Sonic 1-13-13

Sonic Audio for January 13, 2013

Click here to stream the audio in your browser

To save the audio to your computer, right click and choose the "save file..." option.

Recommended Process for Memorizing

1. Download or access the audio stream and set aside 30-60 minutes.
2. Listen to the story repeatedly (6-10 times) until you start to feel the flow of the passage 
3. Speak along with the audio until you can tell a 4-8 verse chunk without major mistakes
4. Turn off the audio and start telling it on your own while referring to the audio when you get lost.
5. Celebrate when you find you have some of jesus' words stuck in your brain.
6. Refer to the printed words only if you absolutely have to. But don't feel badly if you need to peek.

Luke 12:13-21

New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”

¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” ¹⁵ Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

¹⁶ Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. ¹⁷ He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. ¹⁹ And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

²¹ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

text from Bible Gateway

Sonic 12-9-12

Sonic Audio for December 9, 2012

Click here to stream the audio in your browser

To save the audio to your computer, right click and choose the "save file..." option.

Recommended Process for Memorizing

1. Download or access the audio stream and set aside 30-60 minutes.
2. Listen to the story repeatedly (6-10 times) until you start to feel the flow of the passage 
3. Speak along with the audio until you can tell a 4-8 verse chunk without major mistakes
4. Turn off the audio and start telling it on your own while referring to the audio when you get lost.
5. Celebrate when you find you have some of jesus' words stuck in your brain.
6. Refer to the printed words only if you absolutely have to. But don't feel badly if you need to peek.

Matthew 13:44-45

New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

⁴⁴ “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.

text from Bible Gateway

A Taste of Heaven

Our Multi-Ethnic Worship Service

A few Sunday nights ago we gathered in the Sanctuary for an amazing night of worship. We joined up with our ethnic churches who share our church building – the Samoan, Mexican (Centro Cristiano), Chin, Karen, and Nepali-Bhutanese fellowship! It was a powerful evening to gather with people who wouldn’t typically worship together.  It was an amazing time to learn about these different churches – meet the pastors and hear how they got started, about their culture, and growth that is happening in their communities. 

This experience was a taste of heaven.

When I was on the Summer Mission trip to Mississippi a few summers back, I was talking to John “Grandpa”  Perkins, a Civil Rights leader in the South, about his dream to see the church more unified…experiences like this shared worship service are just one more step in the right direction. 

Grandpa Perkins and I share the same dream--a community of people able to worship together regardless of age, ethnicity, and life experience. With so many differences between all these groups (differences that often times separate us), we have the privelege to serve and love the same God!! My hope is that we embrace these experiences and we find more excuses in this new year to be together!

-Pastor Ruby

"Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us."  Col 3:10-11

Thankful

We were talking in Hard Rock with our high school students last Thursday night about things we've run into in the Bible that have blown our minds -- those things you see that hit you upside the head in a powerful moment of realization. 

We talked about the moment of realization that God has always existed and the mind bender it is to try to conceive of someone with no beginning.
We talked about the fact that in Ephesians 5 that God wants us to avoid even a hint of sexual impurity, and what a huge mind blowing life goals that is. Not even a hint!

And lately I've been pondering the ridiculous hope God has for us that we be massively thankful people as followers of Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 implores us to "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

That is mind-blowing.

The Message puts it this way: "Thank God no matter what happens."

So many of us were thankful for the glorious flag football Meatball Bowl on Saturday

As we sat with Kristen's family for our Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving meal this past weekend, we were talking about the things we were thankful for. Like we do every year. And as I wandered through my brain trying to think of what I wanted to talk about, I realized I hadn't been thinking many thankful thoughts lately.  I've been in productive/task-oriented/dad/cleaning/teaching/planning/struggle brain lately.

I need to spend more time in thankful brain.
We all need to spend more time in thankful brain.

And if I may encourage you, while you're thinking through people and situations that you need to thank God for, I know a whole fleet of people around KCC Student Ministries who could use some extra love.

Being a student ministries volunteer is an amazing privilege. And it can be a pretty rough commitment at times. It takes lots of time, energy, and struggle to love our students well.  But I think the hardest thing about being a student ministry volunteer is you rarely get to see or hear about the impact you're making.

