ENLIGHTEN Youth Rally Ad

This is the first advertisement for our 13th Annual Spring Youth Rally. This year the Youth Rally's theme is "Confronting Culture" and it will take place on the weekend of May 2-3! Hope to see you there!

Haleyville Youth Rally

The trip to Haleyville, Alabama for the 9th Avenue Youth Rally was awesome! We left from Henderson around 4:30 pm and finally made it down there at 11:30 pm! I admit that I might have miscalculated how long it would take us; however, the drive down wasn't terrible.

We stopped to eat outside of Hopkinsville, Kentucky at a Wendy's/Subway/trashly truck stop to eat. Kayla almost ordered the "Baconater" but decided against. Not to worry, Caleb took up her slack and pounded the sandwhich, fries, and a dessert.

Without a doubt, the most eventful point of the night came when we stopped just before we entered Alabama at a little gas station to get gas and use the bathroom. Apparently, the girls bathroom was just a little bit nasty (for more info you'll have to speak with Ariana and Kayla)! As we were leaving, I heard one of the girls say in a cringing voice, "I NEED A SHOWER!!!" Shortly (2 hours) there after we were in Haleyville and off to our host parents houses! Everyone I know had a good place to stay with good food, company, and hospitality. The boys I stayed with (Sam, Jesse) and I stayed up a little while trying to play XBOX 360. We were treated in morning with breakfast pizza, a great combination.

For the rally...everything went well. One of the keynote speakers, David Bragg, has MS and is partially confined to a wheelchair. He did an excellent job as did all the class teachers. For a funny side note...Adam Faughn, the 9th Avenue Youth Minister, called upon me to lead the opening prayer that morning. However, I was outside trying to get some of the kids' luggage loaded into the van. While Adam was trying to locate me, he figured (out loud) in the auditorium that I must have been in the bathroom. Thankfully, Alan Bush from Washington Avenue took my place and the catastrophe was averted! Overall, the trip went great. Except for the long drive, each of us enjoyed every moment. We are definately going to return to Haleyville next year with one modification, we're going to stay somewhere between Haleyville and Henderson next year on the way home.

There are some pictures posted to the Flicr account. If you just follow the link to the left entitled, Youth Group Pictures, it will take you there.

Neal Mathis

What a Beatdown!

Well, the Ballot Bowl was great! However it was only great for one team! I can't believe that the game took such a drastic and unbelievable turn. The defeat was monumental and without doubt. Congratulations is all I have to say to the winning team! I cannot gloat or complain, you beat my team fair and square!

Winning Score: 28-7
Winning Team MVP: Sam "Boo-Boo" Morris
Winning Team Roster: Sam, Annie "Too Nice" Shockley, Lauren "Bookworm" Carter, Caleb "Baby Seal" Burke, Audie "the Hottie" Cherry, Lisa "Kong" Bundy, and Kyle "Caleb's Cousin" Putman.

Check out the link on the right for some pictures. Also feel free to check out or Facebook page, "Henderson Youth Group (Past and Present Members) for some more pictures!

Neal Mathis

The Ballot Bowl

All right...it's time! The shirts are ordered, the field is ready! All we need now is a few brave men (and ladies) to step up and deliver the goods! I won't settle for anything less than touchdowns, tackles, and bloody noses! What we have is an extravaganza of extraordinary athletic achievement waiting to be unleashed on the world! (Well at least unleashed on Caleb, Jonathan, and the boys!)

That's right - THE BALLOT BOWL is here! At least it will be next Tuesday at 3:00 pm at Waterfront Park here in Henderson! I can't wait for the carnage, camaraderie, and courage to be here! If you're as excited as I am then start your preparation now, because I'm bringing everything I got to the game! I probably won't even sleep the night before! Do you know why? Because I'M READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!

I hope that the picture from last year stokes the fires of memory and to hopefully will motivate each of you to prepare yourselves for battle, victory, and the eternal glory of being BALLOT BOWL CHAMPIONS!!

(Neal Mathis)

The Back to School Bash

Our Second Annual Back to School Bash has come and gone! The festivities this year were fun, eventful, and as always entertaining! I do have to admit that the Four-Square Arena was used a whole bunch more than I expected. Amy killilng 19 people in a game of "Murder in the Church" was also spectacular! However; nothing compared to the Food Games!

Here is a quick rundown of the competitions and winners: In the "Mustard Twinkie" contest, Cody L. from Providence proved to be too quick for the rest of the competitors. A special reward should be given to Lauren M. for the best face of pure disgust! In the "Who Can Drink Fastest" competition, Melissa P. proved her mettle! Special consideration should be given to Amy B. for the fastest to the clam juice and the fastest to spit out the clam juice! In the "Happy Meal Milkshake Splurg," Lisa B. proved to be more than just a volleyball player with her endurance and courage in downing the compustible concoction! And finally in the "Meat from a Can Pass," Kelly L. (Cody's sis) stepped up to the plate and proved that Cody isn't the only one with a hollow stomach by eating a bowl full of sardines, liver cheese, fish steak, and spam! Congratulations to all the winners and to all those who graciously participated!

I think that without a doubt this year's Back to School Bash was definately more fun than a "Moose on the Loose!"

(Neal Mathis)

Our Final Day in Grant County

Our trip is almost over! The only thing left on our trip is a fun day in Louisville! The VBS finished with a bang. Our story tonight was "The Faithful Centurion." Adam, Ryan, and Lauren C. pperformed wonderfully in the skit, the classes all went well, and the "Roman Chestplates" the kids made were awesome!

Today's activities were mostly taken up with our trip to the Creation Musuem. The trip there was quite incredible. Each of us toured the entire musuem, visited the planetarium, and saw a unique show that seemed to involve the angels Gabriel and Michael. While there were some things that seemed odd, the overall experience was worthwhile and I highly recommend that each of you take the time to visit.

There are some really funny pictures involving a dinosaur that was eating Patrick! There will be proof this Sunday in Bible class! We'll all be traveling home tomorrow, please pray for our saftey!

(Neal Mathis)

Our Third Day in Grant County

Well our third day is done and each of us can now admit that we have demolished something with extreme prejudice! Relax we didn't hurt any church pews, tables, or children. We did get to destroy and pile away an out building behind the building! There is photographic evidence of Kathy and Amy wielding a hammer mightily! After that job and some minor painting our group had a great afternoon of napping and rest.

Tonight at VBS we taught the children about Nicodemus. Our skit involved Nicodemus (myself) and his daughters (Kayla and Kristen W.) discussing his visit with Jesus. The kids then went to class and crafts. We had 9 of the 11 kids from the congregation here tonight - our best showing yet!

Each of us here on the campaign are tired but enthusied about the work being done in Grant County! Tomorrow we're going to check out the Creation Musemn located just north of us in Kenton County. Here is a link to the website of the museum, http://www.creationmuseum.org/ I highly recommend that you check out the site and look for the pictures from our trip tomorrow on the Flickr.com account located in the right column of this page!

Please continue to pray for the success and safety of this trip!

(Neal Mathis)