Seeing Exciting Things Happening in the Kingdom of God

Every athlete who participates in Middle School and High School sports has practice and game requirements implemented by their coach throughout the season. But there is no practice or games without one important event that happens before the season can even begin: the sports physical. It’s an annual check-up with a doctor that shows whether the student is in good health and if a sports season will be safe for that individual.

And the sports physical was a requirement in my High School “back in the day” too. One of the first tests my clinic would give was the vision test. The nurse would say, “Hold your one hand over your eye while you look at the letters on the wall with your opposite eye. T-O-Z   L-P-E-D and I went down the line with no problem. But there was about to be a problem. When the nurse said, now switch eyes… I opened my other eye and realized for the past minute I had been pressing my eye in with my hand pretty hard, while I was covering it. When I opened my eye, I couldn’t see a thing! The whole chart was blurry and I thought for sure I would flunk the rest of the test. The nurse laughed and I took a minute to regain my eyesight and read through the letters. One more physical with no glasses needed.

Sometimes life in the Kingdom of God gets a little blurry too. We lose sight of the good things God is doing all around us. We forget to look for ways that we can celebrate all that God is doing in us and the people around us. Our church family does such a great job supporting youth during their M.S. & H.S. years-during our weekly gatherings, mentoring opportunities and mission trips that we participate in.  But sometimes we lose track of our graduates and don’t hear stories of how God continues to work in their lives after graduation. I wanted to highlight a few recent graduates from our youth ministry to encourage you to see some of the good things happening in the Kingdom of God.

Haleigh Homeyer

Haleigh is a graduate of AGWSR and currently attends the University of Iowa. She attended mission trips during her time in Radiate and her last mission trip was to Colorado Springs, when we worked with an organization called Next Step Ministries. Here is a snippet of what Haleigh is up to in her own words:

This summer I have been given the opportunity to serve alongside Next Step Ministries as a team leader. I will be serving in Boston, Massachusetts all summer long alongside some other college students. I was once a student on a Next Step Ministries mission trip, and I was heavily impacted while on this trip. I want to be able to impact high school students all summer long and help them through their faith journey.  

On May 19th, I will head to Madison, Wisconsin for a weeklong training with all Next Step staff before we are sent off for the summer. On May 27th, we will be sent off to drive to our destination for the summer. As a team leader my role will be to lead a team of 8-10 summer staff and oversee nine weeks of mission trips. I will be responsible for working with youth leaders prior to their arrival on site. I will oversee making sure the trip runs smoothly and each church has the best trip possible. I am super excited to be able to make connections with high school students and help them in their walk with Christ. I can’t wait to partner with the communities in Boston and be able to help them with whatever they need. This summer is going to be full of growth for me! This is a huge step out of my comfort zone, but I can’t wait to see where the Lord takes me. Haleigh is still seeking prayer and financial support for her summer ministry. If you’d like to donate to Haleigh’s mission, please talk to Bryce.

Andie Finger

Andie is a graduate of AGWSR and was a part of our youth ministry throughout High School. She attended VCBC fall retreats and summer camps with our youth group throughout that time. Andie has been on staff at VCBC and is currently working on the SALT staff at UNI. The past couple weeks their students and staff have been focusing their efforts on reaching the lost on their campus. This summer they have 40 students going on six different teams to three different countries. Andie will be leading a team of six to SE Asia, where they will partner with some long-term workers from her church to build relationships with students in the area, share about Jesus with them, and ideally connect them with the local church. She will be on staff with SALT again next year, where she’ll be leading the outreach and intern team and will begin seminary classes!

Natalie Lippert

Natalie Lippert is a graduate of AGWSR and had a vital role in our youth ministry and took part in several mission trips. After High School, she pursued and received her nursing degree. During her time in nursing school, she felt a call to do a semester of Discipleship Training School at Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Orlando. YWAM is a mission school focused on spiritual growth and missions’ immersion. She is currently finishing up her time with YWAM, serving on a mission trip in a little village in the jungle of Peru. They will return to Lima on May 2nd and will be helping with an Evangelistic Crusade there. She will wrap up YWAM at the end of May and move back to Des Moines, when she’ll start her job as a nurse in the NICU at Unity Point in July.  

What a cool thing to hear these stories and I know there are more from our church and youth group as well! God is on the move with this generation and there are some great ministries in college helping fan the flame of faith in these students.

As a church, we want to make the most of our investment in students as well. That’s why we are currently recruiting a Grad to Growth Connector. This is a person or couple who has a desire to stay in communication with our graduates as they transition from High School to college (or the work force) in those important 2 years after High School. We know some students get connected to a good group of friends, a local church, or college ministry, but not everyone does. If you have a heart to encourage some 18-20-year-olds and want to help them grow in their faith, reach out to Bryce and he’d love to get a description to you about what the volunteer job all entails.

Thanks for investing into our youth, it’s worth the investment. And a reminder for today- open your eyes to see God working all around you to build the Kingdom of God!

Blessings,

Pastor Bryce