Come to HSM - the high school ministry at Saddleback Church! Service times: 4:30 or 6:30 Saturday nights, 9 or 11:15 Sunday mornings See you there!

Are you signed up for an HSM small group? Registration starts right now to get into a Life Group during the 2010-2011 school year. Click on the "sign me up" link in the right-hand column and get into a group! Groups are formed on a first come, first served basis - and even if you were registered for a group last year you MUST sign up again. We can't wait to get you connected and growing in a group. Do it!

What are High School Ministry Life Groups?
Life Groups are small groups for high school students. These groups are made up of 10 - 12 students (same grade and gender) that meet weekly with a caring adult leader.

Life Groups are a perfect place for you to form great friendships with other students your age, build relationships with adult leaders and learn more about God and grow closer to Him. Your group will be encouraged to establish accountability with each other, have consistent personal quiet times, get involved in ministry, and participate in service projects.

When and where do they meet?
Life Groups meet in host homes on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings from 7:00 - 9:00pm. Meeting in homes creates a warm, friendly atmosphere for sharing life together.

What does a typical night look like?
Each Life Group will look different, but a typical night will look something like this: welcome / snacks / hang out / Bible study / discussion / prayer.

Being involved in a Life Group will be an awesome time to grow closer to God; what better way to do that than by reading and studying the Bible? Every Life Group will choose their study topic from the provided LIVE Curriculum. Studies include: prayer, following Jesus, making good decisions, purity, having healthy relationships, studying the Bible, dealing with temptation, living in godly community and more.

What about my leader?
HSM has incredible, screened, and trained adult volunteers who are ready to serve and teach high school students. Our HSM leaders are there to encourage, teach, guide, and help strengthen your walk with Christ. It may turn out to be the most significant relationship of your high school years.

What is the Life Group Commitment?
Being part of a Life Group is a privilege. We expect each Life Group member to commit to the following:

1. Come to group prepared, equipped with a Bible, a pen, a notebook and a good attitude.
2. Respect your Life Group leader. They are giving you their time because they WANT to minister to you.
3. Respect and be kind to others in your group.
4. Respect your Host Home. Help clean-up your host home at the end of every night.

If you cannot commit to these things we will ask you to no longer be a part of the Life Group

How do I get involved?
Fill out the entire registration form and submit it with the $30 fee online by clicking here (registration is fully and only online) before the September 12th, 2010 deadline . If you have missed the registration deadline, it's not too late! Register online and you will be put on a waiting list as we find room in an existing Life Group.

HSM Summer Camp 2010 parents!

We’re soooo tired today – I’m sure your kids are exhausted, too! What an amazing and packed week filled with friendships, spiritual challenges, inspiring messages, games, rocking music and great food. This week has been all about being UNCOMMON.

As you know, we’ve been up at beautiful Westmont College all week. I wanted to take a minute to share some highlights with you before we make it back into town later today. We were truly blessed with Doug Fields and Matt McGill as our camp speakers, who shared their hearts, lives, and wisdom about living uncommon lives for Jesus. The music was epic! Led by our very own Taffy and the HSM band, they ushered us into the presence of God every evening.

Throughout the week we witnessed God change lives in powerful ways. During our beach day, twenty-two students made a decision to be baptized in the brisk ocean waters, as well as countless students rededicating their lives to Christ or trusting Jesus for the first time. I’ve encouraged your student to spend time with you on Saturday before they jump back into their world. I asked them to carve out some time for you to talk about their experience at camp – the Angels are in town so maybe some cheap seats at a slow-moving game of baseball would give you a chance to catch up. Or grab dinner and just talk about camp together – either way, I can’t wait for you to hear their stories and share their decisions with you.

Here are a few things you could talk about, a few questions to get you started:

·         What struck you about Doug and/or Matt’s messages?

·         Who was your counselor? What did you learn from him/her?

·         How was the day at the beach?

·         Did you make any spiritual decisions this week?