So if you see Amanda, Mark, Herb, Allen, Kirk, Kathy, Dave, Hanna, Nathan, Rachel, Sarah, Cindy, Ted, Kurt or any of our others leaders about this holiday season, let them know how important their ministry is and how thankful you are for who they are and what they do.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, may we all learn a little bit more about being thankful people in every circumstance in our lives. And may we learn to express our thankfulness out loud in word and in action.

Sonic 11-25-12

Sonic Audio for Week 11 - November 25, 2012

Click here to stream the audio in your browser

To save the audio to your computer, right click and choose the "save file..." option.

Recommended Process for Memorizing

1. Download or access the audio stream and set aside 30-60 minutes.
2. Listen to the story repeatedly (6-10 times) until you start to feel the flow of the passage 
3. Speak along with the audio until you can tell a 4-8 verse chunk without major mistakes
4. Turn off the audio and start telling it on your own while referring to the audio when you get lost.
5. Celebrate when you find you have some of jesus' words stuck in your brain.
6. Refer to the printed words only if you absolutely have to. But don't feel badly if you need to peek.

Matthew 13:24-30

New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Wheat and Weeds

²⁴ Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. ²⁵ But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. ²⁶ When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

²⁷ “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.

“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

²⁹ “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

text from Bible Gateway

Sonic 11-11-12

Sonic Audio for Week 9 - November 11, 2012

Click here to stream the audio in your browser

To save the audio to your computer, right click and choose the "save file..." option.

Recommended Process for Memorizing

1. Download or access the audio stream and set aside 30-60 minutes.
2. Listen to the story repeatedly (6-10 times) until you start to feel the flow of the passage 
3. Speak along with the audio until you can tell a 4-8 verse chunk without major mistakes
4. Turn off the audio and start telling it on your own while referring to the audio when you get lost.
5. Celebrate when you find you have some of jesus' words stuck in your brain.
6. Refer to the printed words only if you absolutely have to. But don't feel badly if you need to peek.

Mark 4:30-32

New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Mustard Seed

³⁰ Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, ³² but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”

text from Bible Gateway

Sonic 10-28-12

Sonic Audio for Week 7 - October 28, 2012

Click here to stream the audio in your browser

To save the audio to your computer, right click and choose the "save file..." option.

Recommended Process for Memorizing

1. Download or access the audio stream and set aside 30-60 minutes.
2. Listen to the story repeatedly (6-10 times) until you start to feel the flow of the passage 
3. Speak along with the audio until you can tell a 4-8 verse chunk without major mistakes
4. Turn off the audio and start telling it on your own while referring to the audio when you get lost.
5. Celebrate when you find you have some of jesus' words stuck in your brain.
6. Refer to the printed words only if you absolutely have to. But don't feel badly if you need to peek.

Mark 4:26-29

New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. ²⁸ The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. ²⁹ And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

text from Bible Gateway

Active Parenting of Teens

Hello Parents!

Every now and again we see opportunities wander through the Student Office here at Kent Covenant Church and we wrestle with knowing whether they are opportunities that would be good to pursue, or if we should just wave goodbye as they wander out of the office.

We are totally experiencing one of those moments right now, and thought maybe the blog might be a good way to let people know what we're thinking on, and see what kind of interest there really is.

One of our central vision pieces here in KCCSM is that our ministry takes place as a partnership between the church and the family. Student ministry works best when we work together. And a lot of the conversation we've been having lately is how can we be a resource to our families. In fact, that's why this blog exists because we're trying to find ways to increase the amount of interaction we have and increase our opportunities to share vision and talk about the big things.

We have a chance to help host an Active Parenting of Teens Seminar and we're kind of excited about it. The website describes the program with these words: 

Learn the basics of parenting a teen (plus in-depth discussion of today's hot topics)
In this class you will learn what's going on in your teen's head, which will help you figure out why they do the things they do. You'll learn how to open up the lines of communication, encourage cooperation and responsibility, and discipline effectively. You'll also explore techniques for solving the inevitable problems that crop up. You'll learn 10 strategies for preventing problems relating to drugs, alcohol, violence and teen sexuality.

We have this opportunity in part because at the end of the school year last summer we hosted a Mental Wellness Forum here at KCC. It was a nifty little event in which we teamed up with the Samaritan Center of Puget Sound and had an open ended conversation about how we as a church and as families can promote and enjoy mental wellness. We began with a team of counselors talking about what they have been seeing and thinking about in their own lives and work as member of the mental health profession and ended with tons of questions.

