Two Dayton Public School students have swine flu, also know as H1N1 flu virus. The first case was confirmed in a Butler High School sophomore on 1 June. He was apparently exposed to the virus during a Memorial Day Kings Island trip. The trip was organized by the Light Street Apostolic Church, and the boy likely contracted the virus from a 15-year-old Clark County girl who went on the church trip as well.
Ohio had 38 confirmed cases as of 10:30 am on 8 June.
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Social networking sites have inundated the Web world. MySpace, Facebook, and the latest Twitter have become the rage to people of all ages, race, and religious affiliations. The extension of faith-specific networking sites has canvassed the social market platform, giving birth to sites such as Everyone’s Apostolic, Apostolic Fellowship Hall, and MyWorld, just to name a few.
Now an Apostolic church in Orange, NJ, has created its own social networking site, not exclusive to church members but open to all who are socially minded. The Web site committee for First United Tabernacle Church (FUTC) says the idea stemmed from wanting a social network to bring youths from all over.
Bishop Lloyd Faulknor of FUTC also presides over churches in Antigua and Grand Cayman and he desired all of his young people to establish a connection. The site administrator, Chastity Thompson, says “we wanted our own platform where we can blog, chat, and join groups, even though we are geographically apart.”
The youth department at FUTC birthed youthroc.com, known as The R.O.C, using Ning. Bernard Grey, youth minister and site committee member, says “this is a Christ-minded social network, which is why we named it Youth Radically Obsessed 4 Christ (Youth R.O.C.).”
It is a tool to network the message of Jesus Christ, encourage one another, and connect internationally with young people. The R.O.C. is for anyone who wants to join, including Non-Apostolics. The R.O.C is tailored for appropriate blogs, photo albums, videos, and groups. Since MySpace’s reputation has come under fire during the past couple of years, Grey says, “This is a way to lure them away from that and join this network so parents can be at ease.”
However, as the site administrator, Thompson will ensure that it maintains its premier purpose, to be a Christian networking site. If there are any inappropriate videos or pictures posted, the person will receive a warning. “If the member persists, I have the power to ban them from the network.”
The R.O.C. committee is making sure they won’t become a carbon copy of Facebook and MySpace. “A great feature we have that Facebook doesn’t have is the blogging feature, says Grey. Members can personalize their page using CSS code. The R.O.C. allows members to decorate, change font size, color, and add music to their pages. “This is a great exercise for those aspiring Web site designers.”
The site is still in its early stages, though. The current layout is just temporary, but The R.O.C. team has hired an experienced designer who has designed other network sites on Ning. They hope to give it an eye-popping transformation. “The sights, sounds, and colors are critical keys to drawing people to the site,” Grey says.
Once youthroc.com is official, the committee plans to advertise it on Facebook and by word-of-mouth. “We want this to be big!”
Do you know a church that has a public social networking site? Leave a comment.
-Kaleena Thompson, TAR Editor
The youth at Apostolic Faith United Pentecostal Church in Mountain Home, Ark., are getting a taste of what it was like for Bible translators to hand-copy early versions of the Bible.
Rick Lovall, youth pastor at the church, said the idea to write the Bible came to him as a neat way to study the Bible and raise money, too.
The youths are using a 1,000-page King James Version Bible for reference, and are soliciting donations (a minimum of $5 per page) to hand-write the Bible. So far, 42 people have committed to write 755 pages, with more expected, Lovall said. The slogan behind the event is “Write it! Learn it! Live it!”
Lovall said he doesn’t believe this type of fundraiser has ever been done before, adding the church hopes to raise a minimum of $5,000. How the money is used will be decided by the youth. Currently, Lovall said, their choices include funding a trip to the church’s National Youth Convention in Nashville, Tenn., in August, as well as purchasing Bibles for missionaries in Uganda; or donating a portion of the funds to Sheaves For Christ, which buys 4×4 vehicles for missionaries, offers land grants to home missionaries and sponsors orphans at Tupelo (Miss.) Children’s Mansion. Other options include sponsoring clients at Windsong Ranch (a Christian-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Sheridan, Ark.), as well as donating funds to various homeless shelters in the Mountain Home area.
Lovall told The Apostolic Report that this fundraiser has united his local church and youth group. Apostolic Faith UPC will have CDs available with all of the necessary documents and sponsor sheets needed to duplicate this fundraiser. Lovall spent hours putting together an Excel spreadsheet that lays out the pages in correct order and sequence.
If you are a youth pastor needing a great idea or a pastor who would like to try this at your local church, the materials are available. Please contact Rick Lovall if you would like more information.
The $40 Write The Bible Fundraiser CD will include: Excel spreadsheet of the Bible charted into 1,000 pages, PowerPoint to use to introduce the idea to the church/youth group, sponsorship sheets, promotional flier/poster, and a form letter to use to obtain sponsors. Print these out, and you are ready to Write The Bible!
