Meet our new Student Pastors

Here they are: Trey and Haven Thompson, along with two of their three sons. We are looking forward to getting to know them all and moving forward in faith and ministry together.

Trey and Haven are excited to be given the opportunity to serve the Fyffe Community as Student Pastors of the Freedom Seven Student Ministries. Trey and Haven met at Lee University while they were members of the Lee University Campus Choir. They have 3 Children all boys, Beau, Luke, and Reid. They have been in ministry now for 5 years as student pastors in Georgia and South Carolina. Both Trey and Haven have been Licensed Ministers with the Church of God since 2007. They are excited to see what God has in store for them and for the students of the Fyffe Community.

A new season

On behalf of Freedom 7 Ministries, we want to say a great big, "Thank you!" to Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger for all they have meant to us. They have touched literally thousands of lives with the message of God's salvation. We are going to miss them, but we know that they are following God's direction for the ministry He has for them.

We are beginning a new season here at Freedom 7. We will be welcoming our new student pastors, Trey and Haven Thompson, on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I'll be posting updates as I get them, and hopefully I'll some information to pass along to you about them in the next week or so. Have a blessed day!

Pictures from the Trunk-r-Treat

Wednesday night we had our annual Trunk-r-Treat at church. We had an unbelievable turnout. We gave out close to 200 bags of candy and we ran completely out of hotdogs! Freedom 7 set up two inflatables inside the student center for the students who came out. I think that everyone had a great time and went home with a sugar rush. :)

Look! Jason dressed up as a pumpkin.
Natasha and Chris are on youth staff. Here they are with two of their kids.

Here are pictures of a few of our students.

The prettiest trunk of all.

Ryan showing off his backwards flip.

Mallory is also part of our youth staff.

Sister G and me.

Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger :(

As many of you already know, Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger have resigned as the youth pastors at the Fyffe Church of God. They are following God's leading to Greer, South Carolina to continue in youth ministry at Praise Cathredral Church of God. To say that we will miss them is a tremendous understatement. They have served here for six years and are loved not only by our church and students, but also by the community. On Wednesday night, Pastor Wayne tearfully announced that they were moving. He also left all of you with a message to continue to seek after God with as much passion as you have been, even more in fact. Sister G exhorted everyone to cling to God and to depend on Him. There is no doubt that this was a very hard decision for them, but I know them well enough to know that they are a man and woman of God who have sought God diligently. There is no doubt they are following God's direction. So, to the students of Greer, South Carolina, you are getting the best youth pastors in the world. Lucky! Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger, Tyler and Gracyn, we love you and are going to miss you.

My apologies

I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have posted anything on the blog. We have had a lot of exciting things going on here at Freedom 7. First of all, our fall program, Collide: A Collision Course with Destiny, is going very well. We are seeing students make commitments to Christ and grow and mature in their relationship with God. Also, our new Sunday School program is awesome. I hope that all of you are enjoying our new schedule of having Sunday School at night. I know I am! Our attendance is increasing, which means that more souls are being reach with the gospel. Another exciting announcement is that we have new Children's Pastors, Jeremy and Teresa Johnson.

Well, that's all for now. I promise not to keep you waiting three weeks for another post. :)

Kidsfest 2008

This weekend was our annual Kidsfest at our church. We had a great turnout (about 500 each day) and many kids as well as parents asked Jesus into their hearts (Praise the Lord!) Saturday was a community day with activities for the kids and presentations by the fire and police departments. We served over 500 free meals. Saturday and Sunday we had services by our Kidslink team and our guest speaker "Fritz".
Freedom 7 contributed to Kidsfest as puppeteers, seat moniters, clowns, praise and worship, clean up and drama. Here is a picture of the drama team performing New Americans.
Hannah and "Sparkles" sang along with the junior praise team.
The girls' team won the offering contest, so the boys' team captains were handcuffed and served pie in the face.
Fritz gave Pastor Jamey a lesson in fire eating. Man, is he hot, or what?lol

Here is a video of Fritz eating fire.

