How inspiring it is to see the youth of today’s generation building rather than tearing down, dreaming rather than settling, working rather than waiting, and loving rather than not caring. If this past event shows any signs of what the future may hold we are in for a treat. Here in the NW this past January we experienced over 70 teens from 7 churches gather in Bend Oregon for our 1st annual “Winter Rally” to call it a success would not give it justice. This event was inspired, created, and lead by teens; every aspect of the event whether songs, lessons, cooking, cleaning, serving, activities, photography, and so much more was lead in part or in whole by teens in the NW, and lead WELL.
There is much to say about this event and the people who made it happen, including the leaders and elders across the NW who have sacrificed there time, energy and resources fully to obey the bible and helping develop the next generation of men and women who will in no doubt turn their generation upside down. We truly are blessed to have the privilege to work with men and women like: Jermaine and Stefanie Peacock, Matt and Jen Rollins, Mike and Flo Mathis, Steve and Lisa Johnson, Rob and Pam Skinner, Scott and Lynne Green, Joey and Chelsea Anderson, Phil Salvador, Bryce and John Biggerstaff, and countless other people who have decided to stand in the gap on behalf of the people (specifically the teens) and obey scriptures like Matt 28, not only going and baptizing, but also teaching them to obey everything Jesus had commanded.
This past rally was centered on deepening our convictions and developing dreams for our high schools and campuses as well as developing leadership, relationships, and unity among our teen ministries. The lessons included topics like build/lift UP, turn it UP, fed UP, stand/speak UP, rise UP, never give UP. The teens were able to bring home countless practicals in order to help them succeed spiritually and grow in their convictions and their relationships. This concept and event quickly caught the attention of many local and international businesses who were excited about being apart of this endeavor including Billabong, Element, Sector9, Arbor, Nixon, Von Zipper, Dakine, Sparky’s pizza and others. For that we are incredibly grateful. Thank you for helping our event be successful, you truly helped take a good event and made it great.
We are eagerly anticipating both the summer teen camp (G-series) and next years winter rally. In the meantime hold tight to that which is good and continue to pray for each other and encourage each other daily because in this life we will have many troubles and often we forget that those troubles have already been conquered, if we want to change this world we must first change ourselves and our view points. Let’s take hold of the promises of God and remember that he is an AWESOME, POWERFUL, and MIGHTY God to which there is NO comparison, if he is for us who can be against us?!

Aaron Shannon and Kyler Mullins

God is not in control! In fact, often we hear things like “God is sovereign”  meaning HE either made it happen or allowed it to happen. This is not the case! the word sovereign actually means: being above all others in character, importance, excellence, etc… and another dictionary defines it as: supreme in rank or authority. So don’t get me wrong GOD IS SOVEREIGN it just might mean something different from you may have heard.

We are in complete control of our lives, it’s called free will, though we will be judged by a sovereign God according to the decisions that we make during this life time. I’m not saying some situations that we encounter God had nothing to do with, (Acts 17:25-27) I am not an expert in the ways God may or may not work, nor will I pretend to be. What I DO know is you are in the EXACT place and time God wants you to be in. The question is how are you planning your day?

In Mark 5:21-34 we see a story about Jesus on his way to heal a dead girl, his day was planned, he had an agenda, yet while he was on his way to the girl, a woman who had been suffering for years thought “If I can just touch his clothes I will be healed.” She was NOT on Jesus’ agenda but he WAS on hers. As Jesus was preaching one afternoon in a home, a few men dug a hole in the roof where Jesus was teaching and lowered their friend down to Jesus’ feet (Mark 2:1-5). Again, this was not on Jesus’ agenda, but HE was all those men needed and wanted, he was their whole day. Just a bit later as Jesus was walking through the streets talking with the people (Luke 19:1-6) when a short man climbed a tree to make the most of the “small” opportunity he had been given (despite his circumstances). He too was able to change the agenda of a sovereign Lord. Even while Jesus was having diner, carrying along with his guests, he still made time for someone who’s day revolved around the opportunity to be close to him; how could he not notice her as she poured perfume on him and cleaned his feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-38).

What is on your agenda today, or for that matter WHO is your agenda today?  Acts 17:26-27 says “from one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us”… God IS a sovereign father, but come on, how many things have you done that your “earthly” father didn’t approve of or allow. It’s unfair to blame God for the messes, the suffering, and the challenges that have been thrown on us in life, in fact some of which we have put ourselves through by the choices we have made. Life is an occasion let’s rise to it! We have been given the EXACT place and time to live, like this young basketball player, let’s do something with this place and time that brings people to tears, get’s them excited, and turns this world upside down!

