A Summer Well Spent

As our internship comes to a close, we wanted to share with you some of the most valuable lessons that we've learned here at New Beginnings. Though we could go on and on about the incredible leadership here at the church and what they've taught us, we would like to highlight three things that have changed our lives.

1. Fill Up Your Tank

Each Monday both as interns and when Next Level was here for the month of July, we had the opportunity to learn leadership skills from Terry. Not only did he teach us what it means to be leaders in the ministry, but he taught us invaluable lessons about life. Whether it be how to write a resume, how to present yourself as a confident person, how to plan an event, or just how to be plain awesome, Terry covered it all. But the subject that stood out the most to us the topic of 'filling up your tank'. So often we get caught up in our busy lives doing unnecessary - and even necessary - things that just wear us out. Before we know it, we can't give ourselves to anything because we've given part of ourselves to everything. Then we find ourselves exhausted and lacking passion in the very thing that we know we're gifted at. For us, we have learned that rejuvenation is critical. REST is critical! If you've been with us for 100% Jesus, we've talked about the fact that the Sabbath isn't an option, it's CRITICAL! But what we've learned is part of being able to be productive and to give the best of what you have is to refuel yourself. Sabbath rest looks different for many people, and it can range from sleep to riding bikes to watching movies all day, but it's important to find out what works for you. It's also important to figure out when you're running out of gas and when you need to refuel.

2. Work In Your Giftedness

So how do you keep from running out of fumes? You figure out what your gift is and use it! We were all blessed with gifts from God and they are all different....thankfully! In 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 Paul talks about how the Spirit has given each person a gift "to produce what is beneficial" (HCSB). We're all called to participate in the kingdom, but a lot of times that looks very different from the call God's placed on our neighbor. That's how we function! However, don't get this confused with willingness. As we discussed these issues with Terry, we realized something. Both of us as interns will (most likely) be willing to do anything you ask of us - even if that means Derek is crunching numbers for a budget (which he hates by the way...). So with that, if we make Derek crunch numbers for a considerable amount of time, he's going to get burned out quickly, but that does not mean he wasn't willing to do the job. We're realizing that by working in your giftedness, not only do you enjoy what you're doing, but you're more productive and beneficial to the ministry. Plus, if you're working in your giftedness, then it probably doesn't feel like work! It's what you're built to do! Don't get us wrong, you can still run out of gas, but refer back to point 1 in recognizing when that happens.



3. Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help

We're a body. Just as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:14 "So the body is not one part but many" and in 1 Corinthians 12:18 "But now God has placed each one of the parts in one body just as He wanted". We're built for community and we're built to work together. Yet, so often we think we need to do it all ourselves. Most of that derives from selfishness and pride. For example, as interns when we are given a task, we feel as if the entire project is on our shoulders. And what we fail to remember sometimes is that we may not be gifted in administration, or vision, or whatever that gift may be. We need others to help us stay on track. When planning events, we can brainstorm all day long but we need someone with administrative skills to step in and say 'let's get this started!' The cool thing about this point is that while it works in our individual lives, it works within our families as well. And that's why we love NB Families. We're here for each other. We can't do all of this alone and we shouldn't have to. The parts make up the whole of the body, and we are the body of Christ. So don't be afraid to ask for help!

We're truly honored to be part of this NB Family.

Lacey and Derek

Welcome To The Next Level

Hey everyone!  It's Intern Tuesday again so get excited. As we continue to highlight the various ministries of NB Families, this week I would like to focus on a summer leadership program called "Next Level," hence the title of this blog. "Next Level" is a month long leadership program designed for incoming junior and senior high school students. We started the program here at New Beginnings three summers ago. The year we started the program was actually my (Derek) first year working as an intern here and Lacey was an exiting senior and participated as a student. That being said, Lacey and I have had a lot of experience with this ministry program and it has been really cool to watch it progress!