A change is in the air

Hey Freedom 7,

I'm sure you all know, but I wanted to remind you that we will starting our new service schedule this Sunday. Here it is:
10:00 am---Worship Service
5:15 pm---Sunday School
6:00pm---Youth Service/Kidslink/Worship Service

Well, I hope that you all have a great weekend!

Recap 8/24/08

Hey guys! Today's services were awesome! I love when the Word of the Lord is preached with such anointing and power. The Word of God is able to transform our lives and we need to be reading it daily so that God can speak to us through His Word. James 1:25 speaks of someone who "is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts--that person will be blessed in what he does." I don't know about you, but I do not want to be a forgetful hearer. I want to take God's instruction and apply it to my life so that it can change my life, attitude and character. Tonight's message is so vitally important to our relationship with Jesus that I wanted to post the main points here so that we can remember them all throughout this week. The main theme is that Jesus must be Prophet, Priest and King of our lives.

As Prophet:
He convicts us of sin in our lives and calls us to repentance.

As Priest:
He provided our atonement for sin on the cross and is now the mediator of our covenent with God. Because He is our priest, we are able to approach a holy God through the blood of Jesus.

As King:
He is master and Lord over our lives. We must be completely surrendered to Jesus in every area of our lives. We are no longer in control, but we must invite Him to take control and work His will for our lives.

Have a great week!

SHIFT Young Adult Ministry

This past Thursday, the Freedom 7 Young Adults, newly named SHIFT, met to kick-off the ministry for this fall, headed up by Pastor Heath & Hayley. I took a few pictures, so here they are! :)

Brittany, Kayla, & Hayley

Alisha, Mallory, Chelsea, & Monica Jo, Zack, Josh, Josh, & Pastor Heath

Challenge

Tonight we were issued a challenge: Make the sacrifices necessary to go deeper with God so that we will see His promises fulfilled in our own lives and in the youth group. As I was reflecting back on tonight's service, it really got me thinking about what we make sacrifices for. I am reading a book right now by Kelly Minter called No Other Gods. In the book, she talks about how an idol is anything that you make sacrifices to/for, something that controls your life or determines your decisions. By that definition, idolatry can be anything that becomes more important in our life than God. I believe that it also means that worship requires sacrifice, whether it is to a false god or to the True God. We can choose to sacrifice our emotions and purity in a bad relationship, or our time to an unhealthy hobby. Sometimes the object of our worship isn't even a sinful thing, but if it becomes more important in our lives than God, it has just moved into idolatry. Friends, God is the only source of life. He is the only thing that will bring true fulfillment and satisfaction. If we are to worship Him, we will be required to make sacrifices. It may cost us relationships or popularity. We may have to fast some meals or miss hanging out on the weekends so that we can spend time in prayer, but the rewards are worth it. Any other god that we sacrifice to will leave us empty and broken, but our God gives life and joy and eternity in heaven. Tomorrow you will all be going back to school. Know that all of the staff will be praying for you. I hope have a great week.

Teen Talent 2008

Yay!!! I am so excited about our students that are going to International Teen Talent to represent our church as well as the state of Alabama this year. The bus will be leaving out at 5:00am Saturday morning with a bus full of students and their parents headed for San Antonio, Texas. Our drama team is competing in the human video category in the drama division. They will be performing a drama to "I Want it All Back". It is awesome. I have seen it so many times, but it is still powerful everytime I see it. Also, Jessica H. will be competing in the female solo vocalist category, singing "The Love of the Lord Endures" and Kyle W. will be singing "Gentle Savior" in the male solo vocalist category as well as competing in the brass category in trombone. Kyle H. will be competing in the art division. We are so proud of the talent that God has blessed these students with and pray they will continue to further the kingdom of God. Those of us who are not traveling to San Antonio will still be able to watch the drama team and Kyle and Jessica perform via the internet.

