November 2013 Newsletter

“God is going to sweep the world with His saints.”

These are impactful words shared and spoken by Oswald Chambers in his famous devotional which I read each morning and evening. He’s referencing the famous verse in Romans 8:28, “all things work together for good to them that love God.” God has been sweeping the world one person and one military youth at a time between Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. It’s a pleasure to share some of these God sweeping stories with you.

The Hunter Club Beyond group together as we're awarded our amazing
gift from the Savannah Priory of St. Vincent, Knights Templar.

Most recently, one of God’s saints showed up in an enormous way in connecting with me pertaining to a financial contribution to the ministry at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. This gentleman shared with me how his organization (Priory of St. Vincent, Knights Templar) would discuss it over and vote on what ministry they would choose and let me know later in the fall, and low and behold, they chose Club Beyond! Not only did they chose us, but we were a benefactor of such a large contribution that it will provide largely for our middle school and high school summer camp efforts already underway. It is through amazing strategic partnerships like these that unfold where God shows up in the mightiest ways to see His plans come together. God knows that one of my areas of continual concern include finances and how we’re able to fund our student ministry with limits being put on giving, and God showed up sweeping our world with His saints in this amazing gift..

A snapshot of all of the wonderful lady leaders with our
teenagers during Girl's Day!

More of God’s saints include a group of ladies who poured numerous hours into an epic Girl’s Day event at Fort Stewart from 10am to 9pm. They intentionally planned the day to focus on the theme of ‘treasure’ and how each girl is one of God’s treasures in His eyes. I personally have never seen anything more dedicatedly planned for our students until now. Beginning the day with getting all ‘prettied up’ together then transitioning to personal letters written to themselves along with a love letter from God to take home and then finishing the day with a celebrated neon glow stick dance party together, this group of dedicated women truly blessed our teenage girls throughout this special day. It was apparent by the end of this day, each of these teenage girls felt like they were God’s treasure. Never before I have seen a group of ladies lay down differences to make such an impact on our students like this in an all-out full day effort. These saints truly swept my world. 

If those stories aren’t enough, God chose to show off to the highest limit. It was a typical Friday afternoon lunch with my dear friend and fellow leader, Walter. I was beyond myself and caught for a loss of words, at least 5 minutes or so. It was then that I knew God was showing off huge with the people I am connected here. I got to spend 5 days with the love of my life when originally we both thought we’d not see one another for a 6 month period at Christmas time.

Amy and I with our dog, Neicy, while spending time together
at Holbrook Campground one cool afternoon. 

We started to share about what had been happening with our week when all the sudden his wife, Cathy showed up at lunch with us. I really didn’t think much of this since she’s joined us times before. It was then seconds later around the corner that my fiancée showed up from 1,060 miles away in person to surprise me for my birthday coming up in the next week.

Oswald Chambers was correct in his statement that truly God will sweep this world with His saints. Interestingly enough it is the world I view all the time and apparently God wanted to show off some throughout the month in His timeline.

Thank you for joining me in this mission so we can become God’s saints sweeping military students’ worlds that can be so chaotic with upcoming finals, Christmas season during deployments and even upcoming new seasons of change from moves of friends or their own lives. We are thankful for you and your belief in this calling to reach our military teens in Georgia. 

October 2013 Newsletter

Christian (#8) with his lacrosse team after a
phenomenal win last season in Savannah.

Christian is one of our longest-tenured students to attend Club Beyond at Hunter Army Airfield and continues to attend this year as the only high school student to date. He attended summer camp with our epic group of students this past summer and it’s apparent – he believes in the continued community we offer together each week at Club. As we finished up our competitive, sweat-induced guys marathon day at Hunter, it was noticed by not only me but my buddy who attended that Christian was a leader. All of the boys that day were 6^th graders, except for him, and it was obvious. He comes weekly to Club, ready to play whatever game we get together to start – typically KanJam or Spikeball, both games he loved and played at summer camp. He’s always willing to jump on a team with a new guy to show them the ropes on how to play all the while never being selfish and remaining humble. It’s because of games like those, experiences at summer camp and events throughout the year like the guys marathon day that grow the relationship that continues with students like Christian. We get to know their passions – Christian’s passion is specifically in the high speed game of lacrosse. Rather than just know him each week from coming to Club, I have seen him compete and play in this game and it’s phenomenal.

