Important Notes for This Wednesday | OASIS Leaders’ Update: 1/12/2021

Hey Team,

I apologize this email didn’t go out last week. I actually wrote a full email for you and held it. We had begun having staff level conversations about whether or not there was wisdom in pushing our start back to January 27, considering the current hospital and ICU capacities in the region. We believe that this is one of our most important metrics going forward.
However, with the events that transpired last Wednesday, for us to not meet felt wrong. We have students who need space to process what happened and how to respond in a Christ-like manner. So, with that in mind, we will be meeting this week.
This is going to be a tricky night. You’re probably aware that we do our best to stay politically neutral at Canyon Springs. And it will be important that we do our best to do so, both from the front and in small groups. However, what we witnessed was far beyond politics. It was the ultimate example of how destructive words can be. And when we allow and embrace ever increasing amounts of vitriol, hatred, and lies in the public space, this is where it inevitably leads.

Ground Rules for Tomorrow

To say that we aren’t going to get political tomorrow is a bit of a misnomer, because all of this is political. However, we won’t allow it to become partisan. It will be a tight rope to walk, and I’ll do my best to navigate that, and I ask you to do the same as you lead small groups. That means we really need to hold the conversation to character issues and biblical ethics. There is no way to have this conversation without mentioning certain politicians, so undoubtedly names will come up. And we don’t want to censor kids to the point that they’re unwilling to speak. However, we have to help steer the conversation towards truth and towards Jesus and away from hope in whatever political party, politician, or platform that so many are trusting in now.
I also recognize that, because we have a diversity of viewpoints on our team, we may not agree on a unified set of facts. In order to clear up any confusion as to my baseline for both the facts of the situation and my theological perspective, you can read this article by Dr. Russell Moore, the President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention: “The Roman Road from Insurrection.” I will be taking a different tact tomorrow night than he does, but I didn’t find much of anything to disagree with regarding his take to our present situation.
If you have any issues with that and need to talk through that with me, please do so before tomorrow night. Your presence means that you are willing to go with that working definition and lead students in a conversation that helps them understand that perspective while leaving room for exploration, doubt, and disagreement, while still leaving your personal political views out.  Please understand I don’t make a request like this lightly, but I must ask it so that we can have unity of mind and heart walking into a divisive topic.

Small Group Switch Up

If and/or when we do break into small groups (pending how the large group discussion goes), I’m going to mix up the students and leaders into new discussion groups for the night. It’s an experiment I’d like to try that I believe has the potential to accomplish a few things: help expand students past their regular cliques they gravitate to, introduce a diversity of viewpoints into the conversation, and deepen our sense of community beyond our small groups. If it goes well, we may continue with it for our next series before returning back to normal.
Alright, that’s it for now, and sorry for the late email. Yesterday and this morning were rough migraine moments for Paige, so I’m having to play catch up tonight.
Love you all and appreciate each and every one of you,
Luke

Final Christmas Party Details | OASIS Leaders’ Update: 12/15/2020

Hey Team!

Here’s some final notes for you regarding Christmas party details:

Arrival Time

Let’s huddle at 6:45 outside. With it being a special night, I want to make sure we have enough time to touch base, catch up, and be ready to interact with students when they start arriving.

Check-In

When students check-in, we will give them 1 glow stick. They will need this for the opening activity. That’s all they need to know about it. They are welcome to open it and get it glowing. We’ll need helpers to pass those out at the check-in table. They can be students or adults. And, Niki, if you’re able to bring your iPad and come a few minutes early, we can install our check-in stuff on there and get you up and running.

Gift Exchange Details You Should Know

We will have a table for gift exchange gifts to go once students arrive. We’ll need someone to man it, either a student leader, small group leader (or both). That person’s job will be to direct traffic to the table and lightly mist and/or wipe down gifts as they come in with sanitizer. We’re trying to demonstrate that we’re taking all possible precautions.

We will also be providing gloves for everyone during the gift exchange. I need to go get another box, as I thought the box I ordered had 100 pairs of gloves. Instead, it only had 100 individual gloves in it. If I can’t find more (I think I can), if you’re comfortable with it, stick to using hand sanitizer and leave the gloves for the students. We’ll pass these out right before the exchange, and I’ll need someone to take ownership of that.

Don’t forget to bring a gift as well! I’d love for you to participate in the gift exchange with the students. I’m planning on picking up a few extra gifts for students who don’t remember to bring one. However, if anyone has time and wants to take care of that for me, let me know lol. I wouldn’t be sad…

Decorating Early

Student Ministry Team members are supposed to be here at 4:00 to decorate and set things up. Any of you are welcome to come at anytime during that window, if you’re available.

