

The mission trip officially ended at 10am this morning. But we’ve been using the late morning and early afternoon to continue being together. We played in a park across the street from the Project. We ate lunch at Bistro To Go on East Ohio Street, in the heart of the North Side. Then we took the T (Pittsburgh’s subway) into downtown so we could spend some time at Point State Park.

This week our students worked together in groups ranging in size from seven to ten. I purposefully mixed students and friend groups up on this trip with the hope that our students would make new friends, deepen relationships that were surface level at most, and that our ministry would continue becoming a unified student body. The grouping process went through multiple iterations, all with the help of Emily Domasky (an excellent young leader who has served as an intern in the High School Ministry for each of the four years I’ve lead the ministry). I prayed that God would knit our students together, building a more deeply connected group of students. And I am humbled when the Lord answers my prayers quickly and tangibly.

This is Emily Domasky and Christian Locher’s work group. They became like family this week. And so they slipped away from the larger group to get a last few minutes together before rejoining the larger group.

Other groups have been doing the same thing. Nobody was in a group with more than two other people who they would have considered a true “friend” prior to this week. And last night, as we met as a team and shared highlights from the week, the trend was clearly unity. New friends. A larger network of fellow Christian students to do life with.

We’ll be home around 4pm today and there’s a large part of me that wishes we still had more time together at The Project. Because it’s a period of time when our students are at their absolute best and undistracted from the rigor and drama of school. Also, several of these students will be leaving in the next two weeks to begin their collegiate life. And each of them has served a vital role in our ministry. This week I split our graduated seniors up and asked them to pour into our younger students, and they did that with great joy. And they did it well. I’m confident that the faith foundation that will support each of them throughout the remainder of their lives is in place as they leave our ministry.

Last night I sat with our team and told them what I had already shared with you. That they became the answers to people’s prayers. People that they didn’t even know were alive until this week. Such is the Kingdom of God that He would send His people to be the answer to His people’s prayers, even when those people do not even know the other exists. I wonder what joy the Lord takes in bringing such diverse people leading such different lives together to bless and encourage and support one another. The way that He intersects lives is beautiful. And all we have to do in order to be a participant in this beautiful intersecting of lives as the answer to each other’s prayers is to be faithful and obedient, willing to position ourselves so that God can freely use our resources, time, and gifts. All in an effort to redeem His people and creation. All in an effort to liberate people. All in an effort to bless one another with a life abundant.

Last night, I told our students that I care deeply for them. That I am proud of them. And that they are good. It’s something they need to hear often. But when we say it we need to really mean it. We have to have a real reason to speak these words, otherwise they seem empty. I can’t wait until the next opportunity that I have, or that you have, to speak these life giving and affirming words to our/your students.

Pittsburgh Mission: Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers

Homeowner night. It might be the highlight of the week. It’s the night that our students get to bring the homeowners they’ve been serving throughout the week to The Project for dinner and a church service. Our students sit alongside their homeowners to share a meal, then stand alongside their homeowners to worship the Lord. One body. Diverse. Worshiping together.

Then the students get to talk about their homeowners and present them with a flower. Here is Sara Weigand presenting a flower to the homeowner she served, and then Sidney Pell presenting a flower to the homeowner she served.

Then the homeowners speak, sharing thoughts, wisdom, and praise. One homeowner thanked the Lord for the students repairing a leaking pipe. Another for the students fixing his roof, so that he and his family can sleep in a house that doesn’t leak for the first time in years. Our students don’t too often hear people praise God for their pipes that work or their roof that doesn’t leak. I know that we’re all thankful for our houses. But I know that I don’t ever stand before the Lord and consider these things miracles. Literal miracles.

And then the homeowners, in their own words, connected the dots for our students. Last week, their house didn’t function as a house. It was broken. And the homeowners literally had no idea if their houses would ever be repaired. Or if they would be left in their current deteriorating conditions. Or, perhaps, if any one would notice their need. And then, as the homeowners tell it, God answered their prayers by sending our students. The homeowners look at our students and tell them, “You are God’s answer to my prayers.”

Our students need to understand that when they use their time, talents, gifts, and resources to serve the poor, the needy, the forgotten, the overlooked they become God’s answer to other people’s prayers. Our students become miracles. Just because they did what their Savior and Lord commanded. That’s a good lesson. That they cannot learn enough. That none of us can learn enough. That all of us need to understand and put into practice.

Our ministry’s vision is to equip our students to be leaders for life, disciples who make disciples. This week our students learned a lesson in how to be a leader for life. And they did it well. With joy and praise.