A large mass of our high school students gathered outside
before kicking off Club one evening this month.
The group's exploded in size! 

In splitting our ages for middle and high school groups, we have been amazingly blessed beyond anything we can imagine. Our ‘core groups’ are now at least 25+ strong in middle school and near 30+ strong in high school. With so many things competing for their time on an ongoing basis such as sports, homework, extracurricular clubs, family, jobs, and anything else we can throw in – it’s unreal to see so many students in our high school group committed to attending each Wednesday night. After visiting with our leadership team about this topic specifically, we all figured something out: these kids want something ‘real.’ They want to get out of their routine at home and spend time with friends and adults where they aren’t judged and truly can be themselves and not put on another ‘mask’ like they normally will do wherever they go. It isn’t uncommon to see our high school group attendance to eclipse the middle school number weekly, which proves these thoughts correct. True relationships.

If that isn’t enough for bragging on what God has been doing here as of late, we’re preparing for our annual Halloween alternative event with our Chapel communities, the Fall Festival. Last year we were able to provide plenty of assistance to the event, however, God had more in store here this year. As of the latest count we have over 40 students signed up to help us out and bless our community in reaching out and caring for the families. It’s such a blessing to get to see so many students ready to jump and show their willingness to help out on an event that does so much for our community.

Cathy sharing with our students the importance of being 'poured into'
by God on our Sabbath so we can 'pour into others' throughout our week.

It all comes back to real life being lived with the youth. There are going to be leaders in the fray at the Fall Festival developing relationships with our youth who know how to have a good time but also care for them in the same breath of air. No matter their age or where they are coming from, our military teens want to know someone cares for them. They want to know that we’re there not just for the weekly “Club,” but for things they are interested in doing. It’s because of a blessed leadership team taking time out of their hectic and insane schedules to spend moments of time with these teens whose parents and/or family deployed at war or have just been told they’re moving – yet again.

We’re teaching our teens this fall semester about how God instilled the Ten Commandments to Moses and the people not as a list of rules, but a way of relationship with Him and His people. I am honored to have people surrounding us as we show the real way of relating to our teens and how God expects us to relate back to Him as He has called us.

September 2013 Newsletter

When I arrived 15 short months ago, I only had one leader on the ground at Fort Stewart. He was new to the ministry but had a heart which was passionate toward reaching our students whenever and wherever we could.

A great glimpse of the leadership team we have on the ground gathered together.

Now, I sit at Fort Stewart with nearly 20 active adults on our leadership team only 15 brief months after my initial arrival here in Georgia. People are invigorated to be part of a leadership team and see us reach more students all over the installation. Included in our team are rejuvenated adults coming back from an impactful year and ready to expand even further with our ever-growing student population.

Personally, I feel the biggest area that has brought the most joy to my heart has been the area of spiritual hunger within our leadership team. I felt led to offer a ‘small group’ for ongoing growth for our leaders’ faiths and for us to pray and lift one another up on a regular basis. When I made the suggestion at our leadership meeting, an astounding number of leaders raised their hands showing desire for this opportunity. Then God showed up even bigger. We had 12 adults show up for our first small group. Stories and heartfelt prayer requests were shared within the group and true relational ministry was lived in that evening.

Let’s take a look inside our leadership team and see a few highlights which follow, and one will see how selfless they really are. One pair are a husband and wife team where the husband, Walter, is continually swamped at work in his high-demand job and is assisting wherever necessary with our Chapel Next community as well as a motorcycle ministry dear to his own heart. The wife of this dynamic duo, Cathy, is the current Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) president which is an ever-expanding women’s ministry of the Chapel and keeps her on her toes all the time. If that’s not busy enough, this husband and wife team has 2 young boys whom they adore and they reside about 25 minutes outside of Fort Stewart and endure the commute for God’s call on their lives to serve.