·         What song was the most meaningful to you? Why?

·         What did you do during the free time?

·         On a scale of 1 to 10, how good was the food at camp?

·         Did you miss me?

Well, we’re just about on our way home and the buses will pull out later this afternoon for our 11pm arrival (stay tuned to the HSM texts to get updates as we travel). Camp is silent for now… but we’re trusting that the decisions made here will last for a lifetime. Thanks for sending your student to HSM Summer Camp at Westmont – it is such a worthy investment – you’ll see it in their exhausted, and hopefully elated eyes when they get off the bus. See you soon!

Josh Griffin, Phil Chenery and the HSM Team
Saddleback Church

Want to know what's happening at HSM Summer Camp this week? Grab your phone and subscribe right now to the HSM Parent Camp List! We send out 2-3 messages a day with updates about what's happening. Text "HSM parents" to 39970 and you'll be automatically added to the list!

Dear Parents of an Incoming Freshman Who Is Going to Love HSM & Have the Best High School Experience Ever,

This Saturday/Sunday is promotion weekend in Saddleback’s High School Ministry and we are so excited to welcome your student to the “other side”! Our hope is that they’ll jump right in this summer, make tons of friends, get connected to some great adult leaders and set the stage for an awesome four years of high school. We’d love to have them check out one of our services this coming Promotion Weekend (this Sat 4:30pm & 6:30pm or Sun 9:00am & 11:15am). HSM has lots of “Freshman-specific” programming planned that we know they will enjoy!

We’d also like to invite YOU to a quick Freshman Orientation on Saturday night at 8pm in the Refinery Theater. It’ll be short and sweet - the time will go quickly because you’ll have milk & cookies to enjoy, too! We’ll start with a brief overview of our ministry, you’ll get a chance to meet all of our staff and discover some great ways for your student to get plugged in this summer/fall in HSM. We’d also like to take the time to pray for you as a parent as you help your student navigate through the craziness of high school. We really want him/her to enjoy all that is ahead and for you to know that we are here to help along the way!

Please come ready with questions – we’ll do our best to answer everything so you’re mind is at ease during this critical transition. We’ll see you this weekend!

Blessings,

Josh Griffin and the HSM Team
High School Pastor
Saddleback Church
HSM@saddleback.com

ATTENTION 2010 HIGH SCHOOL GRADS!!  Crave, the college-age ministry of Saddleback Church is heading to beautiful Catalina Island this Labor Day Weekend (September 3-6) to explore what it means to respond to the invitation of Jesus to follow him.  While in the beautiful setting of Catalina we’ll enjoy extended times of prayer and worship together, hear from engaging speakers and have a ton of fun playing in the ocean. The private retreat center offers snorkeling, kayaking, fishing, hiking and more for our free time activities.  The cost is $199 early bird (if you pay in full by July 8^th), $220 after July 8^th, BUT FOR ALL 2010 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, we are offering a $50 discount on registration!  SPACE IS LIMITED!  For more info and to register, e-mail Lisab@saddleback.com.

Dear Senior,

It has been such a pleasure serving you during the past four years! We are so proud of each and every one of you. Your commitment to loving God and others has served as an example for our own spiritual lives. Although we are sad to say goodbye, we are excited to see how you will use your God-given abilities to make an impact on the world. God has a wonderful plan for you, and if you stay faithful to him, you will see that plan come to fruition. He will use you to change lives, to shape hearts, and to shed light on a dark world. Rememer the wise and powerful words of King Solomon in Provers 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

As you finish one chapter of your life and get ready to start a new one, always cling to the redeeming power of God’s love. High school is difficult, but trust us— life will only get tougher from here, and you will experience new challenges with every step you take. But you have the love of Christ, which will comfort and encourage you during all of life’s hardships. Always stay committed in your relationship with Christ, continuing from the spiritual foundation you built during high school.