Schedule for the Night

Attached to this email is the schedule for tomorrow night. It should be relatively self-explanatory, but if you have any questions, let me know.

Festive Attire

I didn’t make a big deal about it in the sign ups, but I did mention on everything to wear a festive mask. And if people just assume it’s a contest and dress up, either with masks or with sweaters, etc. I’m happy to build that in. We can squeeze that in during the announcement time. If you have anything fun, definitely try to wear it!

I think that’s everything! If you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow, ready to huddle at 6:45!

Thanks!

Luke

—————-

Week of 6/15

Hey Guys,

Just checking in and saying HI. I saw a lot of people hanging with students last week. Great job. What you do now will surely echo in eternity and you ARE making a difference. This next couple weeks I am starting to transition things to Luke and he is starting July 1. Keep hanging with students. Your physical presence is valuable right now. Use it !

Week of 5/27

Hey Guys,

No zoom tonight. In fact, I think we are done with ZOOM. I have been thinking through the best way to reach students and provide what they really need…. community and Jesus……

Take this week off and be ready to meet with me next WED at 7PM. Let’s do a socially distance meeting at my house if you are cool with that. Show up with a mask on..Once we are all sitting in the backyard spread out, we can remove our masks and just wear them if we are passing by each other. I will be filling you in on our plans for June/Summer, Luke transition and Houseboats.

This will be a pretty important meeting for anyone that is a leader so PLEASE make it a priority. It will also be really nice to hang with each other too.

My address is 11309 Red Cedar Way.

Can you do me a favor and check with your CO LEADER to make sure they see this and are good to go next week?

Week of 5/20

Hey Guys,

We are on for midweeks this week.

Be at our leader meeting at 710.
This is the Zoom link for the next couple weeks and you can use the same link every week.  You can access that by clicking here. The Password is iloveoasis

Text your small group and invite them!

This week we are doing bible study and small groups. Simple. I think getting in the word like we did last time maybe even MORE bible study driven will be good. Connecting these kids to Jesus and the Word is what really matters so lets do that.

-We will have a worship song

-Not really a game, just talking to kids and connecting 

-Bible study

-Small groups

Week of 5/11

Hey Guys,

We are on for midweeks this week.

Be at our leader meeting at 710.
This is the Zoom link for the next couple weeks and you can use the same link every week.  You can access that by clicking here. The Password is iloveoasis

Text your small group and invite them
Be ready to hear a message and come up with some small group questions on your own. Easy ones are, “What stuck out to you from the message?” “What is something your learning during this season?” Just get kids talking.

I will be speaking this week, I know, its been a while :)

Week of 5/4

No midweeks this week! Hope you guys are well. Take a break. See you next week :)

We are going to slowly start exposing Luke (new youth pastor) to the group for his start date on July 1. Im working on a timeline right now and will share with ya next week!

Week of 4/27

Hey Guys,

We are on for midweeks this week. Next week we will take a break!

  • Be at our leader meeting at 710. (Im going to have some leaders doing certain aspects of the program)
    •  This is the Zoom link for the next couple weeks and you can use the same link every week.  You can access that by clicking here.
    • The Password is iloveoasis
  • Text your small group and invite them
  • Be ready to hear a message and come up with some small group questions on your own. Easy ones are, “What stuck out to you from the message?” “What is something your learning during this season?” Just get kids talking.
  • This week we have a lot of fun elements!
  • We have Kirsten Loy speaking. She was the youth pastor before me. She is the best.
  • Houseboats signups are crushing we are at 60-ish signups already.

Ill see you guys WED!

Week of 4/21

Hey Guys,

We are on for this week and next week. First week of May we will take off.

  • Be at our leader meeting at 710. (Im going to have some leaders doing certain aspects of the program)
    •  This is the Zoom link for the next couple weeks and you can use the same link every week.  You can access that by clicking here.
    • The Password is iloveoasis
  • Text your small group and invite them
  • Be ready to hear a message and come up with some small group questions on your own. Easy ones are, “What stuck out to you from the message?” “What is something your learning during this season?” Just get kids talking.
  • This week we have a lot of fun elements!

Ill see you guys WED!