A picture of Jason, although stoic in this picture, he's a
greatguy and our guy students love hanging out with him.

Another leader, Jason, is relatively new to the ministry leadership team, but his passion and his desire to help out outweighs anything. We were initially introduced when he was willing to give us a hand during the Easter breakfast that our students were involved in. As of late, Jason and his wife have joined us in our small group on Mondays and have taken an interest in getting back into their faith and leading their children in that way and then allowing Jason to be filled so he can ‘pour into our youth’ in God’s way. Quoting his wife specifically of the impact of Club on her husband’s life was “Jason has become a better father at home and he has more patience with our own boys now that he has been working with the youth at Club Beyond.”

Finally, we’ve had a fresh couple of faces in another married couple, Mark and Heather. This couple comes with the experience of Heather being a former Club kid from her time spent living in Europe. She specifically remembers what she loved the most about Club Beyond and wanted to see the same for their daughter. They jumped right into things immediately to help out plus they also wanted to assist us in getting our first-ever fundraising committee launched. Mark and Heather too have made the choice to further their own growth in their faith together in joining the Monday night small group, investing in themselves so that they have a great foundation when they are working with the students.

A fun photo of our newest leaders
Mark and Heather.

If it weren’t due to the amazing generosity of so many leaders like those who have come alongside us at Fort Stewart, we wouldn’t have the amazing expansion that we have had over the time here. Our focus this semester is upon the Ten Commandments and how we can show our students the idea that God isn’t just about rules, but He is all about relationship. It’s true that I have been blessed with not just people who come each week to help out, but I am blessed to know each of them and their story. Truly living the idea of loving others more than myself in relational authentic ministry – exactly what we do with our teenagers regularly in this mission.

Honored and humbled to get to work on Christ’s mission here in effort to reach every military teen.

Prayer Requests:

1.       For each member of our leadership team to grow in their own personal walk with Christ, so they can pour into our students.

2.       Our upcoming ‘guys marathon days’ as outreach events, and many are reached!

3.       For the expansion of our ‘beyond club’ small groups to be offered to each age group.

August 2013 Newsletter

Summer camp,  “where everything changes.”

Most of our middle and high school students have returned back to school or will return by mid-August and it is sadly the signaling of the end of summer freedom for our students. Late nights playing games, watching movies, running around with friends, bowling, or whatever that comes up has halted to a cease. However, not everything has come to a screeching halt. Phenomenal memories of middle and high school summer camps remain.

The middle school gang sporting our awesome t-shirts together! 

Serving middle school students snacks and lunch each day for 4 days in mid-July as each guy and girl group called out their cheers to beat one another. Each time the shouts getting louder and louder, to the point where people said they could hear the shouts from the parking lot. Beginning with Monday we came together and celebrated the gifts of each student rather than excluding others in events.  Moving onto Tuesday, we shared the importance of an open conversation with our Lord God in prayer.   On Wednesday, we discussed the idea of what modesty truly is and how God views it and cares more about what is inside us and on Thursday we finished our camp with an enormous game day indoors and water wars day outdoors. Living and sharing life with our students and having a true impact on our students.

Part of our guys group at Carolina Point as we finished the obstacle
course in our first competition together; it was epic!

High school camp begins at 5am, on the Sunday we leave. It’s been nearly a year in the planning for the leadership team and we originally committed to 5 total attending – God had other plans. We took 17 students and 3 adults to Carolina Point High School Camp in Brevard, NC. Boarding the vans, God showed up, but I’ll let our students share with you how they were impacted via their thank-you notes written to our scholarship committee.

“Thank you for helping me to get to camp this year. Camp really meant a lot to me because I really met God also with the help of Club Beyond. This camp helped me release my hidden anger. I’ve felt forgiven for my past. This camp gave me a family which I desperately needed. My spiritual faith exploded with strength in my Father God.” – D.C.

“Thank you for helping aid me in attending camp. This benefited my life by strengthening my faith in God. It was an experience of a lifetime. I learned so many things at this camp. I realized I was doing everything wrong. It helped me grieve my father and my grandfather’s deaths, as well as point me in the right direction.” – J.M.

