August 2015 Newsletter

Summer Club Equals Water & Paint War!

The group of teens waiting on the next instruction for another paint attack!

Summer in south Georgia is insane, to say the least. Heat indices rise to the mid 110s normally and the humidity level doesn’t hold off either in the peak of the afternoons. It’s typical to see a thunderstorm just ‘pop up’ from all of the pent up humidity and heat. To find reprieve during  this heat, we have put together an event that allows our teens and leaders to stay cool and have a blast doing so in the middle of the hot summer day.

Shelby (left) with us after the paint war.

The big draw for most people who want to experience something exciting during the summer has been the Color Run or Warrior Dash races which include a bit of crazy for the participants who enter these kind of events.  Through a great conversation and sharing ideas with another Club Beyond director, we thought we should do something like this for our teens, especially with these hot summer days.

Club isn’t much different because our kids love to experience things together and truly be ‘kids’ again in playing and having fun. We chose to fill hundreds of water balloons not only with water, but with tons of paint and make our own color war with a twist of capture-the-flag for our teens to enjoy in the hot summer sun. Our teens loved it so much that one student, Shelby, begged her mother to bring her all the way from their new home in South Carolina so she could attend the event with us.

Our group together after the wild day of water and paint fun!

The craziness didn’t only include paint. We also hosted an insane style of baby-pool water slide kickball for our kids to compete and have a great time while splashing safely to each base while running around. Imagine kickball with an incredible twist that all kids love – slip-n-slides and a challenge! Although keeping the pools and tarps wet and filled with water was a challenge, our students rocked it out together to finish our summer great.

Moving season off to a fast pace

In the normalcy of a summer within the Army, a majority of family moves happen making the overall impact easier to bear for everyone involved especially if they have children in school.

We’ve already seen an influx of new families and students on both Fort Stewart and Hunter, to include students who have been sent from our partner sites which have Club ministry happening.

Events like this summer kick-off lock-in allowed
us to reach tons of new teens all over Stewart!

One of our newest students, Lizzie, experienced Club at Fort Campbell in middle school, but hasn’t been part of Club for awhile since the other locations where she’s lived did not have Club ministry. That didn’t keep her from jumping right back into the Club family and being part of things here. “I remember when Matt used to do crazy things and make things so much fun when I was at Campbell, it was a place where our faith was real and was fun to learn.”      

                         

It has been quoted that some military teens will say goodbye to more significant people by the age of 10 than most people will in a lifetime. This is exactly why we exist. No matter where our teens come from, they have a place where they belong. Please join us prayerfully with all of the new teens and families coming into Fort Stewart and Hunter, that they feel encouraged and loved right where they are to join the surge in this amazing blessing we are called. It might be moving season, but something epic is on the horizon.

In addition to all of the changes we see with the comings and goings of families during summer here at Ft. Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, we have another exciting change

Amy and I together at our
weddingsite on Jekyll Island.

happening as we transition into the new school year. My wife, Amy has felt led to leave her job with the Division of Child Support Services, to join me in full-time ministry. For a few months now she has been wrestling with this decision and God has aligned things in order for her to do so and we have complete peace about the decision. The majority of our volunteers are also comprised of military families, which means they also come and go with orders to move on to another installation. In our time here, we have had some really awesome female volunteers to help shepherd and disciple our female students, but we have also had seasons without any at all. Amy's heart has been burdened to step in and fill the gap and be that consistent female we've been looking for. We are excited about this new chapter for the ministry and for what God will do through our obedience to His call. In all honesty, we also have some fears mixed with our excitement, which usually comes with any change. Please be praying that we will be able to raise additional financial support to offset this change, and please prayerfully consider any gift you may be able to give so the work to reach every military teen can continue. Please also be praying for God to equip Amy accordingly to meet the needs of our female students.

Summer Camp Takeaways

Although summer camp ended for our teens about 6-8 weeks ago, read what some of our students had to share:

A group of students at camp getting
ready for some paintball action!

Teens chillin' together
before game time!

“I feel I got the chance to visit and experience a real summer camp for the first time,” X.F.