Pittsburgh Mission: Homewood and the Hill

Rachel McConnell and Josiah Kenyon are leading a workgroup in Homewood. Siani Null, Samantha Holland, Brittany Brubaker, Lilly Beck, and Braden Rathmell are painting a fence, hanging dry wall, and are doing interior painting. They’ve connected well with their homeowner and the homeowner’s dog, Red, who accidentally brushed against the freshly painted fence and now has literal red lines on his body.

Jordyn Smith and Josh Updegraff are leading one of our three workgroups in the Hill District. Today, the team is building a retaining wall for their homeowner, as well as some other outdoor work. Eme Akwayena, Erica Swaney, Zoe Pell, Jonah Simon, Alex Locher, and Austin Plants are serving their homeowner well.

While at the worksite I asked the team about their experience this week. Zoe Pell, who also traveled to Honduras on a mission trip with our ministry in early July, spoke about the power of serving and meeting the needs of people locally. In many ways, Zoe was speaking a very theological idea. That as God’s people we are to be on mission to everyone everywhere. For the city and the nations.

Ryan Duran and Evan Pucci are leading another group serving in the Hill District. Audrey Domasky, Makayla Joseph, Laura Locher, Sidney Pell, and Josh Bowers are painting today and, earlier in the week were pointing the exterior brick walls to the house. I spent some time talking with the team about their experience and what they’ve enjoyed about serving in the Hill District. They mentioned getting to be in a part of the city that they’d never otherwise visit, and they mentioned how meaningful it is to recognize the needs of their neighbors. But, as a group, they were struck by just how close their worksite is to Consol Energy Center (literally just a few blocks away). They talked about how they’ve been to Consol for Penguins games or concerts and never realized the kind of neighborhood that was just a few blocks away, replete with its people and needs.

This is really the fundamental reason we do the Pittsburgh Mission Trip. There’s nothing flashy about going to your own city for a mission trip. But we want to raise a generation of Christian leaders who will be disciples who make disciples. And disciples selflessly serve one another and their neighbors. Disciples look for and identify the needs of the people and the community’s in which they live and work, and then bring their gifts, talents, and resources to bear on those needs. Because disciples know the power of the God who sends them on their mission. Disciples know that they need only to be faithful and to be serving their neighbors, seeking to free them to follow Jesus, in order for the power of the Spirit to liberate people from the chains of sin and death. Our students are growing into true disciples. And I cannot wait to watch them as they begin to make disciples of their classmates and friends!

Pittsburgh Mission: Wednesday Begins

Every morning at the Pittsburgh Project service camp begins with breakfast, then morning devotions, then a skit, and then every team picks up their lunch cooler, tools and materials, and gets ready to leave for their day of work. This morning our team is tired, but wanting to finish well. Today is our team’s final day of work. We’ll be home tomorrow at 3:30pm. Here are a few pictures of our team from this morning!

This week Ryan Duran, who is shown in the last picture, is leading a workgroup with Josh Bowers in it. Josh’s father, Darren Bowers, has poured into Ryan’s life since he was a Middle School student. In fact, this week Ryan is using a journal that Darren gave to Ryan when he was a leader on a Middle School Mission Trip to West Virginia five years ago. And it’s the same kind of journal that Josh has been writing in this week.

I share this story not necessarily to celebrate Pastor Darren (although he is worth celebrating), but because I love the picture it provides of what the church looks like. When we are the people of God on mission for God we share our lives and give of ourselves for the sake of others. And we hope, pray, and trust that someday those people we pour into will pour themselves into others. It’s that coaching model of watch what I do, try it alongside me, then try it on your own. Pastor Darren has been living this for years, and his life has borne much good fruit. This week, Ryan is sharing his life and giving of himself for Josh.

And as a young leader and a young father, I see the power in the example that Darren has set. And I’m excited for the day that one of my former students pours their life into my children.

Pittsburgh Mission: High School Musical

We have amazing students. Students who are working hard to serve and love homeowners. In many cases our students are doing things they’ve never done before. Repairing a roof, ripping up a kitchen floor to put down a new kitchen floor, or hanging dry wall. At points our students are wholeheartedly focused on the task at hand. And at other times, a musical breaks out (or a short, awesome recital).

This is Noah Pepmeyer, Kara Hoffman, and Jamie Ramsey. They all attend North Hills High School.

Pittsburgh Mission: The Hill

Julia Calabrese and Becky Blake are leading a workgroup that is painting, repairing steps and handrails, and flooring a house in the Hill District. Jesse Campbell, Taren Hodges, Kirsten Beck, Nate Hodder, Justin Blincow, and Callin Gribbin are serving their homeowner well.