“Thank you so much for making my camp experience possible! Last week consisted of facing fear after fear and also growing closer to God. I made so many brand new lifelong friends that helped me discover who I really am.” – D.S.

“Thank you for your donations allowing me to go to camp this year. Camp was inspiring and a new turning point in my relationship with God. My favorite point about camp was Club. During Club we worshipped the Lord and learned more about my relationship with God and Jesus Christ.” – M.G.

“Thank you! Carolina Point was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went though many tears and laughs and it was all worth it. I became closer to many new people and God as well. Thanks again!”
 – A.P.

“Thank you so very much for your donations for camp. As a leader I was able to grow closer to God and witness amazing movement by God through our kids. I was also able to share my story with them which I never thought I could do. Every aspect of camp was nothing short of God felt. I got to see the kids grow spiritually and mentally. Although tough to put away the craziness of work and daily life, I grew along with our kids. God has blessed me to be a leader and I fully intend to continue to grow for God with our kids. To God be the Glory! Thank you all so very much.” – T.A.

Our group wearing bright neon shirts for the blacklight dance party one evening.

“I cannot begin to tell you what a difference your gifts made in the lives of our students. YFCamp was an experience so different from anything I’ve ever had before. I watched young people come to life in Christ, open to new experiences, new people and new understanding of a Christian walk. Your gifts made it possible for 17 young people (and 3 leaders) to recommit and change their lives. Thank you again, and blessings to you!” – C.H.

The whole high school group together as we showed up in our own super
hero costumes in amazing fashion!

Both camps changed lives, for Christ’s plan, not our own. We are truly thankful for the chance to live life alongside our amazing middle and high school students during these camps. It’s because of each of you who pray and support these ongoing efforts that we are able to do this for them. Please continue to raise us up in the prayer needed to move forward with our recommitted teens. Pray that they come alive to those around them and they bring others to know our Life Giver Himself.  

July 2013 Newsletter

One of our superstar high school teens - Caleb and his mom
Roxanne as they assist handing out water at a recent
homecoming ceremony at Fort Stewart.

Summertime; it’s the part of the season for most students to be out and about, playing, horsing around the neighborhood with friends, riding bikes, water balloon fights, staying up late hours, sleeping in until after noon. However, that’s not exactly the life for the typical Fort Stewart/Hunter teenager. This year rings a different tone for many of our students. Dad, mom, brother or another loved one is coming home from another deployment. For most of our youth at these locations, they’ve experienced a number of deployments in their household and something stable has been hard to find. Our summer Club program has been phenomenally blessed and has been well above average on attendance. We provide that place where our students can be themselves and share their concerns and cares about someone who is deployed.  Their peers can understand what they are going through.

We’ve had the chance for an ongoing partnership with the Chapel Next community and the Protestant Women of the Chapel ladies of an outreach ministry opportunity on Fort Stewart to help provide water to the families who are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to arrive on the ground at the local ‘homecoming’ ceremonies. Sometimes these events are in the dead heat of the day. Just to offer that quenching water in a loving manner is enough to show how much we care. We’ve provided the water as well as the manpower to assemble the giveaways so that people have information about our Chapel communities. It’s a way our youth can be Christ’s hands and feet on the ground in a mightily impactful way that hits home ever so dear – to see a loved one back from deployment.

Chaplain (COL) Meek (left) during a recent promotion
ceremony just days before his retirement.

If it isn’t tough enough to endure having a family member gone for a period, then it’s a regular thing in the summer to endure another move, aka, PCS. This person who is moving on has had the biggest impacts upon Club Beyond in his tenure since being at Fort Stewart and retired this month from over 30 years of service to our country. Chaplain (COL) Terry Meek was not only a pivotal piece in the development of the youth ministry programs at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, but was a true man of character and of Christ Himself. He poured not only into the program, but poured into my own life in giving me insight and thoughts as the program blossomed in his brief one year in Georgia. Teenage lives were changed under his reign and to that I am indebted to his time, care and integrity as our Garrison Chaplain. His biggest insight into the ministry included keeping things simple and doing a few things well rather than a lot in a mediocre way. I ask each of you to please pray for him and his wife as they transition into retirement and enjoy the fruits of his labor for the military family and well beyond while he is retired.