“Camp was awesome, “ B.W.

“I had fun and will come every time from now on even if I am moving,” K.S.

Also, students shared with us some great insight about what Club has meant to them up to this point and we’d like to share their feedback to you:

“Club is completely amazing and has made a huge impact on my life.” C.H.

“If I never had Club, I would be really bad in school.” M.W.

It’s amazing to share with you how your prayers are being answered and the impact of Club Beyond is going further than we ever imagined.

Celebrate with us:

· Xavier shared with us how HS camp was truly a ‘camp experience and he loved every part of the past week.

· Students were meeting and hanging out with new students from all over the area and making new bonds during camp!

· Our current donor team remains strong!

June 2015 Newsletter

The giant crowd of teens getting settled in at the lock-in!

Greetings from Southeast Georgia!

When you think of summer you think of time with family and friends, a slower pace of life, time for vacations and additional leisure time. When you think of summertime in ministry you tend to see attrition with families on travel and so forth, as well as PCS (Permanent Change of Station) season with many families moving away and coming in. This summer is the first time in three years here at the installation that we have decided to work with the slower pace that summer naturally brings and give kids some fun in the sun. Not only does this relaxed plan provide an opportunity for the students but it also allows rest and relaxation for us and the leadership team as well. This summer, we are choosing to meet the kids where they are and offer events that they might not typically get to enjoy during the school year. The rest of the summer will include moments where we go ‘where they are’ as we are Christ to teens all over Fort Stewart and Hunter, specifically pizza at the pool, water wars, cookouts and whatever else comes to mind.

The Stewart HS squad reppin' during the lock-in!

To kick off our summer programs, we held a lock-in, an outreach event to not only serve our regular students that come but also reach out in the community to those that may never dream of attending a faith-based ministry event. We rented out the family fun Center on Fort Stewart which offered skating, laser tag, pizza and drinks where students could have fun all night long in a safe atmosphere. We weren't exactly sure how many students to expect but God blew our minds when 135 middle school and high school students showed up ready to have some fun.

The line of teens grows as they wait to enter the event. 

A snapshot of the laser tag room ready to go!

As the dust settled in the completion of the event Saturday morning, we had the pleasure of waiting with one of the new students who enjoyed the event. Amy I and I got the chance to hear all about this young man’s life at home, school and beyond. It was surreal as the layers were being peeled back on his life while we sat and listened to what he had to share in enduring life in the school system here locally and what life is like. All it took was providing the place and space where this student got the chance to share about his life and where someone was intentionally listening to their heart as they shared. Both of us knew that this student would have never attended a regular weekly Club event, but the lock-in brought a place for the walls to come down.

This was a squad getting ready to hit up some laser tag! 

The event was a huge success and we have already seen some of those students return for the game night that we had mid-month. God is doing amazing things here at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army airfield and we are excited to see how he continues to work here as we continue serving the families of those that serve our country.

Some of our Stewart and Hunter ladies
hanging outtogether during the evening. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support that allow us to reach these military teens right where they are and point them to a relationship with Jesus we are gearing up in the next few weeks for middle school and high school summer camp. Please be praying that our students will either encounter Jesus for the first time or continue to grow and develop their relationship with Christ.

The group waits on the 36 pizzas to be broken out! 

May 2015 Newsletter

During the last Club of the semester, our students had the opportunity to share about the impact of Club this past year.  Here is what they had to say:

                “The definition of Club: an organization dedicated to a particular interest or activity. Beyond: at or to the further side of. Together, Club Beyond is an organization that is dedicated to God and we go way further than before. In 7^th grade, I came to Club on and off and I didn’t get the full meaning of Club Beyond. But now, in 8^th grade, I get it. Club is for us. They have become my second family.” (Isabella C. – Stewart MS teen)

Micah and I as we embrace
before the end of his last Club.

AJ and I during the last Club.

Riley (right) and Shelby hugging as they
consoleone another during their share time.

