CHRISTEENS 2016!!

Christeens time is here!!

Christeens is one of the best events of the year! (Since his move to Russellville, Jake Greer, formerly the youth minister at Center Street, is now in charge of it) It's a wonderful weekend of worship, bonding with each other, amazing speakers, teachers, and worship leaders, and TONS of fun! We stay in a host home (ours loves us so much, they've asked for us for 3 years running!) for free, and have wonderful devos at night with them. As youth rallies go, you won't find a whole lot out there that's better than Christeens! So here's the rundown..

WHO? ALL RAVE TEENS AND FAMILIES
WHAT? A weekend youth rally with over 1000 other teens from all over AR and the mid south
WHEN? March 4-6, leaving Rob Ave. at 5:00 on Friday, having already eaten (Snacks will be provided at the host home that night.)
WHERE? Russellville, AR, at the PAC of Russellville High School
HOW MUCH? $35
WHAT DO I BRING? Your own sleeping stuff (sheets or sleeping bag) and pillow, ALL of your bathroom stuff, BIBLE, warm clothes, and money to eat lunch and dinner on Saturday. You CAN bring money for venders at the event, IF you want to. (They sell shirts, hats, etc. with Christian themes.)

Check out the schedule below!

F'WEDNESDAY AT JOHNSON!!

We've been invited to a FWEDNESDAY (friends + Wednesday) at Johnson church of Christ from tonight from 6-8pm! FREE CHICK-FIL-A & BUFFALO WILD WINGS!! And great worship with NWA teens!! There will be a speaker from Harding University (plus info booths from Harding and Freed Hardeman) speaking on the topic of "By Design". Should be a REALLY good night, and hopefully our first of many!

WHO? ALL RAVE TEENS AND FAMILY
WHAT? A night of worship, fellowship, and free food
WHEN? MEET THERE AT 6, or caravan from church at 5:45!!
WHERE? Johnson Church of Christ (5602 Elmore St.)
WHAT DO I BRING? Just a bible and a friend if you like!

FAMILY NIGHT LIVE: ARCADIA!!

 The time has once again come for us to come together as FAMILIES and enjoy a night of good ol' fashioned video games!! Here's what it's all about..

The owner of Arkadia Retrocade in Fayetteville lost his sweet wife to breast cancer back in the fall. He's always been so good to us, and we've had special devotional prayer times with him, praying and signing for his wife via FaceTime. Through all this we've established a wonderful relationship with him. He usually charges $5 per person, but for our events there, he's never charged us more than $3. This week, he has decided not to charge us a penny, even though we'll be there after regular business hours. That's per person AND for two hours renting the place out. Yeah, he's a nice guy.

So here's what we'd like to do. I've invited both Johnson and Southside (and possibly Mount Comfy) to join us, and I'm asking everyone to bring a couple dollars anyway. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY, but if you would like to, I think it would be a wonderful gesture for us to "pass the hat" and give it to him. Regardless, we're going to a (huge) special devo time with him, and surround him with the love of Christ. So here's the skinny:

WHO? ALL RAVE TEENS AND FAMILIES (Bring the whole fam!!)
WHAT? A worship time with 2 other youth groups, plus unlimited video games, and food!
WHEN? Sunday night, February 21, 6-8 pm
WHERE? Arkadia Retrocade, 1478 N. College in Fayetteville
HOW MUCH? FREE, but feel free to bring a few bucks as a gift for Shea
WHAT DO I BRING? Just a 2 liter and the whole family!

JUNIOR HIGH RETREAT 2015!!

Junior High Retreat time is here!

This has become a bit of a "crowd favorite" and for very good reason. Junior high teens and parents alike have fallen in love with the uplifting spiritual atmosphere, the old and new friendships, and the time for junior high kids to come together in their own environment to worship God and learn about Him in very age-specific ways.

This year will be exactly that! We join forces with other NWA churches to spend a wonderful fall weekend drawing closer to God and forming powerful friendships that will last a lifetime!