Amy and I on Jekyll Island, Georgia,
under the firework-lit sky as we were
engaged that evening.

Finally, I want to share with you some amazing God-filled news as of late. I had been courting a fine lady, Amy Parker, back from my home church in Kansas City, and as of 4 July 2013, she and I were engaged. I proposed to her on the shoreline of Jekyll Island, Georgia, under the firework-lit sky as we committed to one another to become one-in-three with Christ moving forward. She and I plan on marrying on the same island in Georgia on the 4^th of July 2014 after she completes her Master’s Degree in family and marriage counseling.

Prayer requests: upcoming HS Summer Camp in Brevard, NC, from 28 July to 3 August; completion of MS Summer Camp – that students really come together for a passion for Christ in their experience; the recent engagement to Amy Parker and the distance between us

June 2013 Newsletter

Zach and I during the semi-formal Thanksgiving
event at Fort Stewart.

“Hey Phil, its Zach!” My heart was filled with joy  as I talked with Zach,  one of my students who had moved  to Montana with his grandparents. He had decided to call me on Father’s Day to check in with me and share what he had been doing this summer away from Fort Stewart. “I’ve been having a really good summer so far; I have gone camping, hiking, all kinds of stuff outdoors. The weather up here is much cooler and we’ve even seen snow here!”

This Father’s Day, I wasn’t at home celebrating with my own father and I’m not a father yet either. Sadness set in a little bit this day because of those factors and yet again, God’s timing was perfect. He brought a ray of sunshine to my life via Zach’s call and how things had been going for him. God showed me although I didn’t have a physical child, all of the youth God has entrusted to me and our leadership have become our own kids in one way or another. Celebrating life matters with these kids. I had the opportunity to make an impact on Zach’s life while he was here and it came full-circle where he made one on my life this year. God’s way of doing things is monumental.

Anthony on the left side trying the impossible - shooting a
balloon into the basket for his team at Club.

Shift gears to another student, a young man named Anthony who reached me a few months ago via an urgent phone call. “Phil, I’m in a constant life of sinful choices, I want to stop but don’t know how.” It was through God showing me the urgency of the need of this young man that, I went to his neighborhood and spent a couple of hours walking, talking and listening to his heart in areas he needed to wade through in his life. Rather than try to ‘fix’ him or his situation, I challenged him. I shared with him that once he has shown light to the situation, I could hold him accountable, just like someone did in my life to help me make changes for God’s plan and desire. I told him it would be tough, but nothing for God in this moment would be wasted. He said that being his dad was deployed overseas in war, he loved to read Psalm 91, so I challenged him to start reading it every day and would follow up with him each day. Days came where he would ‘man up’ and say he hadn’t read it for that day. Again, I would encourage and build him up rather than get frustrated with his choices.

Fast forward to mid-June and I receive urgent text messages in the morning from Anthony after having my cell phone shut off. All of them from this young man, sharing his heart how he feels that he has messed up horribly and feeling remorse for his choices. Also admitting to being slightly drunk after taking 4 shots and then choosing to seek validation from a girl. He felt like he’s hit bottom that evening. My heart immediately is brought to a point to share with the young man the following statement: “First off, I forgive you and please know that Jesus can only give you what you need.” I followed up the comment to him stating I do not judge him, and thanked him for his truth in the matter and challenged him that he must make the choice to turn away from making choices like this in the future.

Summer Club plans do shift into a slower period of time for all of us; however God’s plans never slow down. Truly I am thankful that He brings moments like these where I can be His hands and feet to our students when I can reach back to them and share His love and grace, just like Zach and Anthony. It’s no doubt that our goal is to ‘reach every military teen.’ Please join us in prayer that we get more moments like these that truly are intentional and God-driven and go to reach them, whenever and wherever they are. We are so thankful for each of you who pray continually for these students we get to reach on a normal basis that need to physically experience the love that God has for them.