What we noticed was that many of those questions and much of the conversation centered around issues of raising teenagers and dealing with mental health issues within that particular context. As we were talking with David Wells, a former Covenant Pastor who is now a professional therapist, we started to kick around the idea of holding an event in partnership with the Samaritan Center aimed at resourcing and supporting parents of teenagers.

All of this to ask a question:

Does the Active Parenting seminar look like a strong resource and would you be willing to commit time and money to participate?

Let us know what you're thinking by commenting here on the blog, talking to Jeff or Ruby next time you see them, or sending an email or a facebook our way.

-Pastor Jeff

Sonic 10-14-12

Sonic Audio for Week 5 - October 14, 2012

Click here to stream the audio in your browser

To save the audio to your computer, right click and choose the "save file..." option.

Recommended Process for Memorizing

1. Download or access the audio stream and set aside 30-60 minutes.
2. Listen to the story repeatedly (6-10 times) until you start to feel the flow of the passage 
3. Speak along with the audio until you can tell a 4-8 verse chunk without major mistakes
4. Turn off the audio and start telling it on your own while referring to the audio when you get lost.
5. Celebrate when you find you have some of jesus' words stuck in your brain.
6. Refer to the printed words only if you absolutely have to. But don't feel badly if you need to peek.

Luke 4:40-44

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴⁰ As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. ⁴¹ Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

⁴² Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. ⁴³ But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

text from Bible Gateway

Sonic 9-23-12

Sonic Audio for Week 2 - September 23rd, 2012

Click here to stream the audio in your browser

To save the audio to your computer, right click and choose the "save file..." option.

Recommended Process for Memorizing

1. Download or access the audio stream and set aside 30-60 minutes.
2. Listen to the story repeatedly (6-10 times) until you start to feel the flow of the passage 
3. Speak along with the audio until you can tell a 4-8 verse chunk without major mistakes
4. Turn off the audio and start telling it on your own while referring to the audio when you get lost.
5. Celebrate when you find you have some of jesus' words stuck in your brain.
6. Refer to the printed words only if you absolutely have to. But don't feel badly if you need to peek.

Matthew 16:24-26

New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. ²⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. ²⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

text from Bible Gateway

What's Next for the KCCSM Blog

Big things are afoot around here.
Two bigs things.

Sonic
The first is that as we are deciding to host all of our audio for Sonic here on the KCCSM blog so that in addition to our Sonic leaders learning the stories we are going to tell on Sunday, the stories we're learning will be available for anyone interested to memorize along with us. Whether that be parents, students who want to get a jump on things or follow onto what we were learning at the last Sonic.

We'll get the audio blogs all queued up so that the Monday before we learn a story on Sunday it will appear on the blog. Check back on Mondays or just set up an email alert for a feed reader that will deliver you the Bible goodness when it arrives.

Parent's Meeting Idea
We just got together with some of our beloved parents this weekend and had a lovely fire-hydrant conversation. Ruby and I sat people down, opened up full bore, and unleashed a world of updates and content on everyone.

But in the midst of us talking at everyone, we had a really good conversation about what kind of support and resources we can give to our parents in the coming year.

The upshot of the conversation was that we are thinking it is a very good idea to start posting content here every other week or so. We'll shy away from calendar updates and event invites here on the blog. Instead, we'll aim to share resources, give you a glimpse into the vision of KCC Student Ministries and talk about the why of what we do, and we'll keep you up to date on what the big themes in conversation and  curriculum we're working on.

We hope you enjoy our two big things coming up.

Official CHIC Photos

There are loads of official CHIC media out on the internet and I've been trying to link up the most directed at KCCSM stuff I can find.  This link is a bit impersonal but there are so many good photos in here that you just need to know about it so you can sort through it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chic2012ecc/

Also Kim is working diligently to get a mass photo folder up on the internet so we can all download lots of our team's pictures in one handy place.

And lastly, I just got the unedited mess of all the team's photos up onto the church network.  If you want to come up sometime with a big thumb stick, you are more than welcome to power through and pull out any of the pictures and videos that make you happy.

-Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

KCCSM CHIC 2012 Video

Today in church we debuted the first video from CHIC 2012.

This remarkable video will introduce you to all thirty-seven team members, let you see what life at CHIC was like, and ask you the FIVE questions from mainstage that Jesus is asking his followers (that means you).

Enjoy!