Aaron Mullins

Every day is a battle, but a 1/3 the battle is knowing. In my experience I can say I know there is a battle, but often I underestimate my opponent, or I get caught with my guard down. I constantly have to be reminded of scriptures like 1Peter 5

be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Another 1/3 of the battle is preparing.  Do you prepare, if so how? Ephesians 6 describes how to prepare and what to guard.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The last 1/3 of the battle is fighting. Are you? Seriously, are you? We are all in this battle, it doesn’t matter whether or not you want to be .There will be casualties, there will be losses, and there WILL be victories. Sin is inevitable, if your fight is to remain sinless you have already lost, let your goal be to finish the fight, in order for this to happen you must consistently learn from every battle you get in. You must be faster, stronger, and smarter than your enemy. Oh, and make sure you have your leader in front of you; remember John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If you follow close you will overcome.

Aaron Mullins

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

It’s incredible to see what the human body is capable of when we put it through intense training. Truly nothing is impossible. Now imagine what the human heart is capable of if it’s put through the same training. We watch a video like this and get inspired to go out and play, to push ourselves to limits we have never seen or tried, to take some risks. If there were videos of Jesus in action and the churches of the first century our reaction would be very similar, but rather than dealing with our physical body we would be taking risks, pushing ourselves and serving like we never have before with our hearts. I hope this inspires you to dream bigger than you have lately and try something you may be afraid of.

 Romans 8:28-39 

More Than Conquerors

 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^[a] who^[b] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
   ”For your sake we face death all day long;
      we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[c] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[d] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How can you not be inspired by the story of Nick? This is a man who truly understands what it means to have obstacles and limitations that can be more than overwhelming. We don’t need eyes to see we need vision. We don’t need hands to hold we need hearts to heal. We don’t need to be given anything, we simply need to give what we have.

 Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry

 25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[a]?

 28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

There is much to learn from the wisdom of those around us, and the lessons they have learned through life. As we dream, as we hurt, as we fight, as we try, as we fail, as we cry, as we laugh, and as we simply grow up there will be lessons and advice surrounding every endeavor and hopefully friends around every corner. Throughout the adventures life may give us, remember there is a God who loves you more than we could ask or imagine. He has given us a hope and a future; he has offered salvation to those who would but come to the cross of his son Jesus. Remember to look around during your adventures because there may be people in need of a friend and a shoulder. As we have all been in need, there are many others who don’t have life as fortunate as we do.

Aaron Mullins

The Bible has so many examples and definitions of our relationship with God. There is the clay and potter, the sheep and shepherd, the master and servant, and finally the bride and groom. Jesus is called friend, brother, our savior, and our great reward. We look to God for comfort when we hurt, help when we have no where to turn, and encouragement when we are down. It’s almost like we treat God more like a spiritual “teddy bear” than we do a brother, friend, or husband, and far too often we don’t even consider God our great reward!

 Often I hear “there is so much I need to experience, before I…” or “I haven’t hit rock bottom yet.” Come on; are you kidding me! As an adult I can safely say there is STILL so much I need or want to experience. The question is, would you like to experience those things alone or with a friend, brother, husband, or savior. If the answer is alone, well I can’t argue with that. Though I might have a couple of emo cd’s you can borrow for your trip. In the case of “hitting rock bottom” do we really want to? Do we have to? When do you know your there? Some people need to hit a “rock bottom” in order to see there need for God, but not everyone (the Ethiopian eunuch would be a great example). Why would we purposely choose to hit a “rock bottom” any way? I think it goes back to the common misconceptions of who God is. We don’t wait to hit rock bottom in order to get married, or go and experience all the other girls (or boys) before we settle for a husband or wife. When choosing a friend we don’t wait until everyone else hates us. If someone were to “friend request” us on Facebook we wouldn’t say “I haven’t experienced all the other friends out there yet”. Yet this logic is accepted within churches and homes all across the world.

 Our relationship with God can only be defined by that, a relationship. Do you have one or not, do you want one or not, is yours a good relationship or one that need work? Is it time to reconnect with an old buddy, time to rekindle an old flame, take your husband on a date? Just remember, God is our great reward! On that last day will that reward be the one you’ve been waiting for and living your whole life to get? Together lets go out into this world by ourselves and build a relationship with God that can only be described as passionate and consuming. Let’s truly live as if we believed that God IS our great reward so we can see his Light Reign in our generation