PS: We would LOVE to have you join us and be a part of these and so many other kids' lives! Please let me know if you're interested and able!

WHO? All RAVE Junior high teens (7th - 9th grades) and parents!
WHAT? A wonderful weekend with other junior high kids from NWA growing in their faith
WHEN? October 23-25
WHERE? Camp Siloam in Siloam Springs
HOW MUCH? $40 for teens and $20 for adults/kids
WHAT DO I BRING? All your own bedding and bathroom needs, BIBLE, clothes for a variety of weather, any (safe) outdoor fun stuff you want to bring

FALL RETREAT 2015!!

Fall is upon us!!

For RAVE, that means settling down from an AMAZING summer and shifting into a more reflective, introspective mode. With that comes our annual FALL RETREAT! It's always a wonderful time of reconnecting with each and God and catching our breath from the hustle and bustle of the new school year. 

Last year we started what will hopefully become a new tradition of joining with the other churches who attend GVBC with us, and this year we're especially blessed to have Nick Ruple speak to us on the theme "FaithFull" and it's exactly what our teens need right now. 

We would LOVE to have a ton of parents join us, so if you're interested, please let me know! Here are the details, but if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask!!

WHO? All RAVE teens and parents!

WHAT? A weekend away to dig deep into the word of God and reconnect with each other

WHEN? Oct. 2-4

WHERE? New Life Ranch

HOW MUCH? $70 for teens, $35 for adults/kids

WHAT DO I BRING? BIBLE, all your own bedding & bathroom stuff, weather appropriate clothes for a full weekend including clothes you can get a little dirty in AND CLOSED TOED SHOES FOR THE CHALLENGE COURSE! (Also, bring hammock if you have one!)

This is ALWAYS and a phenomenal weekend, and so much of that is our parent support, so come join us!

SENIOR HIGH RETREAT 2015!

It's spring time again! And with it comes the annual Senior High Retreat! This one is gonna be SO GOOD, and it'll bring a chance for every voice to be heard and leaders to step up to the plate! We'll be at beautiful New Life Ranch in Siloam Springs, and we'll be talking about being ROOTED in Christ! This is one NOT to be missed! Hope to see you there!

Here's the skinny..

WHO? 9th-12th graders and any parents who would like to come!

WHAT? A weekend away to focus on God, relax, and enjoy each other's company

WHEN? April 24-26 (We'll eat at Wendy's on Friday at 5 and leave Rob Ave at 6:00)

WHERE? NEW LIFE RANCH, one of the best of the best around!

HOW MUCH? $85 for teens, $42.50 for adults (if money is tight, PLEASE let me know)

WHAT DO I BRING? BIBLE, sleeping bag and pillow, warm and cool weather clothes, bathing suit, ALL your own toiletry/showering needs, any outdoor sports or indoor games, cards, etc.

TREK 2015!!

TREK TIME IS HERE AGAIN!!

There's no way to capture in a blog post what happens when you go to Trek. It's a week-long mountain climbing worship and growth experience that's like nothing else. We go every other year to conquer a mountain together and the time has come once again to take the journey to Colorado!

PAYMENT NOTE: The total cost for Trek is $315. In order to prepare what needs to be prepared on their end (a LOT goes into what our guides, Wilderness Expeditions in Salida, CO provide for us.) they need about half the payment by the beginning of March, so we need a $150 deposit by Feb. 25 in order to get it to them on time and avoid late fees. (NOTE: PLEASE PLEASE talk to Keith/myself if money or the timing on the payments are an issue. We WILL work with you!)

SO...here are the details!
WHO? RAVE TEENS 9th-12th grades and ANY PARENTS THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME!!
WHAT? A literal mountain top experience like no other
WHEN? We will leave early the morning of June 26 and return late the night of July 3.
WHERE? Salida, CO
HOW MUCH? The total cost is $315, with a deposit of $150 due Feb 25
WHAT DO I BRING? I have bring-lists ready to go in my office, and we'll have a meeting SOON about how to best gather supplies and prepare for the trip. More details on that ASAP.