Also, Eli Wills put in the brunt of the work involved in crafting this beauty. Make sure you give him a hug.

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

CHIC Quotes: Quinn Ramsey

"I love that awkward moment when your parents don't understand why you're jumping on stuff and yelling "PARKOUR!!!"

-Quinn Ramsay

Bruce and CHIC Music on the Internets!

You'll never guess what song I woke up with in my head this morning.

Yep. It was the 3000, the robot song. "Hands up in the air/I just need to know/That you're not a robot/Let me see you move."



And now all your dreams are come true. 3000, With Me, Wonderful, Be Glorified, Peace, and Colossians 3 are all online.

Get them while they're hot at chic2012.org/music

Also Jeff and Kristen's worship team is leading on July 29. What CHIC songs shall we be sure to do? We already have lots of requests for White Flag. Any others?
- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

Mainstage: Gungor

Gungor played last night. They just might be my favorite band. And they played my two favorite songs. And they played them as a medley. My brain almost melted with glee.

Here is the video that I took while my brain was melting. I hope your brain enjoys it too.

CHIC 2012: Gungor

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

The Flag Football Championship That Narrowly Avoided Our Grasp

Eli, Austin, Kayla, Kim, Quinn, Ephraim, Tyler, Zach, Rachel, Matt, Kevin, Jeff, Kai, and Andrew are my heroes.



We played a full offense/defense rotation, proudly kept our girls on the field and involved in the game, and kept it clean with our tempers under control.

There can never be all the shout outs the team deserves but here are a few:

Ephraim made plays on both sides of the ball up and down the field.
Eli, Jeff, and Austin distributed the rock with deft grace and startling accuracy.
Quinn faced down the "she's only a girl" comments to burn her man not once, not twice, but thrice.
Kim had 200 pound men jump on her legs and laughed it off.
Tyler use his after burners to jet down field for bombs.
Everyone faced excessive force, flag blocking and bad attitudes with grace and made me incredibly proud of them.

And with 8 seconds on the clock, we just missed a two point conversion to tie the game and give us another chance to and advance to the championship.

Way to be God Squad. You're the classiest football team in Tennessee.

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

CHIC Quotes: Hanna Hordan

"So far the most inspirational thing has been getting to be with people and comfort them when they really needed it. At worship last night people had fallen in front of the cross weeping and just needing someone to hug them and tell them that everything is going to be alright."
-Hanna Hordan

CHIC Quotes: Aimee Nelson

"The relationships I've built have been unexpected and just awesome. We've really bonded and gotten to know each other."

- Aimee Nelson

Wrecked

Last night at Mainstage we were called to the foot of the cross to raise our white flag of surrender.

And as I've been talking with our crew today it seems pretty clear that during the day yesterday, none of us expected the night we experienced.
Judy Peterson, the campus pastor at North Park, brought the fourth question from Jesus and she asked us, "Do you want to be well?"
The night was an extended opportunity to lay down our burdens and fall at the feet of Jesus. And so many of our students were willing to answer "Yes! I want to be made whole."
We were laughing at the end of mainstage when we were gathering to trek back to the dorm because we all looked like we had been beat about the face with the big emotions stick. God is at work and change is afoot.
Right now is a huge moment for you to join in prayer with our team. We have students who have started telling stories about drugs and parties and wanting to walk away from that double life and be consistent in living like Christ. We have a loads of students wrestling with sexual purity and saying no to porn and unhealthy relationships. We have students who have been holding onto resentment and bitterness and are wanting to let go of that weight and sickness. And not just when they get home. God is at work right now reconciling us to him and to one another. And we have a few students who feel like they are in the outside looking. They are the ones who want Jesus to show up powerfully but for now God seems unresponsive and distance.
Now we have the hard work of charting next steps for change and growth that will go with us into the next months and years. Please pray loads and buckets with us over the next 24 hours.
- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

5 Questions

The theme of this year's CHIC is "FIVE." And it has been shrouded in mystery. We've been wondering for a year and a half what in the world the decision makers would do with such a wide open theme.

We have learned over the last 4 days what this theme is all about. With FIVE they are focusing in on five questions that Jesus asked during his ministry and helping us to dig deep into those questions in our own lives.

Reverend Harvey Carey


He opened the theme or us on Sunday by talking through the encounter between Mary and Jesus in the garden following the resurrection. I that conversation Jesus asks, "who are you looking for?" And Rev Carey pushes us hard to consider who and what we are looking for in our lives.