Click here to watch.

The times are as follows:

Monday, August 4th
10:00 am: Kyle W. singing "Gentle Savior"
7:00 pm: Jessica H. singing "The Love of the Lord Endures"

Tuesday, August 5th
9:00 am: Drama team performing "I Want it All Back"
8:30-12:30 am(?) Kyle W. on trombone (we do not know the exact time he will perform)

Also, look for an article in the Times Journal tomorrow about our students!

Have a blessed day.

We love you, Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger!!!

Today is Staff Appreciation Day at our church and we will be honoring our student pastor and music pastor. Truly, Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger love students. From praying for you and encouraging you in your spiritual walk, to planning activities and having TWO fundraisers in one weekend, they show how much they care for you all. After working alongside these two amazing people for the past several months, I am confident that they are people of integrity who love God with all their hearts, and who have a passion for seeing souls won for the kingdom of God. Let them know how much we love them today. Also, you can leave a comment on this post and it will be emailed automatically to them. Have a blessed day today.

F7 Yard Sale: part deux

We had another yard sale today to finish raising our money for International Teen Talent. We prayed off the rain for most of the day and thanks to our wise leader, Sista G, we moved all of the stuff under the breezeway just before the rain came. I didn't hear the final count, but I think we made around $900.00 (thank you, Lord). Several students had a little fun "modeling" some of the more interesting items for sale today.

I think Jen and Jessica actually purchased these outfits to wear for 80s day this year.
Okay, so Katie isn't modeling, but I had to put this picture on the blog. She turned our yard sale racks and tables into her very own skate park.
Caitlyn looking fabulous in the $2.00 prom dress.
Somebody call the fire department, we've got some hotties here.:)
Check out Abby's "make offer" sticker.

Oh my....what can I say about Josh in this picture...wow.
They look good to have biked an hour and fifteen minutes to the yard sale, don't they?

Every girl wants a guy who looks this great in a pleather skirt. Eww.

Announcements

July 31st the junior high students will be going to Spring Valley Beach water park. We will be leaving from the student center at 10:00am that Thursday.

August 14th we will kick off our college and career Bible study. We will be meeting the second and fourth Thursday night of each month to discuss relevant topics and really dig into God's word.

We are having a yard sale this Saturday, July 26th. Friday night we would like for anyone who can to come out and help us set up and price items. We will be starting early Saturday morning at 5:00am.

Last, but not least, this Sunday is Staff Appreciation Day. We will be honoring Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger and Pastor Brandon and Sister Autumn. Let our awesome staff know how much we love and appreciate all that they do for us. We are having a dinner immediately following service for these amazing couples.

Have a GREAT week!

"Jump on it" video

Brittany's birthday was this week (happy birthday!:), so we had a celebratory dance. Enjoy!

Pictures from 7/9/08

Here are a few pictures from Wednesday night.
Praise team singers: Jessica and Autumn
This is Cafe 7's very own "cashier boy", Josh.
Taylor and Katie. They're awesome!
Kayla and Brittany are part of our youth staff and also involved in the college and career ministry.
Okay, it rained so hard Wednesday night that there was about four inches of rain standing in the back of the student center.

Chelsea and Morgan.
Here's John, Elizabeth and Charlie.

Last, but definately not least are Alex and "little" Joe. I had to take five pictures to get "the one". They look as if they are saying, "We have a lovely youth group."
Hope you love the pictures. I am trying to think of some new ideas to make the blog better. If you have any ideas of things you'd like to see, leave a comment. Love you guys!

Laying hands on people

Laying hands on people is a very important part of our denomination. I found this hysterical post describing some of the people you encounter during a "laying on of hands". I hope that you enjoy it. Click here to read.

Testimonies from the beach retreat

I'm hearing some wonderful things about the beach retreat. Everyone I have spoken with has said that they were able to relax and really focus on God. I would love to hear from some of you guys and post some of your testimonies about the retreat here on the blog. Comment here or email me at hayley_croft@hotmail.com and I will get it posted. Click here to read Monica's story.

