Do Hard Things: Summer Reading/Bible Study

Hello again,

I am doing a second update to make up for missing like a week. For the past month, we have been searching for a summer reading to include as apart of our weekly bible study. When I was at Barnes and Nobles, I was talking to another young man who works with youth and he recommended the book, Do Hard Things. After previewing it, I realized that this was exactly the right type of reading I was looking for. I had been searching for so long and could not come across the right book that would be entertaining, relevant and inspiring.

Do Hard Things is a book that was written by teenage twins Alex and Brett Harris. This book encourages youth to not settle for mediocre behavior and goals, but to excel in God's kingdom by doing challenging things that would defy society's low expectations for teens. I am really excited because this should be a wonderful experience.

Tonight we will begin reading Chapter 1. Recap coming soon.

As always, keep us in prayer and God Bless!

Recap: Summer Youth Trip 2009

Hey Guys,

I know that it has been a minute since the last update. Thanks to God and your prayers, the Access Granted Youth Ministry traveled to Tampa, FL for a weekend getaway June 26-28. Needless to say, it was an EVENTFUL trip. There were so many obstacles and little things that tried to get in the way (oh the Devil!..lol), but we made it! Instead of highlighting all of those small issues, I would prefer to talk about all the good times and memorable events that happened as I reflect on the weekend.

On Thursday, we toured the University of South Florida. This was great exposure for our youth as many had not been to this campus before. (Sidenote: This is a great motivation to inspire pursuits for higher education for youth) Thanks to Ryan, a fellow AME, we had an entertaining tour of college life at USF.

When we arrived at our hotel and got settled in we heard the saddening news of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett's passing. That was big blow, but we were determined to have a good time. We chilled at the hotel for a few hours and did some swimming before heading out for dinner.

Later that evening, we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse at Ybor City for a nice sit-down meal. The food was the bomb! It was a really nice meal and everyone was stuffed! Thank God for the refrigerators and microwaves in the room. LOL. After dinner, we went to see Transformers 2: Return of the Fallen on IMAX. Yes! The youth definitely enjoyed that one!

Friday, was a brand new day, but filled with so much rain! We postponed the trip to Busch Gardens to go Friday morning instead because of the weather. So we spent the day relaxing and hitting up the malls in Tampa.

One of the best surprises happened when our very own pastor, Rev. Karl Smith, showed up at the hotel! Originally, he couldn't go on the trip because of a conflicting engagement at work. However, he and his wife made the drive from Jacksonville through the rain and traffic. His dedication means so much to us! YAY for Pastor and Lady Diane!

We spent the evening at Gameworks that night. It was an inclusive arcade and restaurant where the kids could eat and play for one price. This was located again in Ybor City. I believe the youth enjoyed this place as well because of the really cool and interactive games. I saw a few sweating it out on DDR (Dance Dance Revolution)..lol.. It is so funny watching people on that game!

After a good night's rest, it was time for the highlight of the trip.

*drum rolls*

Busch Gardens!!!!!

We were so pumped and eager to go to Busch Gardens: Tampa Bay. They have so many thrilling rides and attractions that would've been a good ending to a wonderful weekend. Well, we had one slight problem which I will share.

The rain.

It rained... it was lightning... it stopped.. it rained again.. it poured.. :-(

After waiting it out for almost 2hrs, we decided we should just pack it up and head back to Gainesville.

BUT, here is the blessing.

Busch Gardens was offering this weekend option to upgrade your ticket for $10 to unlimited passes to return as many times as you would like until December 31! This was so awesome! We definitely jumped on that opportunity!

Busch Gardens, we coming back!!! Look forward to a part 2 on Acess Granted: Tampa 09!

To God be the Glory!! This was a great experience that was extremely eventful, but God still provided and blessed us tremendously!

Continue to pray for us! Peace for now.

Quick Praise Report!

Today, God definitely worked miracles!!!