Write it! Learn it! Live it!
Rev. Rick Lovall (870) 404-8024, or e-mail writethebible@yahoo.com. You can also follow the progress at www.writethebible.blogspot.com.
Almost 40 percent of the American adult population has embraced mobile technologies into their lives to keep up on social networking, twitter, sharing photos, and working while on-the-go. But not everyone in this group thinks being so connected is a good thing, and it’s not the most likely of demographics, either.
Young people have done a good job of integrating technology into their lives, but they are also the ones who are most concerned about being overconnected. This finding is part a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, The Mobile Difference, which discusses how different groups of American adults treat the latest trend in connectivity.
While 61 percent of the adult population is perfectly fine accessing the Internet through a stationary PC, the remaining 39 percent is active in adopting mobile connectivity. Pew breaks the latter chunk into five groups: Digital Collaborators, Ambivalent Networkers, Media Movers, Roving Nodes, and Mobile Newbies. There’s little variation in the percentage breakdown of these groups—Roving Nodes makes up the largest at nine percent of the adult population—though their favorite ways of using technology while on-the-go vary.
For example, Digital Collaborators have the most tech assets (PDAs, cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, etc.) out of the five groups, and use those assets to both work and share their creations with others. Media Movers are more likely to create “information nuggets,” like digital photos, and pass them on right away. Roving Nodes get the most out of basic applications, like e-mail and texting, and “find them great for arranging the logistics of their lives.”
Ambivalent Networkers, however, are distinct in that Pew says they have folded mobile devices into every aspect of their social lives. Texting, social networking, entertainment—you name it and this group is doing it with mobile devices of some sort. They’re significantly less likely to watch traditional TV on a daily basis than the rest of the adult population (24 percent, versus 79 of all adults), though they do watch TV shows on on non-TV devices more than any other group. Additionally, 66 percent of this group performs at least one non-voice activity on their cell phones per day, the highest of all the groups, and 91 percent of this group relies on their cell phones for all of their calls.
Despite this heavy reliance on technology, Ambivalent Networkers—primarily 20-somethings, and 60 percent male—didn’t actually “like” this level of availability as much as everyone else. Only 31 percent strongly agreed that they liked being so accessible, compared to the sample’s average of 47 percent and near the bottom for all groups. More than half of Ambivalent Networkers agreed that taking a break is definitely a good idea, which was (surprisingly) ten percentage points above the average from other groups.
The popular Apostolic social networking website, everyonesapostolic.com, will soon start charging a subscription fee for anything but the most basic membership. EA is still continuing explosive growth, adding more than 3,000 members each month. The rise in popularity of Everyones Apostolic began less than a year ago when Everyones Connected changed names, and eventually closed completely. Everyones Apostolic now has over 43,000 members. Time will tell if this will have a significant impact on their membership numbers.
From their website:
“Due to the ever increasing demand of our available resources we must begin charging a nominal subscription fee to help fund our continued efforts. We thank you for your support. This new program will go into effect beginning March 3rd 2009. Those that upgrade before March 3rd will receive a 50% early bird discount.”
The new plans are as follows:
Member — $0/year
Ministry Partner — $10/year
Ministry Partner Plus — $20/year
Ministry Partner Premium — $30/year
What do you think? Are you going to pay and help support this website? Leave a comment below…
Youth Workers
The Commune-ity Meeting – Texas
February 20-21, 2009
A youth ministry training event, sponsored by the Texas District Youth Ministries. This event is designed for Youth Pastors and Leaders, Youth Staff, older teens and young adults who are potential leaders.
DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT!!
Location:
Dallas Emanuel Pentecostal Church
Rev. Richard Flowers
1200 Poplar Dr., Mesquite, TX 75149
McKay Hatch is a 15-year-old high schooler who has taken a courageous stand against cursing. His parents authored the book titled “Raising a G-Rated Family in an X-Rated World,” and profanity was disallowed in the Hatch home.
During his middle school years, McKay Hatch was offended by being subjected to a constant flow of cursing. When he started high school, Hatch took a bold step and began a no-cussing club at South Pasadena High School. He began a web site (www.nocussing.com) and issues a “no-cussing” challenge to both students and adults. The network of participants now includes over 30,000 students worldwide.
Additionally, Hatch has an upcoming book and launched a rap video on YouTube with the catchy chorus: “If ya wanna hang with us, don’t cuss!”
Since assuming such a strong position against cursing, Hatch has received a number of hate messages, including death threats. But, the skinny teenager refuses to be bullied and persists in expanding his mission to clean up language around the world!
Click here to read the full story. Click here to visit Hatch’s website.