Week of 4/12

Hey Guys,

Hope you had a good Easter! It was odd not being at Alliant with everyone. Miss you. This week we are on for small groups. Here is what I need help with:

  • Be at our leader meeting at 710. (Im going to have some leaders doing certain aspects of the program)
    •  This is the Zoom link for the next couple weeks and you can use the same link every week.  You can access that by clicking here.
    • The Password is iloveoasis
  • Text your small group and invite them
  • Be ready to hear a message and come up with some small group questions on your own. Easy ones are, “What stuck out to you from the message?” “What is something your learning during this season?” Just get kids talking

Ill see you guys WED!

Week of 3/30

  • This week and next week
    • Zoom online. Leader meeting at 710
    •  This is the Zoom link for the next couple weeks and you can use the same link every week.  You can access that by clicking here.
    • No midweeks next week in light of Easter
    • Hangout tomorrow night after Zoom with leaders. I got some Jackbox games we can play
      • If 21+ grab your favorite adult beverage (AFTER GROUPS ARE DONE!) and lets hangout and play some games!

Week of 3/9

Hey All,

Tomorrow we are continuing our series on friendships. Kids will be talking about wether they are a good friend or not. They will be evaluating this idea of “mutual concern.” Pastor Jack is joining us for our leader meeting to share with you what this next season of Canyon Springs is going to look like. It will be important info for you since you are on the front lines at CS. Can you do me a favor and make sure you are on time at 7PM so we can start and end on time as we are going to be discussing some pretty big stuff. All really exciting. 

Thanks guys. Below is the curriculum if you need it! See ya tomm :)

HERE. We are using this for the next three weeks!

Week of 3/2

Hey Everyone,

We are back on for OASIS. We are working our way through our new series taking a look at friendships. Just a reminder to please value Sundays. I had some visitors yesterday and it was a bummer when the parents wanted to meet the leader and I had no leader for that group. This happens a lot and that is why I need you there on a Sunday. Remember the commitment for being a leader and please do all you can to rise to that expectation. I encourage you to serve one and see one which is what a lot of us do. I attend date 8:30 AM service myself and then I serve in the 10:30 AM service at Oasis.

I posted the curriculum last week so just get that below.

We are going through the subject of “Your friends will make you or break you.” Here are some points from Sunday

  • Your friends are leading you somewhere, if you were to follow that road for 5-10 years where would you end up?
  • Wanting to have loyal friends is a God given thing.
  • Things to look for when choosing friends
    • Do not judge based on appearance
    • Listen to what they say. Are they breaking others down or building them up?
    • Look at what they do.

See you guys tomorrow at 7PM.

Week of 2/24

Alright Guys! Camp season is over and we are now heading into the spring. I love the spring because the weather starts to get warmer and the days get longer. I also love the Easter season at our church. Tomorrow night we have a leader hangout after cleanup at In N Out MIRA MESA. Come and connect with some leaders. We will be there from 930-1015. Lets get you caught up on what March is going to look like for Oasis.

-We start our new series called “Said no friend ever” this Sunday. It is a three week series all about friendship. A series like this is so clutch for High Schoolers because they really value friendships and sometimes are not “great” friends. You can download the series packet and curriculum by clicking HERE. We are using this for the next three weeks!

-Midweeks this month are (4th, 11th, and 18th)

-Leader training is on March 18th

-No leader hangout in March cuz we are having GAG night on March 25th 

Here are details for ASH WED. We want to encourage our students to go with their family if their family is going to a home but if they are not, they can go here:

9th-Bozykowskis (11903 Zirbel Court)

10th-The Filkeys (9720 Caminito Pudregal)

11th/12- The Coulapides (12036 Wooded Vista Ln)

 

Week of 2/04

Hey Everyone,

Tomorrow at midweeks we are going to be talking about the subject of “Why go to church” and really work through this with the kids. I think you will really enjoy it. I will bring curriculum tomorrow as I am still working through it a little and need some more time.

Our leader meeting for Winter x this Sunday the 9th. We will meet at my (Chad) house **11309 red cedar way** Bring your own lunch and we are meeting from 1-230PM. We are in main service where I am preaching about “Why worship” and how to get the most out of worship time at church. Come and support your homie!!

We are 2 signups away from the second bus. At this point we have the bus but the 2 signups would really help the budget out so keep recruiting!!

Week of 1/27

YES! This week is worship and prayer night. I love these nights. Please do not see this as a week to take off since you do not have midweeks. There is nothing more valuable than a student seeing what worship looks like as their leaders demonstrate it. Please be there. We will have prayer times where you get to pray with kids so I need all hands on deck. Should be a really great night. Can you be here at 7PM to help with any last minute set up?

Remember, the week after we have midweek but then no midweek the week of Winter X.