Aaron Mullins

Dreams; we all follow them; some of us don’t even realize we are. Look around and find everything around you that is BROWN; next, close your eyes and count the amount of things you saw that were BLUE. Now open your eyes and find everything you can that is BLUE around you. All this says is what we want to see, or what we focus on, we WILL see or find (Matt 7). The problem with this is often we are looking for the wrong things, so we ask the wrong questions. Like a computer, our brain feels obligated to answer the questions we ask, I.E. “why can’t I meet anyone that’s nice to me, why is it so hard to stop playing video games, why can’t I loose weight, or get good grades” and the list goes on and on. The answer our brain comes up with often is something like “cause you suck.” We HAVE to learn how to ask the right questions as well as focus on the right things. Typically you can tell how much time someone has spent playing World of Warcraft, Halo, or Modern Warfare, and other games simply by seeing how good they are at it. You can tell how much someone is working out based on their appearance. You can also tell what someone’s goals are by the product of their life, for instance what do you think Michael Jordan’s focus was, or MLK, or JFK, or Eminem, or Donald Trump. It isn’t hard to tell what people are focused on, or dream about. MLK desperately wanted to see things change, to see the racial divide broken, to see blacks and whites treated the same with the same opportunities. We know he was passionate about this because he wrote about it, he spoke about it, he gathered people around him to do something about it, and look at the outcome. Jesus was focused on seeing change as well, seeing the divide between God and man broken down, he dreamed of a kingdom that would last forever, a world that would love eachother. We know this because he wrote about it, spoke about it, gathered people around him to do something about it, and look at the outcome!!! What we seek we WILL find. The Question is simple, what are you seeking, what’s your dream, how can you get there, and who can help?  Together lets dream big and ask big questions, after all if we are going to dream and ask questions, why not dream and ask BIG? For further reading on the topic of following dreams you can read the story of Joseph at http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+37&version=NIV

Aaron Mullins

The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different. How it is different depends on us. Change hasn’t been or will ever be easy. . It is not the strongest of the species that survive or the most intelligent (thank goodness), but the one most responsive to change. Often people want to change everything around them, simply to realize that most of the time not much is achieved.  Generation after generation there has been, and probably will always be a movement of youth that strives for change. We all want it, and that’s part of the solution as well as the problem

How hard would it be to write a list of things you want to see changed at school, at work, at home, on the road, in church, with your friends, with circumstances, with finances, grades, and even ourselves? Often we say things like “if this only cost less, the food here is terrible, if I only had better grades, I wish I had my license, I wish I wasn’t sick all the time, I hate being grounded, I wish my parents said they are proud of me, if only I knew someone who could relate to me, we could do more events if there were more teens at church.” It is never hard to write a list of the things we want changed. Often that’s the problem. We can have the tendency to look for faults as if the one who finds the most gets a prize.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some thing’s that absolutely need to change, but much of the time those thing are hard to see because we are distracted by the way we see the world. With out exception, it is not possible to change the circumstances around us or the people around us without first changing ourselves. That is why change is so hard. We read stories about Gideon, Moses, David, Ruth, Hannah, Esther, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and we get motivated. We turn to the stories of Jesus and we are blown away and inspired to do great things. We even watch movies like Gladiator, Blind Side, Matrix, Glory, Rocky, 300, and countless others simply to leave feeling as if we could conquer the world. All of us want a great ending, but great endings only happen to great stories, meaning don’t live to die but die to live.

Try writing a list of all the things you are grateful for (in every area of your life) and read it every night, pray through it daily, as well as continue to make that list bigger and better. If you can’t start there, that’s where you will finish. It may not be immediate but after doing this for a bit you will start to see EVERYTHING around you “change.” Then and only then the injustices of the world with be clear, and we will hear the cries of the people. More importantly we will be able to change the injustices as well as comfort the cries. Light will Reign and we will be the change this worlds needs to see.

Aaron Mullins

A pile of rocks remains a pile of rocks until someone sees something different. So often we settle for the circumstances we are in, we settle for “the way it is” or “the way it has been”. There are countless injustices going on around us at any given time, and often go unnoticed, or worse “promoted”. How long was there a pile of rocks before Nehemiah saw a glorious temple? History is filled with the names of men and women like him who stood in the gap, who saw the world around them in a different light. In the beginning God took what was formless and empty and saw a place filled with people created in his own likeness, with limitless potential. He saw his son take away the sins of the world and a kingdom established in love, before man had suffered the guilt of sin or the sting of loneliness. God saw what wasn’t there.

Jesus walked this earth challenging every social and religious norm of the day. He always stood up for those who couldn’t stand, and spoke for those who couldn’t speak, all the while teaching those who love him how to do the same. Walking on water and flying in the air are not miracles. A miracle is walking this earth. Jesus, to this day, was the only one to walk this earth the way it was meant to be walked. He saw through the circumstances and the destruction; he saw through the broken hearts and torn families, he saw through the addictions and the lies; he saw through the religious world just as he saw through the pagans. He walked through the struggles because he saw what could be. That’s who we walk with!  If you want to build a boat, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign those people tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. Before leaving, Jesus told his disciples that they would do even greater things than he did. They in fact did, will we? We have the ability and the talent to change this world in our generation. What man has done before, man can do again.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, so we imitate, and are happy doing so, but no matter how great our imitating may be it is still simply that, an imitation. Henry Matisse said “there is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has to first forget all the roses that have ever been painted”. Like those men and women in the first century, let’s stand up and stand out, lets find the gap and bravely stand in it, building what should be, and not what has been, or currently is. We need to look at the rubble in and around our lives and see something different, something glorious. Together let’s long for the immense possibilities that God saw as he created this world, and like Nehemiah, let’s be willing to get our hands dirty. Then and only then will light reign, and this world be turned upside down.