                “At first I felt it would be the same as any other youth group with cliques, popular kids, and so forth, but here everyone is the same. They love you regardless and accept you for who you are no matter what. No matter your faith we all come together regardless of your denomination. Originally I thought I would not fit in and get odd looks or treated differently because I was Catholic but quite the opposite occurred. We all work toward growing in our faith backgrounds right where you are. Plus, I don’t know how he does it, but every week this year, I felt like Mr. Phil’s talks were directly for me. It was like he could read my mind and talk into what I was going through.” (Riley O. – Stewart HS teen)

A big crew of students expected to move this
coming summer from our high school Club.

                “I am more inclined to read and dig into God’s Word regularly because of this year’s talks and Bible studies each week.” (Nico G. – Hunter MS teen)

                “Until Club, I had been bullied for a long time based on how I looked and tried to fit in and even my family didn’t really understand me. Club gets me and accepts me for who I am and I love it here.” (Kenzie W. – Hunter MS teen)

Melissa G. (standing) as she shares the impact of the talks
specifically upon Romans 5:8. 

                “Because of my time here and with Club, I have become the young woman God has inspired me to be. My experience with the passing of my grandpa and then attending summer camp the first time brought me to the place to forgive myself and removing regret of not spending enough time with my grandpa before his passing. Club this past year has shown me a new way of God’s love and how can we not be moved by a God that loves us SO much that he sent us His Son?” (Melissa G. – Stewart HS teen)

Who doesn't love ice cream for the last Club!?

A large group of Stewart middle school teens who will depart
from our midst this summer. 

                “A year ago, I was drinking heavily and in the past year, I have stopped from that way of life because of Club.” (Christian H. – Hunter HS teen)

The Hunter Club crew watching
the end of yearslide show.

                “When I first started coming, I didn’t really want to be here. I remember first meeting Mr. Phil when I came for the first time. I ended up missing a lot of weeks but still Mr. Phil was there and he remembered my name from the time I first came. He still treated me as I am loved and that I belong here. Who does that kind of thing!?” (Hasaan W. – Stewart MS teen)

The panel of Hunter teens sharing the impact of Club over
this past school year. 

                 “Club Beyond has helped me in a lot of ways. It has helped me better with understanding the Bible and the basic stories. Club has taught me how to display virtues in real life scenarios. Another way Club Beyond has helped me is with deployment. Right now my dad is stationed in Romania and Club has helped me stay calm and not worry so much about the days when he is gone. Lastly Club has helped me meet new people around may age that understand what I am going through!” (Ella W. – Hunter MS teen)

                “At Club, Mr. Phil and the other leaders care about your interests and you personally, instead of forcing you to be interested in what they are interested in. This place leads us to do what we are passionate about – that’s home. The leaders love to see God’s talents of who you are supposed to be.” (Matt M. – Stewart HS teen)

Us with Shelby on
her final Club.

                “Until coming to Club, I always thought I was doing worship wrong. I felt like I couldn’t ever get it right. Now I know I am worshipping God in the way He desires from me. I used to doubt myself and who I was until I came to Club and now I am not afraid to be who I am.” (Shelby H. – Stewart HS teen)

To say that we were speechless would be a desperate understatement. Our teens have been impacted and feel as if they’re part of a family. It’s God’s family to them. It’s home. Just as many teens have shared with leaders and others: 

             “Somehow Mr. Phil just knows when life is crumbling and he can look past it all and show you that you matter to someone and God.”

The HS Club group praying over our departing youth.

Our teens matter. Although this part of the year is a sad one with farewells and memories of the school year together, they gathered in a place and shared how their lives have changed.  Each one of you who are ministry partners through your prayers and your finances are a part of this change. We thank you. We are humbled to hear what God has done in and through this past year. Continue to pray for us in the next season of summer and for the next harvest of teens to call this place – home.

The HS crew enjoying ice cream
together on the final night. 

The Hunter group watches as the panel
of students share with them.

April 2015 Newsletter

Of course, shenanigans during the meal!

Greetings from Fort Stewart and Hunter!

“Hey, what are you guys up to over spring break this year?” 

