We don’t have anything figured out, but God does.  He sees our plans for ourselves, and He can see just how well they might measure up to what He wants to accomplish in you and through you this year.  So if you are going to do anything today, anything of value, anything that you can be SURE will take you in the best direction possible – spend time with God.  Surrender to His purposes for your life.  Don’t let your ideas of success get in the way of your TRUE potential.  Live today the best way you can, for Jesus.

Check out Mark chapter 8 in The Bible for what Jesus thinks along these lines.

I mean, yes, we focus on God, we always do.  But when you focus on yourself, life can get pretty dramatic, pretty materialistic, pretty confusing, and Christians are no exception.  BUT, when we focus on others, we rely on God to gives us what we need as well as what we need to help others.

Spend you life for God and for others.    AND here are 3 great ways to do that:

Speed the Light – All Year Long!

NJ Youth Convention - Nov 11 and 12

See You at the Pole - Sept 28

Sweet Liberation!

Its time to bask in the joy and sun of summer!  And The Loft will be loaded with some great times like Friday Night Fun, NJ Summer Camp, and Day Trips to the beach, the Quarry, and more!

But, it will also be built around solid stuff like new summer series for Friday and Wednesday Nights, servanthood opportunities and discovering your gifts to impact the community around you!

Don’t waste your summer – DO SOMETHING!!

]]> http://theloftnj.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/woooo/feed/ 0 theloftnj schoolsout_4_full1 summer is here3 http://theloftnj.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/two-great-series-at-the-same-time/ http://theloftnj.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/two-great-series-at-the-same-time/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 21:34:11 +0000 theloftnj http://theloftnj.wordpress.com/?p=451 Continue reading →]]> For the next month and a half or so we will have TWO amazing Series happening at the same time! – BOTH of which you CANNOT miss.

Wednesday Nights:

Every teenager’s life is loaded with undeniable evidence of God’s incredible plans for them, but who helps them unpack all those details to discover why they were born?  This series prepares and teaches students that God has three distinct calls on their life: the primary call of being transformed into Christ-likeness; the secondary call of thriving in their seasonal roles; and the “This I Must Do” call to be part of something that is larger than themselves.

This series will help students discover how they are wired and how they can cooperate with God to live the life they were meant to live. Thought-provoking lessons guide teenagers through relevant content, prior to students engaging with one another as conversation partners to explore God’s heart-pounding purpose for their lives.

Starting Wednesday, May 11th.

Come discover YOU!

Friday Nights:

True Love Waits introduces TLW 3.0!  It is all about a promise and a process toward a life of purity, heart, sould, mind, and strength – including sexual abstinence until marriage – but SO much more.  The path identifies a variety of life markers that one experiences from birth into young adulthood and takes advantage of these markers and treat them as teachable moments as they guide students toward a lifelong commitment to purity.

We will begin on Friday May 20th and have 4 straight weeks of material, culminating into an AWESOME commitment ceremony with Parents on Friday June 17th.

Speed the Light is one of the most effective youth missions ministries in the church world. Students have accepted a great responsibility to voluntarily sacrifice and raise funds to so missionaries can reach as many people as possible.

The concept is simple: we give so others can speed the light of the gospel to a world in darkness. This is accomplished by providing the “essential transportation and creative communication” equipment for missionary evangelism. Through modern transportation, radio, television, the printed word, and equipment for mass evangelism, our missionaries can better fulfill the Great Commission.

Love was the reason God sent Jesus. Compelled by love for His Father, love for His mission, and love for us, Jesus lived a sinless life and died a sacrificial death. Because He loved us, we love Him, and are committed to caring about what He cares about. The message of 2 Corinthians 5:14 resonates in our hearts, “Christ’s love compels us.” We are compelled by love to reach those in need.

On sale now for just $7 !

So scrounge up some cash and get yours asap

Ah yes, here it is ladies and gentlemen – that sweet sweet time of year.  School is finishing, people are graduating, old notebooks are being burned in the streets like enemy flags, and the soothing arrival of not waking up to an alarm clock but instead to the early afternoon sun  -  all this can only mean one thing . . .  Summer Vacation!!

So what does that mean to you?  Family trips, food on the grill, late nights outside with friends, your hair smelling like chlorine, day trips to the beach, the fun of having no plans, eating cereal on the couch in your underwear at 1pm – we could go on.

But the number one thing this summer should be – No Regrets.  That’s right, NO REGRETS.  Now that doesn’t mean you do stupid things and just don’t care about it.  What it means is that you had the most fun you possibly could, you didn’t waste a day, you connected more than ever with friends and family, you made good choices you can look back on and be proud of – who knows, maybe with all this extra time you and God finally even grew a little.

The Loft wants to help you with that!

We know you are out of school and we are making this summer jam packed with fun and events.  We will have our Wednesday and Friday Nights just like always – but also throw in day trips, weekend service opportunities where God will use you, and even just lazy afternoon hangouts with whoever’s around : )

So be sure to keep on eye on our Calendar – don’t miss out on the fun – and do your Summer Vacation up the best you can with No Regrets.