Prayer requests:

1.       That our leadership team continues to grow spiritually and physically as we go through training together in the upcoming month.

2.       For the middle school summer camp coming up in mid-July that each student attending is impacted for God’s glory.

3.       As new people come onto both Fort Stewart/Hunter, they hear about Club Beyond and get their students plugged into the youth ministry program.

May 2013 Newsletter

The whole Club group together during our New Year's Eve lock-in.

Just imagine: 50 youth, 12 large pizzas, shaving cream covered balloons and a razor, Oreos stuck to students’ foreheads and easy cheese with crackers stuck to a teammate's back – all part of God’s amazing culmination of this 2012-13 school year for our Club students. Both middle and high school students blended together for an evening of exciting games and challenges, a great pizza party dinner to celebrate and an intentional closing prayer over our dedicated high school seniors as they move onto a new part of their lives.

It’s interesting how quickly 11 months goes. Looking back to my arrival on Father’s Day weekend last year when we had one leader on the ground at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield and both locations were averaging about 8-10 students each time Club was held. My mind was in a whirlwind, but I knew we had to get the word out of what Club Beyond did for our students and their parents. Through hanging out at the PX food court, bowling,

Time for me to get the pie in the face for our food drive competition.

swimming events at the pools on post in the summer, word started to get out. We also encouraged our students to bring friends as part of our promotion going on to grow the group and turned out incredibly well.

Time to 'shave the balloon' to see if it pops on the kids!

At the start of the school year, we had the chance to experience a killer back-to-school kick-off spectacular which included a special guest speaker who used to play in the NFL and gave our students heartfelt advice. Sprinkle in our ‘invite a friend’ challenge to earn the brightest Club Beyond shirts I’ve seen, the group continued to grow and students’ passion began to show. As the student population grew, leaders started to come alongside the ministry and pour their dedicated time into our wonderful youth. Throughout the semester we experienced amazing paintball shootout events, flag football games, kickball at the Victory Chapel, a New Year’s Eve lock-in, a spectacular food drive which exceeded 500lbs donated in less than 3 weeks and a phenomenal Christmas Caroling event were only the beginning of what God was going to do in and through our efforts.

The spring semester of the school year was off and running due to a promise kept to take pies to the face from the food drive competition and goodness it really brought students out in droves to watch me take those pies! A lesson plan dedicated to share with our students the heroic men and women of the Bible essentially allowed us to have a focus of where God would lead us each week. It showed our students that they too could be heroes no matter where they stood in their own world at home, school or in their neighborhoods. As the leadership team spent more time together outside of Club, the intentionality also grew with our students. A ladies’ small group was launched for the first time at Fort Stewart and the high school men’s group continued on Thursday mornings over bacon.

Although we put the 2012-13 school year to rest this month and said farewell to some really amazing students who either moved or graduated, God came through every moment. We were able to reach over 2500 students throughout the first 11 months and had 15 leaders on the team between both installation locations. Countless meals were provided graciously from our families, easing the burden financially upon our group but also giving a way we can break bread together each night we met.

The 'Oreo Slide' competition on the last Club of the school year.

Truly, because of each of you, we are thankful here at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield for your individual contribution of prayer and financial support of God’s call on my life to reach these teens. As I have provided for you, will you consider praying over the areas we will face soon this summer looking into the next school year? Personally I would love to ask, where is God calling you to jump off the board into His plan for the ministry here? Everything matters because at the end of the day, it’s His plan and I’m honored to be a small part of the overall grand scheme.

The 'bros' together during the 2013 Liberty County HS graduation.

**prayer requests**

• New leaders to come into the fray as others move on or are led to other places to serve.
• That the summer program and next year’s program are fully blessed and brought in God’s timing.
• As funding continues to be always a job in progress, new financial supporters come on board to help carry the load with contract funding being tightened.
• Pray for my dear friends in the ministry who also lead in other communities who are transitioning, specifically back in Kansas and in Hawaii.
• For me to personally slow down and enjoy rest and peace in the summer program.