The usual question asked when we near that time of year for our students. Everyone has the ‘itch’ to get away and do something instead of being locked down and bored at home. My reply,“We’re planning on offering a spring break work project and retreat for four days and three nights if you’re interested in joining us!” Never before have I imagined so many parents and teens ready to enroll their kids for something during spring break.  I thought a majority of our teens would be busy doing something else or the family traveling elsewhere. Originally we planned to cap the total to 30 teens, but my heart broke when we had a few extra come ask if we’d allow them to attend. In all, 33 ended up attending during spring break. However, it isn’t normal when of the 33 signed up, 23 were teenage boys and 10 were girls. Before we even stepped into the camp, I had a feeling God was preparing us for something different than we expected.

The fun was on as soon as the
'yutes' showed up! :) 

Ladies enjoying the game of Life! 

The ladies petting the onery horse, Logan! :) 

We get enough food?!!?

 Our plan was to come alongside Marshview Bible Camp, the camp we take our students to during the summer and help them prepare for their upcoming summer camp season. There is no shortage of projects to help with. We helped begin the construction of their first-ever obstacle course to be used during their summer camps. We were slated to help build the first two stations for the multi-station course. Building the stations would include digging a dozen 2-foot holes for a bear crawl exercise and two 3-foot holes for the 2^nd station, a 7-foot wall to be scaled by rope and climbed over. Other projects we accomplished through the week included raking and moving  tons of leaves that have fallen upon the camp and thorough cleaning of every cabin for incoming residents in camp season.  Our group also gathered and donated enough cleaning supplies between both installation locations to supply the camp for the summer and beyond!

It was a great place to play DODGEBALL!!

Dodgeball in action! 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a great trip if we didn’t plan plenty of open and free time for our students to enjoy the camp.  We planned great team games, competitions in the “Gaga Ball” and 3-on-3 basketball and about anything else they could consider doing at the camp. If that weren’t enough, the dining hall, aka “lighthouse”, provided a place where the kids could gather together and play a wild round of Apples to Apples, Clue or enjoy some competition on the air hockey table or ping pong table.

The High School group's contribution
to the camp supply drive! 

The enormous amount from the middle school crew for the supply drive!

Hunter's contribution to the supply drive!

In between our work and play, our students had some great moments to think about the times when they’ve wondered if life was worth trying or just throwing up the ‘peace out’ sign and quitting. Many of us have felt this before where life is mounting to a point where we are tired and we want to walk away from our situation. Our teens don’t get that many moments to truly ‘unplug’ and enjoy time away from the normal life they have at home.  We gave them an opportunity to ask anything they’d like during the week by submitting their tough questions.  Later in the week, those questions would be answered by a panel of leaders who gave them insight from our own experiences and faith backgrounds. 

Big ball soccer with the other youth at camp!

This horse loved to take bites, of anything! :)

In the middle of the camp, our teens and adults were given the opportunity to write down something they felt that God would hold against them – where God’s love couldn’t show up unlike where the father came with open arms to his son who walked away in the story of the Prodigal Son.  As we sat around the fire, our group had the chance to take that card and pitch it into the fire and walk away. Not looking back but looking forward on what God is doing in and through them in the here and now. Our students also took the chance to show their God-inspired passions and talents around the fire where we threw together an impromptu showcase for them which ran well into the night. To say God showed up as the fire crackled and lit the faces of our students watching and also showing their talents was a shortfall. God was there in that moment.  During our time around the fire, we were given a reprieve of expectations, stress, challenges, school, bullying, issues with friends, relationship issues, divorce being discussed between parents, faith doubts, fighting at home, military life, moving again, deployments and anything else that we arrived with earlier in the week.

These two guys hit half-court shots multiple times
during dodgeball to get their teams the win!

These guys are awesome together from Hunter!

Our teens rocked it. Our leaders brought it. Technology was no factor. Lives were changed. Impact was made upon every person who attended over spring break.

Snapshots of students together were perfect as they became a melting
pot of teens from two locations! 

Each one of you who come alongside this ministry and mission are part of God’s call on us to reach these teens and make an impact. Your ongoing gifts have provided the ample opportunity for us to be in those moments and present when God needed us. From in the moments of answering the tough questions at the fireside or offering support when a student asks about their parents’ pending divorce, each of you has a hand in this calling.