On a personal note, the program has been and still is extremely beneficial to my spiritual growth and the development of my leadership skills. I can honestly say this, and I promise I'm not just sucking up to the rest of the staff, (though they do deserve major credit for all the hard work they put in every week) I have learned more in the 3 summers I have worked at new Beginnings then the 4 years I spent at college. Part of that may be my fault though. I always joke that the two things I learned at school were how to cook and how to take naps.

Anyways, since I have built up so much hype about "Next Level," I should probably tell you what all it involves. At the beginning of the summer, the interested students went though an interview process to evaluate their commitment to the program. We end up taking 8 to 10 students each summer. What the students commit to is a Monday-Thursday teaching time which starts at 9 a.m. Thats right, no sleeping in for these future leaders. The teaching time is a great opportunity for our students because they get to hear and learn from each of our pastors here at New Beginnings. Each of our pastors focus on different areas of leadership. For example, yesterday Terry led the students in an event planning activity where they had to delegate responsibilities, plan an entire event, and do it all under budget. All of our students did a fantastic job and I'm sure Terry was glad that they all managed to do it under budget!

The next focus of the program is not only to teach the students how to be better leaders but to actually put the ball in their own court. They are actually planning an entire VBS for the John 3:16 kids! How cool is that? Typically from 10:30 to 11:30 the students work on planning and coordinating their big event. Two years ago, our next level group served at Salvation Army helping them organize a large storage container and various other needs. Last year, the group put on a day in the park for families in need! It was awesome!

Lastly, Next Level provides the opportunity for our students to take upon leadership roles in various ministries on Sunday morning. Our students get to serve everywhere from Genesis Kids to worship arts. I've found this to be a very fruitful experience. If you want to understand what NB Families is all about, there is no better way than serve in all the different ministries that take place on sunday morning.

I think the coolest thing about Next Level is that it paints a great picture of NB Family ministies. A church that takes the time to invest in its youth, a church that understands that our young students are going to be future leaders, and that they are a generation that is going to make a difference!

-Derek

*Here's a couple videos from the past Next Level classes:

• Next Level ITK 2012
• Next Level ITK 2011

Salutations! From Derek Auffenorde and Lacey Painter.

Salutations! We're the interns, Derek Auffenorde and Lacey Painter. You've probably seen us around making noise and hurting your ears. And if you haven't seen us, we're probably cleaning the toilets....just kidding (maybe ;)).

The NB staff has asked us as interns to highlight some of the ministries that we have the incredible opportunity to serve this summer.   This week we want to focus on the worship service and how it is an integral part of NB Family ministries.

NB Family ministries made its debut long before we gave it a name. As we discussed what the contents of this blog were going to be, we realized that our idea of family is not limited to the walls of our home or our genes. Since first attending New Beginnings as young students in the youth program, the church has become our family. You may have seen us leading worship once or twice around here, and that didn't start because of a random idea we had while daydreaming in Algebra. We were encouraged not only by peers our age and older, but by the leaders in this church, both staff and volunteers, who helped us define our gifts and cultivate our leadership skills. For example, the Church (the people...not the walls) never gave up on us even when we were blowing speakers in the children's room with out-of-tune guitars, a Lacey singing way off key, and a Derek who thought he was the next John Bonham, creating the next Hillsong United masterpiece.

 What happened, though, is that people stepped in to be our cheerleaders, to give us constructive advice on how we could be better, but most of all to just love on some scraggly high schoolers. Family, at that point, became defined not just by bloodline but by a group of people who loved us as their own, welcoming us with open arms no matter how terrible we sounded.

This is why we love NB Family ministry. Worship service plays a huge role in what we do here at New Beginnings. From our vantage point as worship leaders it's beautiful to see the church come together as one. It's a great representation of what we do here at this church and what NB Families is all about. Though there are several ministries that make up this family, the worship service is where we all come together as one, just as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV) "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." Whether you're a student, a young adult, a parent, a worship leader, or just a member of this body, your part is important in unity and may even be important in raising up some crazy high school kids who just want to play music all the time. What you do is vital here, and it's appreciated. New Beginnings family ministries is designed to encourage the development of a healthy family in the home, which in turn overflows into a healthy family within the Church.