Please be in prayer for the 16 graduated seniors and adults at BigStuf Daytona right now, and our 137 headed to BigStuf Panama City Beach on Saturday. I have a feeling that if these students go, “Konnect” with their creator, and “Konnect” with each other, then BigStuf is about to happen in Hunstville… 
In His Hands,
Caroline
Associate Youth Pastor
Dear Lovely Cove Parents,
BIG NEWS. Your children are great. Absolutely great, just incase you were hitting week three of your summer and finding yourself with a little discouragement coming from your conscious telling you otherwise
Guess what is in THREE DAYS?! FINALLY!???! The BROWNING MONTANA MISSION TRIP!! Our team is working and serving on the Blackfeet Reservation with TEAMeffort. We depart from Huntsville International Airport this Sunday, June 12th, at 7:45 A.M. and will arrive back into Huntsville the following Saturday, June 18th, at 9:08 P.M. If you could just say an encouraging and uplifting prayer (or several prayers) for our mission team this week as they serve in an unknown area eager to build relationships with others around, develop a deeper relationship with God, and share His joy with everyone that crosses their paths.
Our Mission Team consists of the following members:
Allie Brockman, Ramsey Ceballos, Rachel Clark, Brian Clark, Paige Davis, Emma Davis, Kristin Dupaquier, Madeline Erickson, Alex Estopinal, Yvonne Hanna, Bobby Hanna, Caroline Hare, Justin Higgins, Chris Holden, Sarah Iosco, Nicole Jones, Charles Jones, Chloe Kluka, Paula McBride, Keeley McMurray, Kaely Mitchell, Collin Parker, Ben Riser, Rebecca Savas, Chandler Skelton, Daniel Sorrells, Lauren Tanner, and Megan Valavicius.
Last but not least, kind of saving the best for last, Kyle and his family are here! You guys, he’s a big deal. Like really cool. If you come to Sunday service, June 12th, make sure and introduce yourself to him in the lobby between services and just show him the love and excitement that I know is in all of our hearts. He is so ready to jump into his ministry at Cove and to start working and building relationships with your children. He will be speaking at Cross Roads and Liquid on Sunday, June 19th!
We are, of course, a growing church, with growth—change follows, with change—busy schedules follow. I pray for all of our parents and just ask that you guys continue to rejuvenate yourselves in the truth and always give yourself quiet time to soften your hearts. Being parents is a huge responsibility, but a parent who loves and finds joy in the Lord has a shield to worldly worries.
“First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” Matthew 23:26
“He shall cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” Psalm 91:4
Lots of Love,
5 cent (aka. Nicole Jones)
It is just something about this semester isn’t it?
From “thunder snow” to tornados, it has been hard getting a handle on a schedule this semester hasn’t it? I feel a little like we have been doing the shuffle…
Needless to say, I hope you are all safe and sound. I know there was a lot of destruction done in our surrounding areas even though we remain untouched.
Since our schedules have gotten a little topsy turvy with all this, I thought I would spend some time highlighting what has happened recently and what is upon the horizon.
Last Sunday was our “make-up” 8th Grade Recognition. The event in paticular had a great flow to it. Karen Pearson and Renee Kozar were in charge of the setup and food…which was wonderful! We recognized 43 8th Graders on Sunday. Truly, it is a testimony to the parents, small group leaders, and significant others in their life who have gently guided them so far.
Seniors opening gifts
Sunday night, I had the opportunity to join our seniors for their cookout. They
spent time playing games, Just Dance, and eating the wonderful food that Allen Wilson grilled for them. After dinner, Leah Miller presented her girls with a gift of a blessing ring. Allen Wilson presented his boys with a specific book for their faith journey. Inside each book Allen had written a note, and there was a note from themselves a year ago saying what characteristics a man of God should have. It was so touching to see the boys peek at what they had written a year ago.
On Sunday, May 15, we will be honoring our Seniors in the Well with a reception put on by Nikki Pope at 10:30 a.m. and then each Senior will be presented in Liquid. Parents, please plan to attend this special Liquid service on Sunday.