The group together in our final mealtime enjoying tons of pizza!

We thank you for being in this with us, as God anoints and equips the called for His glory. 

~Phil & Amy 

The squad of Stewart and Hunter teens chillin' on their final day.

March 2015 Newsletter

Dear friends of the military ministry, 

Back in December, Amy and I sent out a number of our personal magnets sharing the desire and need for prayer upon God’s harvest for more adults to reach our teens between Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. For us to say that your prayers have been answered would be a misrepresentation of His amazing blessings upon the ministry sites already in 2015. So, come join us and read over what God’s been doing here……

Club Ministry

One of our giant groups of Fort Stewart
middle school teensplaying 'pinball!' 

A group of our HS teens gathered for a game! 

It might sound cliché, but energy always builds around the nicer weather down here especially since our weather turns quicker than most places. We’ve seen explosive growth from all fronts – middle school and high school Club and Bible studies at Fort Stewart have been growing all spring and we are seeing record crowds each night. Our core groups of students are multiplying and there are record numbers of students bringing other friends to come and experience Club weekly. One of my favorite things happens at least once nightly when a student rushes up to me and says “Mr. Phil, this is ____ and they’re new here.” It’s awesome. Our teens are eager to be celebrated upon for their eager hearts to bring their friends to a place they love to come each week. When we shared about the harvest, we never imagined our groups to become a steady and growing 35+ each week, however that IS what God has had in store for us because of your fervent prayers.

Bible Studies

At Hunter Army Airfield, students attending our ongoing Bible study which overviews and opens up dialogue of our ‘talk’ each week prior are hungry to go deeper. One of our newer high school attendees, Jacob, asked an awesome question about what happened to the Garden of Eden after sin entered the world. What a question! We’re seeing our students being unashamed just like Jacob who will ask the tough questions they are unsure and know they aren’t being judged by their curiosity of God’s Word. Because each of you have been praying for us, our Hunter teens are showing up weekly with a deep hunger to know more about God’s Truth. 

Leadership Team

We’re also seeing an explosion of growth on our leadership team at both of our locations. Fort Stewart’s crew of adults has grown with an increase of new folks who have moved into our area and are starting to own their part of God’s puzzle in reaching our military teens, whether at Club or outside of it. Two of our newest folks, Amy and her daughter Nia, have come to us with experience from  Fort Hood, Texas which also has Club Beyond ministry. They have joined our forces and have already made strides in impact bringing new games and energy to our teens. Not only this, but they have a passion to see things unfold in ways we never imagined.  Amy and Nia plan on helping spearhead our upcoming spring break work project and retreat. Your prayers have brought us a team of phenomenal adults who want to spread Christ’s love to these teens in shepherding and caring for them ‘right where they live.’

Community Partnerships

Ezra (left) and I at the spouses luncheon
sharing about the impact their contribution
has made upon our teens and the ministry.

Amy and I never imagined these things unfolding the way they have in the ministry this spring semester, but God brought MORE yet. Each ministry location is encouraged to develop strategic and ongoing community partnerships with groups to be fully part of the community and allow the community to experience the ministry outside the doors of weekly Club. Let’s just say God wasn’t bringing one or two partners this spring, He was on mission to blow away our expectations.

Kicking off the month of March began with a repeated partnership with the Fort Stewart Red Cross and our spaghetti dinner for their 5k packet pick-up and late registration. Another new partner added to the mix are the wonderful ladies of Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) who chose to come alongside us and provide all the pasta and fixings for the meal!

Being the banker and financially minded guy I am, I still desire to provide some great education and training to prepare our students as they head out after finishing high school. The great folks of Army Community Service (ACS) are highly interested in joining the efforts and we’re currently working on a workshop to provide a financial resiliency opportunity for our teens in high school.

A few of our HS teens helping at the 5k! 

Two of our middle school ladies who
ran and placed in the Red Cross 5k!