All of the stress and worries of when, how, or if this trip would ever happen is over! Sis. Gina (the Youth Activities Coordinator) and I spent the day hitting the ground trying to make sure that everything was covered from:

-Recalculating our budget
-Finalizing the numbers from all the fundraisers
-Finding new transportation aka reserving a van
-Finally getting the rooms handled at the Embassy Suites (thanks Sis. Joan
and Barry from Embassy Suites on your patience)
-Hunting down all of the youth and parents who are going on the trip to get
that money! LOL
-Securing all of our attractions, destinations, tours, etc. (yes, it was last
minute, but you must understand the struggle)

Most of all the biggest blessing was hearing a Greater Bethel member say that he would willingly sponsor a child to go. He said yes without hesitation and with a smile! :-)

We are so happy! These youth deserve the fun, exposure, and enrichment! Satan is still busy, but I believe God is always more powerful.

I won't trip, why? It's the God in Me!

Thank you Jesus! To God be the Glory!!! Busch Gardens here we come!!!

"It's the God in Me!"

Last month GB Access Granted hosted its first Friday Night Live (recap later). It was a night of fun, fellowship, praise and worship. We introduced our Access Granted Steppers that night as well for the first time. As apart of the routine we did a dance outro to Mary Mary's hit single, "It's the God in Me." Our youth loves that song so much. It has a really hot beat and the words are inspiring.

For believers, isn't it so wonderful to know that despite our situations and things that happen around us, we can stay calm and keep our peace. And if someone asks you, how or why?

Simply, it's the God in Me.

Checkout Mary Mary's website and get their new cd, The Sound.

Check out the music playlist

Hey guys,

I decided to make a music playlist to add to the blog. I am not sure why it won't play all the tracks. but I guess you could follow the link to the main imeem.com site to hear the full songs. Nevertheless, I think it's a good playlist!..:-)

I am in the process of adding more elements to the blog as the vision unfolds. Let me know if you have any suggestions. We are also developing our church's website and I plan to include the blog as a part of the youth corner or page.

We had a good worship service at Bethel yesterday. Our pastor, Rev. Smith, preached on the topic "I'm not scared" from Isaiah 41:10-14.

Finally, as far as the trip. Things are not looking so good. The economy has definitely put a strain on families and leisure. Nevertheless, we are determined to provide a fun outlet for our youth this summer, they have worked so hard. I will recap on some of the events from the first 6 months of 2009 this week. Tomorrow we will make yet another decision about our trip. This has been a dilemma for the past few weeks!!! I am not completely frustrated, God is going to handle it!

Have a Blessed Monday!

P.S.= as I am closing this entry, Kirk Franklin's "It's Over Now" plays.. confirmation..

.....amen

Carwash, Busch Gardens, and more...

So on tomorrow (Saturday) we are having a car wash at the church to raise money for our trip next week. We are going to Tampa and staying over Thursday and Friday. As apart of the trip we are going to have a day of fun at Busch Gardens theme park. Planning a trip of any magnitude requires organization and MONEY. Due to our economy, it has become extremely difficult to do the same level of programming as in the past because parents have budgets to maintain. Nevertheless, I am confident that we will have a blast.

Today, I am asking that you pray for Access Granted and for all youth ministries so that finances are not endless limitations for kingdom building.

Take Care and God Bless!

Matthew 18:18

Hello world!

Welcome to Greater Bethel's Access Granted Youth Ministry's blog!

My name is Samuel and I serve as the Minister to Youth at Greater Bethel AME Church in Gainesville, FL. I have the opportunity to work with some of the best young people in the world!

It is an amazing thing to see youth on fire for God and to be able to watch them grow spiritually.

We have started this blog to share thoughts, experiences, lessons, and highlights from various events sponsored by the Greater Bethel Youth Ministry!

Matthew 18:18 is the theme scripture for the youth ministry. The name, Access Granted, was the name given by the pastor for the ministry. At Greater Bethel, the youth are taught that they have the power to access the many blessings and desires that God has in His kingdom. The power that Christ gives allows us to be able to combat the tricks of the enemy, while releasing an abundance of favor from the overflow to live in His will!