Bianca Juarez



On Monday night, Bianca took the stage and told us the story of Peter and Jesus when Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God."

She challenged us to answer that question wholeheartedly and with our lives. And to not be afraid of our own inconsistencies and weaknesses. When God calls you and you say, yes, he is your sufficiency and will work in and through you.

Francis Chan


And last night we heard from Francis Chan. He dug into the encounter Jesus and Peter had after the resurrection and asked us all, "Do you love me?"

But being Francis Chan he didn't leave it there. He worked down to figure out what in the world that means.

And he started with this question. I say that I love my wife. But if you really wanted to find out if that's true, what questions would you ask?

So he polled the crowd: what questions would you ask me if you wanted to find out if I realy love my wife?
1) Do you love her?
2) What emotions do you feel when you look at her?
3) How often do you get her something?
4) Have you been faithful?
5) Would you die for her?
6) Is it Facebook official?
7) Do I treat her like she's the only girl in the world?
8) Would you make her a sandwich?

And then he flipped those exact questions and asked us about our relationship with Jesus:
1) "What emotions do you feel when you think about Jesus?
2) How often do you get Jesus stuff, do something for him?
3) Would you die for Jesus?
4) Have you been faithful to Jesus??
5) Is there anything you wouldn't do for Jesus?
6) Is it Facebook official? Or perhaps better, is it obvious on Facebook you love Jesus? Or is it obvious you love Yourself?

So there is question. Do you love
Jesus? I mean do you really love Jesus?

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

Main Stage

One of the biggest highlights of Chic has always been Main Stage.

Every night all of Chic converges on the arena. You walk in with a DJ spinning records and the crowd of kids already there dancing at their seats and having a good time and getting pumped up. It's dark but they have a huge impressive stage with so many lights you couldn't possibly count them all in one sitting. They turn every color of the rainbow and flash around like a laser show.

We always look forward to the band coming for the night then after them the praise and comes out and leads us in worship. Then the very talented group of speakers come out and blow our minds with tough questions like "Who Are You Looking For?" we sing again and head back to the dorms for small group where we discuss the message before lights out.

Last night was the band Skillet which funny enough performed at Chic of 06' when I attended as a student. If you aren't familiar with Skillet they are a Christian rock band and they tore the place down. The show was spectacular and it was overwhelming to be seeing such a big crowd of faces all jumping up and down and throwing their hands in the air.

It's shows like these that remind us why it takes three years to throw another Chic event.

During one of our leader meetings a man told us that he went to Chic as a student in the 80's and how it was in Colorado and there was about one thousand kids who would meet at a rollerskate rink and sit on the floor as two worship leaders performed acoustically. Chic has grown a lot since the 80's from 2 acoustic guitars to now where we have huge Christian bands who have fire and fireworks go off in the background.

I've never forgotten the amazing experience I had at Chic 06' and I am positive these students will not forget it either.

-Missy (the Chic ninja) Hobson

CHIC Mainstage Photos

Here's a few photos to let you see us in action at mainstage. I'll post one up and the rest behind the break. Click to see lots more!



Raised hands in Worship
























-Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

The Official Covenant Stories

Man, oh man. I cognitively knew that this week would be full and exhausting. But knowing something with your brain is so much different that knowing it with your body.

We are all going, going, going.
And every time we sit down people start falling asleep And God is working on really big things with most of us. It is good.

One thing Dan Schuttler noticed and I thought I'd pass onto you is all the social media story telling that has been going on at CHIC.

Check out www.chic2012.org for blogs and pictures.

And check out covchurch.tv for videos and interviews. So much pod contet to keep you up to speed on what up with the team.

Look for a big picture post coming later today!

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

Who Are You Looking For?

Last night we had our first taste of Mainstage and it was indeed epic. We had an amazing crew that went seat hunting and so we were within 6 rows of the stage.


The official news is there are over 5300 people. And they get the arena bouncing as we praise Jesus.

We leaders were very excited as we launched into today because the conversation yesterday was already starting to turn to deeper things.

Pray with us tonight that as Bianca brings the message, ears are opened and our kids continue to let Jesus do work in them.

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

Video from Mainstage

Here's a video from worship tonight CHIC 2012. Its a wee test video to see if we have the capabilities to blog videos, and it gives a good sense of how massive this whole event is.