According to a recent study by the Parents Television Council, a watchdog group that monitors media content, YouTube, which has undertaken several policies to control “inappropriate content” is still rife with offensive and graphic video.
YouTube is the most popular video site on the Internet. The study analyzed search results for several popular children’s search terms like “Hannah Montana”, “Jonas Brothers”, and “Miley Cyrus” and discovered that hits included videos containing “some of the most offensive profanity in the English language.”
Click here to read the full story and access the PTC’s full report.
Critics of America’s public school system have launched a new effort highlighting the need for Christians to exit the system.
The initiative — dubbed The Call to Dunkirk (video link) — was launched by Dr. Bruce Shortt, author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools; Rev. Voddie Baucham, author of Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God; and the founder and director of the Exodus Mandate Project, retired U.S. Army Chaplain Lt. Col. E. Ray Moore.
Moore explains the proposal. “The Call to Dunkirk is a special emergency effort to try to get other ministries, churches, pastors, and the major Christian right and pro-family movement to join with us and the other K-12 home-school ministries in rescuing the children from the public schools during the year 2009,” he says.
An “entertainment and talent extravaganza” at a Canada United Pentecostal Church helped to raise $1,500 towards the laparoscopic surgical equipment fund raising for a local hospital.
The cast and crew of the Calvary Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church presented their Youth Variety and Talent Presentation Extravaganza of 2008, a 90 minute service that featured comedy and drama with a Biblical message before about 250 church members and visitors. When the service concluded, the youth group presented $1,500 to the Hotel Dieu Foundation to help purchase new laparoscopic equipment for the hospital’s surgical suite.
A new study finds that almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.
The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.
One expert said personality disorders may be overdiagnosed. But others said the results were not surprising since previous, less rigorous evidence has suggested mental problems are common on college campuses and elsewhere.
Experts praised the study’s scope — face-to-face interviews about numerous disorders with more than 5,000 young people ages 19 to 25 — and said it spotlights a problem college administrators need to address.
Study co-author Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute called the widespread lack of treatment particularly worrisome. He said it should alert not only “students and parents, but also deans and people who run college mental health services about the need to extend access to treatment.”
Counting substance abuse, the study found that nearly half of young people surveyed have some sort of psychiatric condition, including students and non-students.
The study was released Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry. It was based on interviews with 5,092 young adults in 2001 and 2002.
In the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test, according to a new, large-scale survey suggesting that Americans are apathetic about ethical standards.
Educators reacting to the findings questioned any suggestion that today’s young people are less honest than previous generations, but several agreed that intensified pressures are prompting many students to cut corners.
“The competition is greater, the pressures on kids have increased dramatically,” said Mel Riddle of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “They have opportunities their predecessors didn’t have [to cheat]. The temptation is greater.”
The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured.
Rev. David Wright, pastor of Antioch Apostolic Church in Arnold, Maryland, led nearly 20 students, teachers, and parents at Belvedere Elementary in prayer at the annual ‘See You at the Pole’ gathering.
Some parents were in an apparent uproar over the fact that a brochure advertising the event was sent home with elementary students in an ‘official’ package. Protesters view the advertisement as a violation of church and state.
See You at the Pole was started in 1990 by a Texas youth group and its trademark is owned by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Each year, participants are invited to gather at their local school and join in corporate prayer.
The Belvedere’s PTA is investigating, and the parent volunteer who placed the brochures in the packets claims that she did so with official permission.
Click here to read the full story.
Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are redefining the way many Americans build and maintain relationships—and also how their churches communicate.
In the last few years, relating to social contacts through such sites has become practically ubiquitous among the under-30 crowd, and the practice quickly is spreading upward along the demographic spectrum.
Simultaneously, Christian leaders are realizing the sites can be useful tools, particularly for youth ministry and college groups, enabling group members to reach each other consistently and instantaneously.
That’s because social-networking sites are the new coffeehouses and community centers of the Internet. They are places where people can stay connected—in some cases, practically constantly—with what is going on in the lives of their friends, family and colleagues.
Full Story Here by By Rachel Mehlhaff, Associated Baptist Press
Apostolic Ministries of Seymour, Indiana, is reaching out to residents that will be celebrating Oktoberfest in downtown Seymour. Sponsored by Apostolic Tabernacle, the church will host Life Fest ‘08, offering a 27-foot rock wall, indoor skate park, food, and entertainment.
Apostolic bands including The Slammers, The Royal Tailor Band, and Goodbye June will be performing nightly.
The theme of the series of events is “follow the light” and Waylon Medaris, youth pastor at Apostolic Tabernacle says that he hopes to “make an impact in the community, shine light on our church and create a positive spoin on what we have to offer our community.”
Click here to read the full story.
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