Beach Retreat!!!

Hey guys,

It has been over a week since I have posted...sorry. This summer has been really action packed at Freedom 7 and there is more to come. Tomorrow, a group of about 45 will be leaving to go to Panama City Beach, Florida for our annual beach retreat. This is always a highlight of the summer for F7. Everyone always comes back refreshed and with new vision, ready to serve God with greater passion. For those of you who will be going, we pray that God will manifest His presence in your life. Have a great Fourth of July!

Sunday, June 22 Cont'd

I thought of 2 other words that God spoke to people Sunday night:

LOVE God!!

Don't lag behind!!

I just want to say, although there have been many times that I have had dreams that I felt were from God, that I don't recall ever having an actual vision before Sunday night's service & it was awesome!

As we were worshipping, Pastor Wayne was urging us to listen & allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. I began to have the phrase on my heart "be steady & unwavering" in our pursuit of God. I saw an old tree that was on fire with the glory of God- like a burning bush, unconsumed. The tree was then cut down and rolled away like tumbleweed. Immediately, moving forward- as if entering the present tense- was a mass of youth & college age people on fire with the glory of God- like the tree, unconsumed. Then I saw a guy looking intently toward the tree that was rolling away like tumbleweed. His flesh began to fade & wither away as his focus remained on the tree, the old glory, and not what was coming.

My friend, as it has already been prophesied over this ministry & our church as a whole, God is about to do something! I don't know what it is exactly, but I have no doubt that it is coming. We've got to prepare and not keep focusing on the glory we've experienced in the past. We've got to look forward in anticipation of what God is getting ready to do, or like the guy in the vision, we'll miss out. Don't miss out!

Sunday, June 22

I have been hesitant to write about last night's service, because I feel inadaquate to describe what it was like. So, please forgive me if I don't come near to giving justice to something too amazing for words. As the praise team was singing, I noticed that every song was about the holiness of God. As everyone was singing about what a holy God we serve, I kept thinking, "How could a holy God ever allow such sinful creatures to come into His presence?" Then it hit me clearer than ever that without the blood of Jesus, I could not come into God's presence! Gradually the worship began to shift from dancing and praise to crying out to God with tears and falling down in worship. Pastor Wayne asked if the Holy Spirit was speaking to anyone and hands went up all over the building. I think that I have been guilty in my life of saying, "the Holy Spirit was really speaking to me..." in sort of a casual way, but this was not like that. This was more of a prophetic anointing. Over and over again, students started sharing prophetic words that the Holy Spirit had spoken to them. I'm going to try to share some of them and if I forget one, please comment and let me know and we will correct it.

We cannot continue to do "just enough" and expect to see a move of God.

We can't continue in sin. If we want to see revival, we have to stop sinning.

God promises us that if we go out weeping, carrying seed (the Word), we will return with shouts of joy carrying a harvest of souls. We have to have a burden for sinners.

God is going to bring back the captives (those who used to be faithful, but have turned away).

Chains are going to fall off. This generation is going to see freedom come to those who have been bound by chains of sin.

I'm going to ask Kayla to post separately about the vision that God showed her, so that I won't mess it up by forgetting any of the details. Just know that it is coming and it is amazing!

After several shared what God had shown them, Pastor Wayne told us that God had given him a word to share with Keith and Joy. If you don't know, Keith was in a motorcycle accident last weekend and had some injuries that will require a lengthy recovery. This family has been faced with several trials lately and they need us to lift them up to God in prayer. God spoke to PW and told him that just like Pharoah increased the burden on the Israelites right before God brought them out of Egypt, satan was bringing attacks against this family because God is about to do something awesome in their lives.

Please continue to seek God daily and stay in His word.

Kansas Camp!!!