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

Mohawk!

Jared surprised is all today and announced that he actually wanted to cut his hair into a Mohawk.


And this pleases me because I have become the designated mohawk cutter in the last few years. But I have never done a Mohawk with hair as healthy and voluminous as Jared's.

We only made it through half the 'hawk and Jared decided to live with half a head of hair until tomorrow night.

So here are pictures of the adventure. It is epic.








-Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

The Wrecking

It is official. Lots of our CHIC team was really impressed with one of the bands that played at the welcome party. Their name is The Wrecking and we think you might like them too.

You can find their website complete with music tracks for listening is over at www.thewrecking.net.

And here is an obligatory band pic


Give give 'em a listen. There is a decent chance they make your ears happy.

- Jeff "The CHIC Master" Hunter

Sunday at the Half Way Point

Today was a jam-packed wander though all sorts of welcome parties, exploring, and friendships.


We arrived safely at the dorms at 3:30am last night and we were absolutely whipped. So after the amazing Kathy Carpenter met us to pass out keys and get us settled, we crashed unceremoniously into our beds.

This morning found us getting into the swing of things. The official first CHIC event was dinner at 5pm. So from 9am to 5pm all we needed to do was meet people, hang out at the welcome party and explore UT.

When we gathered before dinner, I did some interviewing to get a sense of what people were enjoying. Click through the break for all the mini-interviews:

Flights and Fluff

It's almost midnight here in Georgia.

My flight group arrived at the airport by 9am and since then have already had many adventures. The plane was packed to the brim with North Pac students from covenant church's all around the Seattle area.

The excitement in the plane was almost tangible as we greeted fellow Chic-ers and cheered at take off and as we touched down in Atlanta Georgia.

Once our feet touched the airport floor we rushed to the food court and scarffed down lunch/dinner. At the baggage claim we met up with Kim's group and we headed to our charter bus. The air was hot and thick by the humidity in the air and as one of the girls said it felt "fluffy".

On the bus we waited almost two hours for the rest of the group to land. They stepped on the bus and we all cheered, excited to all be united at last and to go on our way to Tennessee.

The sun quickly set over the Atlanta skyscrapers and we popped in the movie Dispicable Me. Slightly ironic with the previous fluffy comment...

In roughly two more hours we will be at the University of Tennessee and have a few hours sleep before the true Chic experience officially begins!

Who really needs a full eight hours of sleep anyway?

-Missy (The Chic Ninja) Hobson

This Is What Ready for CHIC Looks Like

This ankle has a CHIC henna tattoo and is ready to go. Are your ankles ready for CHIC?

A Big Prayer for the Team

We had our final training for the team last Sunday. And after we beat our heads on details and sent the parents home, we took a good chunk of time to pray about our upcoming experience at CHIC.

And the question we prayed was this: "What do you want from Jesus at CHIC?"




When we came back together to talk through our prayer time, I started to notice a trend. There were lots of the prayers I expected--safety, new friends, for the best, mind-blowingly amazing experience ever. But the first person also said, I don't want this experience of being close to Jesus and growing in my faith to end when CHIC ends.

As we worked our way around the circle, it became very obvious that this wasn't an isolated feeling. My very non-scientific estimate is that over a quarter of our CHIC students said the same thing.

"I want to grow in my faith. And I don't want that commitment and progress to end when we return and the conference buzz fades. I want to love Jesus with my whole life."

I am humbled and really excited by this. Our students are already thinking beyond CHIC.

Will you pray with us that God does powerful work to change our students for this week at CHC, for their remaining high school careers, and into eternity?

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CHIC? Sounds Like a Strange Name for a Jesus Gathering

What is CHIC you ask?

It's the best thing ever.  








But I'm guessing that's not exactly the answer that you're looking for. I'll try to do better.


We here at KCC are part of the Evangelical Covenant denomination. That's where the "Covenant" in our name comes from. Once every three years the denomination gets as many of its high school students together as they can muster for a mass gathering at the University of Tennessee to love Jesus and grow in faith and in community.


And CHIC has become a bit of an acronymn. "Covenant High in Christ."
And they seek for the conference to be a catalyst for growth in Christ, and that is exactly what we here have known CHIC to be in the lives of our students.


Still wanting more?


Click through the break for a video that digs in deeper or check out the link to the CHIC2012 website.