Our Montana Mission Team has begun having training. At our last training we had some silly team building activities in order for us to get to know each other. This Sunday’s training (May 15), we will be doing a scavenger hunt as we divide into “tribes.” May 22nd, we will have a special guest speaker from Cove named Charlene Horner and her son. Charlene grew up in Montana, and her dad actually grew up on a reservation. Her son currently lives in Montana but will be in town visiting. I can’t wait for the two of them to shed some light on what exactly to expect as we enter Blackfeet Reservation and Montana!
Our LAST Overflow has been postponed. It will be on May 22nd. It will be a good time to just hang out, eat pizza, play some games, worship, and enjoy it being the end of the school year. After Oveflow is over, our first College Night will begin. This is a good opportunity for Seniors to make an easy transition.
I have been contacted quite a bit about people wanting to help with relief efforts. The age limits have hurt us a little bit. We do have Impact Service days on June 23rd, July 14th, and August 1st. I have a feeling they will be needing help on this for a while. We just want to wait until finals are over and people are available to help, so mark your calendars for those days!
Nicole and her brother, Justin
Nicole Jones will be interning with our Student Ministry this summer. She grew upin our church, and she has come back to help with Road Trip, Encounter, and IGNITE this year. Nicole just graduated from Auburn University on Monday with a degree in Business. She has been feeling a call into ministry. Nicole approached me around Christmas asking if she could intern and get her feet wet. Which I, of course, was so excited to hear that! She will begin on June 1st. You may see her around a little bit beforehand. We are so excited to have her as a part of our team! She will be going on our Montana Trip, planning the Impact Service Days, and attending BigStuf Panama City Beach.
All in all, I know that is a lot of things to remember…and believe me I can list more things coming up, but I won’t 
. I am so excited to be able to share in your students journey in know Christ. The series we are studying right now is called “Pause.” I know with that list of activities, it has been hard for me to pause. I am sure you are the same way. When the power was out, it was so nice to simply pause. Please make it a habit to do so. The only way we hear from God is if we can pause and truly recognize Him. Enjoy each moment. Each season in parenting is different, and each stage there is some joy that the other stages don’t have…so please pause and enjoy them!
Tracie Rings Small Group hanging out during the power outage!
In His Hands,
Caroline Hare
Associate Youth Pastor
Epic. What a truly epic story, the story of Christ. A true hero. Can’t wait for you to hear John’s message and truly dive into thinking of Jesus as our hero in this epic story of life.
I hope you will make plans to attend Easter Services at Cove Church. We have a preview service Saturday night for those who are traveling and won’t be here Sunday morning. Also, we will have services at the normal 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. times. In addition, we will be having overflow in The Well at the 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. hours. Feel free to come across the parking lot and see our student ministry band lead worship and John simulcast in the Well.
Can’t wait to celebrate what God has done with you all this Sunday! He is risen; He is risen indeed!
In His Hands,
Caroline
A few months ago, I attended a conference called Catalyst that is intended for church leaders. At those conferences, oftentimes there are lots of freebies that are given out for people to use. One of the books that was put under each persons chair was this book called Generation iY by Tim Elmore.
After hearing so much about Generation X and the Baby Boomers (I’m still not real sure why they chose that name…), I have wondered, “what will they come up with for my generation or the one under mine?” Well, here it is folks. Generation iY is people born from 1984-2002.
A few weeks ago, my brain was feeling the need to be stretched, so I picked up this book and was completely startled. I was so startled that I shared the first two pages with all of our small group leaders in our weekly huddle. The book begins with a father writing his son a letter…in the year 2030. In 2030, our seniors in high school will be 38–around the age of most of the parents related to our student ministry. In this letter, the father goes on to talk about how the parents, teachers, coaches, youth workers, retailers, and employers of today impact how these students (or his son) will be in 2030. Some of the things he came up with that are results of how we lead these students are shocking, but a possible reality. In fact, one of our small group leaders jokingly blurted out when I was reading the letter, “Can we stop now?!”
Many times, we lead these students out of default. We do the best we can. We try to maintain. However, our not being intentional about leading them in their health, finances, spiritual lives, and manners may cause their very downfall in the future.