Aaron Mullins

Horse back to private jets and gravel roads to concrete jungles; 8 tracks to I pods and snail mail to Facebook, everything around us has changed, has grown, has evolved. Even the term “teenager or “teen” didn’t exist until the 40’s, before then you were either a child or an adult.  Now teens have become a society within a society, experiencing a battle like we have never seen. Teens more than most deserve to have someone stand by them, a personal cheerleader, so to speak, like it says in Hebrews 3, encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Adults go home after work, teens bring work home; drugs, sex, and talk of parties would never be tolerated in any work environment, at school it is the environment, at work adults strive to make a boss happy, get a promotion and a raise, at school teens strive to make everyone happy, get good grades and survive, not to mention the pressures of popularity. Then the average teen goes home to a second job like babysitting and countless tasks around the house, followed by more school work, then possibly more chores like dishes, finally it’s off to bed, somewhere, somehow they MUST find the time to socialize and have fun so they don’t get labeled at school.

All too often the average teen is looked at like a child, and treated like one, as they deal with adult scenarios like pregnancy, abortion, drug addiction, abusive relationships, death, depression, feelings of inadequacy, getting or keeping a job, and countless other things that happen on a daily basis, in addition their bodies are changing daily and being bombarded by an abundance of unexplainable emotions. Teens need some one to stand by them, to hear them, to talk to them, to love them, and be a shoulder to cry on, and a friend to laugh with.

Though this world is changing and evolving, God has remained the same, his ear is not to dull to hear and his arm is not too short to reach, he still has a plan for prospering us and not to harm us. In fact he has even given us the exact time and place we need to live so that we can be close to him, and he always does everything for the good of those who love him. He is standing by each of us searching our hearts in order to give us a life that will be shared about for generations, a life of impact. Out of all the women in the world it was a teenage Mary who God found worthy to carry and raise Jesus, the savior of mankind. Out of all the solders and mighty men it was a young teen named David that God chose to face Goliath, to be king, and to lead his people. The Bible is filled with examples like these, and today is no different.

No matter who you are, no matter where you go in life, the songs are the same; we all need some body to stand by us. We each must sing our song but it’s together that music is made and the Light will Reign. For more study please follow this link to a list of “one another” scriptures http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=%22one+another%22&qs_version=NIV

Right now a young teen’s senses are heightened, and his awareness is sharp. He has grown in his ability to survive, even through the harshest of conditions. His talent at blending in is only surpassed by his craftiness and speed, in fact even his strength is abnormal for his size. He is no longer in need of constant affection and rarely feels alone, often he would prefer to be by himself.

At first glance it seems this young teen is finally growing up, often these traits are encouraged and a sign of maturity. For a moment, I ask you to look a bit deeper, let’s looks at this from a different perspective. These attributes are also the evolution of any species learning to adapt to life in the dark, with little or no exposure to the light. We can see this in nature as well as read about it in Ephesians 4-5

In the beginning this world was described as formless and empty with darkness covering the deep. Often this same description can apply to those we love and quite possibly even apply to ourselves. Darkness was the second to last plague in the book of Exodus and appropriately described as a darkness that could be felt. In Shakespeare’s King Lear darkness was given jaws with which to devour love. So whether you are in a room with the lights turned off, walking outside at night, seeing the dark clouds of a storm, or going through what seems to be the hardest time you will ever face, we know that darkness exists and we have all experienced it; but the darkness we experience is NOT absolute, it is merely a shadow.

We know that in Genesis that God created light, and said it was good. In Exodus the Plague was lifted and the people were set free. In the dark cave of Adullam, filled with discontentment, debt, and discouragement arose thirty of the mightiest men to ever walk on this planet. In fact in Exodus 20 the bible says that God is in the “thick” darkness, a foreshadowing of Jesus who says “I am the light” as he gives sight to the blind and legs to the lame, hope to the hopeless and families to the lonely, he heals hearts and forgives sin, he carries our infirmities to a cross and nailes them to that bitter tree. Jesus also says in the book of John “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

In the midst of such a glorious light we will not walk in the shadows! We will throw off the sin that so easily entangles as we run this race marked out for us. We will shine like stars in this dark world and let the LIGHT REIGN. We will put no stumbling block in anyone’s path so that our ministry will not be discredited. We will shine with  great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

We will evolve as men and women learning to adapt to life in the light with little or no exposure to the dark! 

Aaron Mullins