 We pray that you will always recognize God’s presence in your life, remaining faithful to his perfect love and magnificent purpose. It has been a honor to walk next during these crucial last four years. We encourage you to keep us updated on all the exciting things you do in the future. Feel free to stop by and say hello if you’ve ever in the area. We’d love to see you! Remember— your identity is in Christ! You have the power to truly make a difference in the world.

God bless,

The HSM Team

Congratulations seniors! Blessings to you as you graduate from High School!

Only 7 days left to sign up for HSM Summer Camp!

You can download a full size version here or pick up a printed one on the weekend in The Refinery!

Click the image above to register for HSM Summer Camp 2010.

Get ready for an incredible week - games, food, teaching by Doug Fields. It'll be incredible!

Signing up for HSM texts has never been easier - just text "HSM" to 39970 and you're in! Do it right now!

Fun little recap video from our mission trip to Shiprock, New Mexico!

Hi parents!

Your kids are exhausted this morning!

What an amazing and packed week of Spring Break, filled with new friendships, spiritual challenges, games, music, kids, work projects and the always delicious all-you-can-eat-pancakes from Denny's. Yesterday was the big finale with our free community carnival in Shiprock and the conclusion of our serve projects scattered all over the city. We gathered together for village share time, had a powerful baptism (in the hotel jacuzzi!) of a student who committed his life to Christ and a surprise dance party – topping off a truly great week!

I wanted to share some highlights with you as the buses roll out of town this morning. We’ve been in New Mexico all week - we had music, testimonies and a speaker each night. We also had "village time" where students shared what they had been learning and talk about their experiences. It was one of the highlights each evening, tons of friendships were built or forged during that hour.

I’ve encouraged your student to spend time with you Saturday before they jump back into their world. We're getting in late tonight (probably around 11pm, stay tuned to the texts for updates) so quality time with them might be best over breakfast/lunch on Saturday after their first good sleep in a week. I can't wait for them to share their experiences and decisions with you. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• What struck you about the evening messages?
• Did you take a "memory vial" and fill it with anything? Why was that important to you?
• Who was your village leader? What did you learn from him/her?
• How was the work project? What part did you play in that? What obstacles did you face?
• Did you make any spiritual decisions this week?
• What did you do during the free time?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how good was the food?
• Did you miss me?

Every student received a free "New Mexico 2010" T-shirt and a personal card from their village leader. They probably got a bunch of sand or some tumbleweed in their suitcase because that's just what happens in New Mexico.

Well, the buses will pull out soon and we’re just about on our way home. I"m sure the hotel we stayed in with be back to normal once they recarpet and repaint it after us. Thank you for your investment in this trip and your support of Saddleback's High School Ministry. We’re trusting God the decisions made here will last for a lifetime. Thanks for sending your student to New Mexico and trusting us with them for the week – we believe this type of experience is such a worthy investment – you’ll see it in their exhausted eyes when they get off the bus. See you tonight!

JG

Joshua Griffin
High School Pastor
Saddleback Church
joshg@saddleback.com

Here are the first few images from the New Mexico trip!

155 students are now safely in Shiprock, New Mexico! We had a great 15-hour bus ride (as great as a 15-hour bus ride can be), and everyone is settled inside a local budget hotel.The students have been truly amazing in their attitudes and everyone is headed to bed early tonight after a huge pizza feast and opening chapel challenge. Students were challenged to make a memory of what God does this week, like Joshua did after crossing the Jordan River when entering the Promised Land. Each student was given a small container to collect something inside to remind them of the trip in the future, and to be searching for that moment this week.

We head out on work projects first thing in the morning, and thanks for all your prayers and support. This is a Spring Break they won't soon forget! We're sending out 2-3 updates a day via text message, if you would like to receive these, please click the link to sign up right now.

Blessings, the HSM team

During Spring Break HSM will be going to New Mexico to minister to the Navejo reservation.  We will be working alongside the churches their to serve their community.

Registration forms are available at the Refinery.

Spaces are filling up, so don’t miss out!