Each year we work diligently to provide an opportunity to reduce the financial strain on families to send their teens to camp each summer.  I approached the Marne Community and Spouses Club (MCSC) in the fall of 2014 to prayerfully consider awarding us another grant for summer camp. A parent and board member for community outreach for the MCSC  called me this month sharing they are partnering with us again as they did last year, pushing our total fundraising figure to send 60 youth to summer camp at ½ price!

You can see how your amazing prayer and partnership has been unfolding already in immense ways this spring. We thank you for being part of it and pray for each of you as we obediently serve our military and their teenagers. It’s not only breathtaking, but humbling to be part of this each day.

~Phil and Amy 

February 2015 Newsletter

What books are on your ‘must read’ list?  A great friend of mine who is a Pastor in Kansas City shared with me the name of a book that I should have on my ‘must-read’ list, “The Cost of Discipleship,” which was written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I am currently reading, “Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker ” which was based upon Bonhoeffer’s accomplishments within the confines of working with youth and the way he did ministry during Nazi Germany regime. When I dug deeper in this book, it shared how Bonhoeffer states many times throughout that we are used by God as His stellvertretung, or “place sharers” with our teens in ministry. Specifically, Bonhoeffer makes the case that when we work alongside people as one of Christ’s ambassadors, we join them in living together and sharing what they are experiencing in life. Whether or not it’s recognized, Bonhoeffer began relational ministry with those around him using this method of sharing places and stories in his lifetime as a pastor, mentor and friend.

In the start of our spring 2015 semester, I have been compelled to peel back the onion more on my own personal life and share deeper with the students what I have experienced pertaining to God’s love showing up in our lives when it feels undeserved. Specifically, I took moments in back-to-back weeks to share my intimate thoughts and feelings in the area of my dad’s passing in 2014 and in my divorce back in 2007. Not only did I relive these moments, but I truly gave our teens insight into where my personal faith was throughout these times along with my flaws showing up in my faith background too. God allowed me to lay a foundation for us to get real, together.

Some of our all-star middle school students warming up
during our Groundhog Breakfast fundraiser which raised
an astonishing $1100 for summer camp!!

A rowdy group of middle school teens playing
together, but have been gripped and evaluating
how God is using the talks to work in their lives.

To say and share that God opened a floodgate of opportunity would take away the magnitude of what God did in those two weeks. Our students at both Stewart and Hunter were gripped with their own lives coming into play when my life was shared and how God’s love was interwoven somehow. Our middle school crew got the first talks of each week. We had one girl, CR whom I knew would be impacted by the sharing of my father’s death since she had recently lost her mother. For some reason, God gives me the ability to see when our kids are ‘faking it’ when I ask how they’re doing personally. CR is definitely one I noticed in the past weeks. Sharing with our middle school students about asking why God would love me enough to take the man I love as my daddy from this world was enough to peel CR’s onion. God’s Truth shook the ground which she was planted. I felt it was necessary to check in with her after ending the talk with how we are comforters to those who need comfort and how God uses this ‘junk’ to identify with others’ junk too – 2 Corinthians 1:3-11.

Isaiah on the left side of this photo during game time
at Hunter Club. 

If that wasn’t enough, this same message at Hunter broke through some kids I never thought would listen or be reached. Soon after I finished the talk, one of our boys named Isaiah stepped up to me and opened up, sharing his story about his dad’s recent failing health and being hospitalized. As he was sharing with me this intimate and personal feeling about his dad’s well-being, Isaiah’s eyes were welling up with tears, although he was fighting them off. God created a space where emotion and life could be shared with one another. A ‘place shared’ with our teens.  Stellvertretung.

A few of our high school ladies goofing off
while I took a 'selfie' together, but many have
been gripped by the talks and what God is
doing in their hearts and lives. 

I could go on and on with name upon name of our teenagers who have been impacted because I was obedient in sharing myself with them in the recent weeks. All we can ask is that you keep them in prayer. Isaiah, Kyle, Christian, Katie, CR, Gavin, Adeline, Ali, Shelby, Cora, Riley, Carissa, Reggie, Brandon, Matt……and many more that God will allow us to ‘share space’ alongside.

God doesn’t make these moments up. They are precious. Join the ride.
Humbly thankful,
~Phil and Amy