Our leader meeting for Winter x is Sunday the 9th. We will meet at my (Chad) house **11309 red cedar way** Bring your own lunch and we are meeting from 1-230PM

We are 6 signups away from the second bus so keep pushing hard!! We are soooo close you guys!

See you guys WED, its going to be awesome!

Week of 1/13

Hey Guys we have normal small groups this week! Do me a favor, would you get in the habit of texting your kids about midweeks? Kids get so disconnected during the holidays so always so good to help them get reconnected!

I am excited for this weeks topic on “one word” where we are going to help students come up with one word for their year. Should be a great topic.

Below is the curriculum! Ill see you WED at 7Pm for our leader huddle.

Wk 2- One Word Curriculum

Challenge Accepted Series (1/5, 1/12, 1/19)

Life is full of challenges. In order to change your circumstances, you must accept your challenges. As we begin the new year we’ll look at the challenge of letting go of the past as well as taking on new challenges for the year that will make us who we want to be and get us to where we want to go.

In the first week, we’ll look at the things we’re holding onto that are keeping us from moving forward.

The second week, we’ll talk about how powerful words are, and challenge students to come up with one word and one verse that they can focus on becoming throughout the year.

In the third and final week of Challenge Accepted, we’ll talk about how actions speak louder than words.

We’ll encourage students to do what they need to do to get the results they want to get. They’ll be challenged to identify what they want most and put habits in place that will get them there.

Below you can find the week by week topics along with the attached curriculum. Please be there for the Sunday messages as it will help you lead the midweeks more effectively.

Wk 1-Pain to Purpose Curriculum

Wk 2- One Word Curriculum

Wk 3- One Act Curriculum

Week of 12/9

Hey All, really simple this week! We have our Christmas party. Please note that it is an earlier start time of 7-9PM. Show up with a gift for the gift exchange ($5) and wear something Christmas themed. If you can bring an extra present for the gift exchange that is always helpful too! Please get there at 645PM so we can pow wow really quick.

Week of 12/1

Alright we are back for two weeks and then we go on hiatus for the rest of the year. See you at 7PM tomorrow! Lets be ready to roll this next couple of weeks. Below you can find the curriculum for this week.

Couple of reminders/where I need help:

  • Christmas party is next week so show up on wed with some ideas or funny stuff about your kids/other leaders that we can use to roast them
  • Curriculum is right here for this wed Click Here. 
  • We have our Christmas party next week at the same time from 730-9PM. The students need to bring $5 for food, a $5 gift for the gift exchange and wear an ugly sweater or something Christmas themed (we need to dress up too).
  • Winter X signups are still going on. We had a strong start that fizzled out. Pretty normal with the Holidays. Lets keep grinding and reaching out to kids to get them to camp.

A good question that we didnt get to cover in our last training was, “How do I separate being a leader and being a kids friend?” I think that is a really solid question. Check out this BLOG I found that talks about this thin line of leadership and friendship that is often hard to discern.

Week of 11/17

Hey Everyone,

This week we are finishing our series “Not a fan.” Next week we have no midweeks because of Thanksgiving. Attached is the curriculum for tomorrow night!!! Week 3-PDF

Im excited for tomorrow I really love the Holiday season in ministry. Hope you can make it :)

 

Week of 11/11

Hey Guys!

I hope you have the day off today on Veterans Day and are enjoying it!! This week we are continuing our series “Not a fan” at midweeks. Thanks everyone that made it on Sunday. It was nice to be back to being able to speak too. The curriculum for this week can be found by clicking HERE. 

This Wed is going to be really awesome. Im enjoying this series with my small group and this week we have Jonathon and a full band leading worship! Should be pretty awesome.

Couple Reminders:

  • We have our bi-monthly leadership training this Wed from 630-730PM. I will have some good food for you as well. These bi-monthly trainings are mandatory to be an Oasis leader so please prioritize. You guys submitted some really solid questions so we will spend some time answering some of them.
  • Camp signups have started so get your kids registered! Canyonsprings.org/winterx
  • Sunday we have a service project! We will meet at the cove at 1PM. Anyone coming should show up with two sack lunches. We will spend some time praying for our city and then we will go downtown to hand out the lunches. We will be done and back to the cove by 3PM. Feel free to invite some students and join us! Its a way we are practicing being a follower and not just a fan.
  • I wrote a blog titled, “3 easy things you can do THIS WEEK to take your leadership to the next level. Check it out HERE

 

 

Week of 11/3

Hey Guys,

I am looking forward to Wednesday. If you weren’t there on Sunday. I tried to preach through a bad cough and cold and I just couldn’t. My voice was pretty much gone and I was really struggling. So about 1 minute into the message I apologized to the kids and we just ate the nachos and hung out and then did some worship… Between me and you I felt terrible and really attacked by the enemy after. I felt like I let the kids down and you guys down by not being able to give the message. Luckily, my wife is great at talking me off all the bridges my pride likes to get on. Really, its pretty egotistical to think that I let anyone down because I couldn’t give a message haha. Anyways, Im hoping my voice is back by wed so I can give the first message of our new series because I do think it is an important message for the kids to hear.