Their homeowner is an 85 year-old widower who survived cancer. Her live-in caretaker is her niece, whose son also lives at the house. Our students are enjoying serving their homeowner, and the conversations they’ve gotten to have with her.

Yesterday, I wrote about the North Side and, in particular, the Mexican War Streets neighborhood. I described it as two separate neighborhoods co-existing within and around one another. There’s tension and disparity. A neighborhood that needs more residents to take up the task of being a true neighbor.

The Hill District is a proud neighborhood, with a rich history. For example, the Hill District once was a center of African American culture and had prominent clubs that hosted some of the most well-known jazz musicians of their time. Art Blakey, Mary Lou Williams, and John Coltrane performed at The Crawford Grill #2 and drew a racially mixed, international clientele. Below is a picture of The Crawford Grill #2 today.

And the homeowner our students and leaders are serving doesn’t really have neighbors to act neighborly anymore. The house our students are repairing is the only house on its side of the street and across the street there are only remnants of houses long since abandoned and a few that are completely burnt out. The picture below is a panoramic view of what the homeowner sees when looking out her front door.

The Hill District isn’t two people groups living in the same neighborhood. It is racially homogenous: predominantly African American. It’s a community surrounded by opportunity and resources, and yet seemingly uninvited to share in either. On one side is Oakland, with several world-class colleges and universities. Half a mile away across the Birmingham Bridge is South Aide works, urban redevelopment at its “finest.” Yet, when leaving the worksite in the Hill District and driving through the South Side to our worksite in Carrick, I was struck by something. Something seemingly so obvious. When driving through the Hill District I saw multitudes of African American men and women walking, sitting, or talking on street corners, but absolutely no white men or women. But as I crossed the bridge into South Side and drove one and a half miles along Carson Street until turning onto Saw Mill Run Boulevard towards Carrick, I saw countless white men and women, dressed professionally and fashionably, either enjoying some leisure time or a lunch break from work. The number of African American men and women that I saw could be counted on my two hands. This isn’t a judgment statement; it’s an observation made from driving from one urban neighborhood to another close to 1pm on a Tuesday afternoon.

After living in the North Side for seven years and observing what I have, and after my drive from the Hill District to Carrick this afternoon, I’m even more thankful for North Way. I’m thankful to serve a church that is committed to bridging the divide and reconciling two groups of people who need to be reconciled to one another. We need reconciliation. The Gospel tells us as much. We are the body of Christ, and we need to be reconciled to Christ and to one another in order to fully live into our mission as the people of God. I’m thankful for men like Freedom Blackwell, Bryan McCabe, and Doug Melder who live in diverse urban neighborhoods and who are leading our church as we seek reconciliation. The local church is the hope of the world, and our students are extending that hope and love across racial and economic boundaries this week, much as our church is seeking to do every week.

This week our students are learning some of what reconciliation truly is and what it looks like. I’m proud of our students, selfless servants. Thank you to every parent and family who is supporting our students this week!

Pittsburgh Mission: Painting Spring Hill

Emily Domasky and Christian Locher are leading a workgroup serving a family in the Spring Hill neighborhood in the North Side. Madison Steinkirchner, Allison Grant, Alli Hoffman, Alli Behr, Taylor Coke, and Jessie Johnson are painting the first floor of the house.

The team has been hanging out with Judah, the grandson of the homeowner, and this morning the team got him his own paint roller attached to a long stick so that Judah can paint alongside the team. Judah’s desire to participate alongside and as part of our team demonstrates his need for meaningful relationship.

So much of the Pittsburgh Project’s ministry is to care for and build relationships with the homeowners an the families that they work with. The relational aspect of this mission trip is emphasized, to the point that our students know it’s more important to love on the homeowners and their families than it is to accomplish the work. So many families in the city (and all throughout every neighborhood everywhere) don’t have a community of people that they’re connected to. When a family is financially under-resourced they oftentimes are forced to withdraw from communities and relationships. They don’t have cars to take to church or anywhere else. As people turn frail and elderly, accessing public transportation becomes significantly more difficult. And as families fall apart, the most intimate and natural relationships we’ve been designed to experience are absent. Family provides an identity to each of us. We know who we are and where we belong, in part, because of our family. And when family isn’t present or when it isn’t functioning well, we struggle to know who we are and where we belong. So we begin to look to other people, outside of our family, to provide those things to us. I’m thankful that this week Judah has our students and leaders to look to, to encourage him and love him.

The painting is important. It’s our means for serving families and being invited into their homes and lives. It’s also one way that we demonstrate that God has not forgotten His people, that He will provide to meet their needs. This week our students get to be God’s provision for seven homeowners and families. And for Judah, he has a house full of people who will show him just how loved he is.