Ok Freedom 7! Finally, live from Ark City, Kansas, here's the news of how things are going here at Camp Horizon! :) As Hayley mentioned, we had an incredibly long 17-hour drive here on Sunday. Yes, this was exhausting.... yes, we pretty much fell in our beds when we got to our rooms! lol

MONDAY
It was very evident from the first worship service that God is doing and is continuing to do awesome things here at the camp. Monday night, PW preached from Mark 10:46 with the story of blind Bartemaeus. He brought out three main things that we must do when we feel stuck in a situation whether that be a bondage of sin or being a victim of some sort:

#1- We have to REALIZE WHO WE ARE IN GOD! Jeremiah 29:11 says God has plans for us to prosper us & not harm us, to give us a hope & a future! Start looking at yourself the way God sees you!

#2- We have to OPEN OUR MOUTH! Speak those things that God has told you to speak! Some of you are one cry away from being free!

#3- DON'T LET PEOPLE STOP YOU! If we allow ourselves to be consumed by other people's opinions of us, we cannot be what God has called us to be. In some cases, you may even need to separate yourself from certain people to focus on God.

PW gave the altar call & it was unbelievable how God was moving! Many girls & guys came to the altar to surrender everything to God & put their situations in God's hands! It was as if the Lord was dealing with every single heart to not let their lives be centered around what they have done or what has been done to them, but to be centered around who God has called them to be!

After service, we had Fun Time which was led by several F7 leaders: Jessica, Abby, Alisha, & Ray with PW. We had a great time in the Battle of the Sexes with the boys leading at the end of the night. Something a bit interesting is that we had random smack talk questions for each side to answer to gain points for their team. One of the smack questions PW asked was (to the girls) "Why should a guy want to date me?" & (to the guys) "Why should a girl want to date me?" The guys discussed amongst themselves & said "Because we're made in the image of God." But the girls put the smack down with their reply from Proverbs 31 "Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God. Give her everything she deserves!" (The Message) Woohoo! Go girls!!

Kayla*

Direction from God

Hey guys,

I just wanted to share some thoughts with you guys. Lately, I have been seeking God's direction for my life and have come to realize that it can sometimes be difficult to determine God's will for our lives in certain situations. Times when you don't find a clear direction can be very confusing and frustrating. To truly find God's will for our life we often must step out in faith. This can be scary, but we need to realize God is there beside us and He will not allow us to stray as long as we trust in Him. Proverbs 3:6 promises us, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Psalm 37:23 tells us, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord...." And Isaiah 30:21 informs us, "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it." God's word plainly states that God will help us find His direction, but how does He do it? These are some ways that I have found that God often leads believers in knowing His will for their lives:

1. Prayer. In order for God to speak to us, we need to be in His presence listening for His voice. The more time we spend with God in prayer, clearer His direction will be.

2. His word. God speaks to us through the bible as we study and meditate on His word

3. Circumstances. Many times God will cause doors to open, or others to close. If we are walking in obedience to Him, we know that events in our life are ordered by God. They don't just happen by chance. Maybe the reason why a door has opened up to us is that God wants us to go through it!

4. Our heart. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will minister to our spirit and reveal God's plan for us. We will have a peace deep in our heart. We will feel God's voice guiding us.

5. Others. God can use other believers to bring us His direction. Sometimes we will be singing a song in church, or we will be reading a Christian book, or hear the Pastor's message, or one of our friends will say something that will show us God's will.

All of these ways are examples of how we can know the will of God for our lives. I want to challenge you to begin to seek God more than you ever have this summer. Be prepared for what is coming by knowing God's will for your life. God bless!

Copperheads, Tarantulas, and Scorpions..oh my!