So this week we are starting our Not a Fan series in small groups. The curriculum is found below. If you have not gone through it I want you to go through it as a leader and start getting a grasp on what we are trying to help the kids navigate through.

Winter X signups have started so encourage your students to signup at canyonsprings.org/winterx

**I am pushing our leader training back to next week (11/13). It will be from 630-730 with dinner provided. 

Last thing, here was an email I got from Jillaine about a great Youth Trauma Training that is happening at the cove if anyone is interested!

Chad,

Thought you might want your leaders to know about this training, would love if you would invite them to join us!!

If you have a student in your life that has experienced trauma we would love for you to join us as we host an informative training on trauma at The Cove on Sunday, November 17 from 1-3pm.

Youth For Christ will be there to train our volunteer mentors as well as anyone else interested in this topic.

Trauma informed practice training is designed as a framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma to equip you with a better understanding and strategies to work with youth more effectively.

Not A Fan Series Starting 11/3 can be found HERE

Our new series Not a Fan starts on November 3rd. The curriculum can be found by clicking the link above and in there you will find every single week in WORD and a PDF. I have provided WORD format in case you want to go in and make some notes or comments on things you want to talk about or highlight. In addition, there is an “OASIS LEADERS START HERE PDF” so please do read through that first.

Week of 10/14/19

Alright!!! Week two of IDK! I am excited to be continuing this series. On Sunday we talked about God’s plan and The Fear of God. This week we are going to take a deep dive into the Fear of God. Heres what I need from you. YOU are answering questions that kids have so I want you to be prepared as a leader. Be sure to go through the curriculum and familiarize yourself with it. Be prepared this week. Show up at 7Pm so we can connect and talk about the night. Im looking forward to it. Reminder: next week is CITY SEARCH and we will have a leader hangout after at In N Out Mira Mesa if you wanna come get a burger or shake :)

Click Here  for this weeks curriculum

 

Little video about this week. I know…I should have filmed it Landscape mode…

 

 

Week of 10/07/19

Hey Everyone, I am super excited for this Wednesday. On Sunday, we answered three questions. This week we will take a deeper dive into two of those questions.

1.) What is God’s stance on LGBTQ?

2.) Why do I fall into temptation. 

Heres the deal: You NEED to be at the leader meeting at 7PM because I cannot have you discussing such a sensitive topic (LGBTQ) without a little training. I am not expecting you to lead the discussion as far as content goes. Instead, the students will read a blog (pretty much the message from Sunday but synthesized) on the topic and then talk about the blog. Be there on time at 7PM ready to roll. Below is the curriculum.

Ever wonder if your giving the right amount of attention and affection? Check out this leader devotional that answers this by clicking HERE

Curriculum for this week can be accessed by clicking HERE

Week of 9/30/19

Hey Small Group leaders! This Wednesday we are going to base our curriculum off of what I preached about on Sunday in main service. If you were not there and want to hear the message then click HERE or watch it below. We are going to be in Mark 16 and talking about the resurrection. Attached below are the small group questions. If you want a hard copy then please do print them out before arriving and if you would rather just use your phone for the questions that is fine too. Get here at 7PM for our leader meeting and lets be excited to share with our students the transforming power of the resurrection! Woot Woot!

The word I have been focusing on in my own life lately is presence. I want you as a leader to realize how much your presence actually is LEADERSHIP.  Being with people……Your presence, in their life, may be one of the most important things you do as a leader…

If you want to hear more about this topic then click HERE to listen to an amazing 6 minute Ted talk on this idea of presence.

Mark 16 SGQ Leaders Guide

Week of 9/24/19

This week is GAG (girls and God/guys and God) night. GAG nights are meant for connection. This is a great time for your students to invite a friend so encourage them to do so! Have an amazing time at your GAG night.

See you next week!

Submit a Question about Midweeks or Curriculum Here

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