I hope you took the 4 minutes and watched the video above that talked specifically about the iY Generation. They communicate differently, and their reality is very different than ours in some ways. Due to the sheer size of this generation (they make up 30% of the earths population), they have a great ability to either be the most violent generation or the generation that influences change in the world for good. There is so much potential…we just have to choose to lead them!
I do recommend getting the book and reading for yourself. There is one chart in the 2nd chapter that I found very helpful. It has a breakdown of all the generations and their life paradigm, attitude to authority, role of relationships, value system, role of career, schedules, and view of future. It truly does put things in perspective when you see how they all stack up!
In His Hands,
Caroline
Last week at my young adult C-Group, we were listening to Andy Stanley talk about temptation. He kept repeating how the enemy, Satan, comes and steals our family, faith, and future through temptation and sin.
The Bible lays out clearly time and time again that Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
I hear from students and parents alike about struggles at home regularly. I also hear from young men, young ladies, as well as parents that struggle with purity and lust.
Please watch the video I posted below. This is Pastor Robert Morris from Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. It is one of the best sermons I have ever heard on purity. It may help you know how to talk to your student or even possibly help save a marriage!
As Pastor Robert Morris and Andy Stanley like to say,…we can’t let the enemy steal our future, faith, and family!
Sermon Center | Gateway Church.
In His Hands,
Caroline
Once a month in our staff meetings we spend some time talking about “organizational wins!” An organizational win is when you draw a play of how a ministry area is supposed to work and play out, and then you see it come to life. As I was having lunch with our student ministries “Demonstrate Coordinator,” Amy Cleary, I was sharing with her some of the organizational wins going on in our student ministry. I thought I would share some with you as well.
Small Groups (or C-Groups) are BIG part of Cove. Their purpose is for people to Discover, Develop, and Demonstrate God’s love in a Christ Centered Community. In our Student Ministry small groups their is a lot going on that isn’t generally public knowledge. Some of these groups in Liquid have been together since 6th grade. Some of you may have 6th graders and just beginning this journey in the student ministry. It is so neat to see these groups develop personality and begin walking out their faith. I usually get tid-bits of what is going on in each one or get to attend some activities. I just wanted to take a minute to hi-lite some of the “organizational wins” we are having in small groups and organizations with in our ministry.
Bobby Pannone’s ICU group has been working on a pulley system for a local school’s science lab. They built this themselves.
Debbie Leeth’s group has been talking about reaching out in the community, and here is a picture from their second year of putting on something called “Ester’s Closet.”
Melissa Layne & Song Wallace’s girls got together a few weeks ago to have lunch and go over the book they are studying called Do You Think I’m Beautiful by Angela Thomas.
Maralyn Fryberger’s group got together to do some service that was “hands on” and then went and got manicures. They are also getting together to have dinner and karioke tonight!
Leigh Martin’s Drama Team has been working on some skits for our upcoming talent show…maybe even involving black lights…pretty cool, huh?
Ryan Sealy, one of our high school students, is going to brave Open Well on April 1st with an ice cream truck!
Our band has been working hard on their music and learning how to lead worship. They have been sounding great! It’s been good to see students show up to practice even though they aren’t playing that week, just because they want to be together.
Crissy Albright’s group had lunch together this past weekend, and they are planning a skating trip soon.
The 6th grade girls recently got together to make goody bags and go sing at a senior center.
The 6th grade guys have been getting together fairly often to play some football.
Allen Wilson’s group got together recently to have dinner, and it simply made me smile when I saw them playing basketball before small group discussion on “World View.”
Josh Pannone and Matthew Little will be going to Kenya this summer together with Vapor Sports Ministry.
I got to witness Stephanie Pope give a small devotion thought at Fellowship of Christian Students at HCMS a few weeks ago.
Those are just a few of the organizational wins I have been seeing. Just thought I would share how we have been “winning!” Last week I talked about how everything we do in the student ministry has a purpose…well, these are just a few of the examples of how a structure with a purpose can equal changed lives in action. Some of these students have activly been walking out their faith…some of those examples are of leadership…some are just of students wanting to be together in fellowship. All of those are a-ok with me and ultimately a win!
In His Hands,
Caroline