After 17 hours on the charter bus, our ministry team finally made it to Kansas. I spoke with Kayla today and she said that everything is going well. I asked what Kansas was like and she told me that they have copperheads and tarantulas and scorpions, so that sounds like an adventure:). Today they had staff orientation and the campers got registered around 1:00 this afternoon. They were going to have free time to swim, but it hasn't stopped raining since they got there. Pastor Wayne's arm is doing really well and he isn't even having to wear the sling. Keep praying for a speedy healing so that he can continue to minister without pain. Well, that's all I know right now, more later.

Kansas Missions Trip

Hey Guys,
Our team will be headed out Sunday morning at 5:00 am. We will be at the camp in Kansas for one week. I am asking for your prayers as we see God do incredible things in the lives of the students at the camp. Also, remember to continue to prepare yourself for what God is doing and getting ready to do in this student ministry. You guys are awesome!

Spirit of Caleb

Tonight, Pastor Wayne shared a word with us from Numbers 13:25-30 where the Israelite spies have just returned from scouting out the land of Canaan. All twelve of the spies agreed that the land that God had promised them was a good land, flowing with "milk and honey", but only two, Joshua and Caleb, believed that they could actually conquer and possess the land. Caleb in particular "quieted the people...and said, 'We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!'". Pastor Wayne challenged us tonight to have the same Spirit as Caleb, a spirit that refuses to believe the negative report, a spirit that is prepared to go in and possess the spiritual land that God has given to us. I was pretty sure that I knew what the name Caleb meant, but just to be sure, I cracked open the baby name book. Guess what Caleb means...BOLD FAITH. That is exactly what we need right now. We are going to have to put our faith completely in God's promises and boldly declare that the things that He has promised will take place! So, as you seek God and prepare yourself to receive the things that God has promised, be careful not to listen to the negative report from the enemy, but like Caleb, have a bold faith that cannot be shaken.

Prepare Yourself

Amazing! That is the only word that I can think of to describe what God has been doing in Freedom 7. Just in the few weeks since Heath and I have been here, I have seen such a hunger for God beginning to burn in the hearts of our students. Last night was such a powerful service. I was so thrilled to see many of our younger students beginning to step up and take their places in God's plan for this student ministry. As you have heard several times over the last few weeks, God is challenging us to prepare ourselves for what He is going to do this fall. Don't take that lightly. Begin to seek God with all of your hearts. Take this summer to devote yourselves to studying God's word and praying for revival to begin in our hearts, because this fall we are going to see an amazing outpouring of God's Spirit and we need to be ready.

Some Pictures from Wednesday

Okay, so the pictures turned out kind of dark, but here's a few from youth service last Wednesday night. The Spirit of God really moved and Brother Shepherd (Pastor Wayne's dad)
shared a word with us. The Holy Spirit was moving so powerfully that no one wanted to leave when the vans came to take people home. I am sooooo excited about what God is doing in our students and I can't wait to see what more is coming.
Here's just a random shot of the game room. I actually was trying to load a different picture and got this one instead, oh well:).

Pray for PW

Hey guys, just wanted to tell you all that Pastor Wayne had to have surgery yesterday on that shoulder that has been giving him trouble. Please be praying that he has a super quick and easy recovery. Leave him a comment here to let him know that we're all praying (it will be sent to his email automatically). Love you guys and I'll see you tomorrow night.:)

Day at the park

Today, we had our entire service in the park. It was a gorgeous day, even though we had the threat of rain. Pastor's vision is to reach out to our community with the love of Christ, so what better way to be visible than to take our service to them. After service, we provided a meal and had inflatables for the kids to play on and even some softball for the grown ups.

Kidslink praise team leading in worship.
Here is Pastor Jamey with Sparkles the clown and Taylor.
The Mountain "Men" made the most wonderful peach and strawberry cobbler I have ever tasted-Dutch Oven style.
Some F7 students enjoying their lunch.
This was the inflatable obstacle course we had set up for the kids.
Just a few of the greatest students in the world.

We had a great turnout. There were several first time guests(!).
And here is Pastor Mike Cleckler. We love him!
Kidslink kids.
Their mouths were too full to smile:).