NEW BLOG ADDRESS

Greetings Frontline students and parents,
I am writing to let you know that as of today, posts will no longer be published to this address.  For all updated blog information, please begin to check the frontline page of our new church website.  I strongly encourage parents and students alike to sign up to receive updates via e-mail on the new blog.  The deliver is instantaneous and will go to whichever e-mail address you put in.  The sign up is on the upper, right hand side of the screen.

Here is the new link!  Enjoy!

http://forestgroverc.org/frontline-blog/

Important Information!

Alright Frontline students and parents, time for the beginning of the year rush of information!  I know these posts can get long, but I hope you will take the time to read through it and be up to date on all the information we have to pass along!  It was a blessing to get our season started, and I hope to have some wonderful pictures of our activities last Sunday on the website soon :-)

As always, please contact me with any questions.
E-mail: danunekis@gmail.com
cell phone: 616-594-6144

First things first:

New blog location:
Starting very soon, this blog will be incorporated into the new church website.  I will be sure to put up a few reminders about how to access it, but just wanted to give you a heads up.  The BASIC blog and Frontline blog will both have links on the church's new website's Home page.

Big Day of Serving: 
The deadline to sign up for this event is this Sunday, September 15!!!  Payments must be made by October 1.  The cost for this event is $30.

Who: Frontline
What: Service projects with other youth; community development projects
When: Sasturday, October 19.  We leave church at 7:00 AM and return in the early evening (approximately 6:00?)
Where: the Grand Rapids, area
Why: Being called to serve others is one of the joys of the Christian life!  Come have some fun in fellowship with frontline students, be encouraged by other young students acting for their faith, and remember that you don't have to travel 16 hours in a crowded van in order to serve God!  Let's pitch in and serve in this very local context!  This trip includes a free t-shirt and lunch and is only $30!

Parent's Meeting:
Parents, it's your turn to participate, give feedback, ideas, and hear some information first hand!  Come to our parent meeting on Sunday, September 22 at 7:15 PM.  This meeting will be in the ARC, and your child will have frontline on a normal schedule that night (7:15-9:00 PM).  Hear some more plans, brainstorming ideas, and see what we'll be studying this year.  I would love to have you there, and it will be a good way for us to get updated contact information from you!  Bring a calendar with you.

New Sponsors:
This year at frontline, we have a few changes in the faces of adult volunteer leaders.  Cam and Shannon VK have decided to step down, so I want to take a moment to thank them for all the incredible work they did over the last year (and more!).  They were always an incredible support to me and the students, and we will continue to pray that their transition into the ministries that God calls them in the future are marked by God's rich blessing!
This year, we welcome back Marcy H., Jon and Karri H., and Dylan and Sarah L. as adult leaders.  We also have the privilege to welcome Brian and Linda M. to our team!  make sure you give them a word of encouragement for being willing to step into this new and exciting role!


Future Opportunities:

Prayer and Praise:
This is an activity I started late last spring as a trial run.  While attendance was low, those who came seemed to find a strong appreciation for it.  This year, I hope to offer more consistent opportunities for "Prayer and Praise".  It is a liturgical time of prayer, silence, meditation, and worship through song.  It is a more quiet, relaxed, and focused time of worship than our regular frontline meetings which include teaching, social interaction, and a number of different activities.  These meetings are entirely optional, but I encourage students to check them out at least once.

Skeet Shooting:
Saturday, October 5 at 4:00 PM, Dylan and Sarah Lutz are hosting a skeet shooting event.  The cost is to be determined, but won't be too steep (just enough to cover the burgers and food as well as some shells/clay pigeons).  Students are not required to shoot in order to join in the fun.  Students may bring their own guns, and we will make sure to explain safety expectations clearly before we begin shooting.  More information as this gets closer.

College Visit:
This has been announced and communicated a few different times now as tentative information, but things are falling nicely into place.  At this point, I am looking for students (or parents) to give a committed answer in the next 2 weeks so we can firm up all our plans and communicate with the colleges and hosting churches appropriately.  If you are considering the college visit for your student, please keep reading.  If not, this is the end of the post for you.  Thanks for reading!

College Visit Details:
While some details will require later adjustments according to the groups receiving us and the number of students who decide to go, here is the best information I can give right now.

Cost: $30, and the student would need to buy 3 meals on the road (these won't be fancy meals--just on the go quick stops).
Who can go: I am reserving 9 spots in the van for students.  Preference will be given according to three factors: Timeliness in committing, Interest in attending/learning more about Central and Northwestern College, and Seniority.
Travel Dates: I hope to leave Forest Grove as soon after school as is possible on Wednesday, October 30 and return by evening on Saturday, November 2.
Purpose:  To give students a chance to visit Reformed Church colleges in Iowa that might otherwise be too far out of the way for them to get to.
Accommodations:  At this point, we are planning on staying in a church in Pella on Wednesday night, in the Northwestern College Dorms on Thursday night, and in a church in Orange City on Friday night.  Certain meals will be provided by the schools, and light breakfasts (think bagels/breads/fruit) will be provided each morning we are gone.  We will travel in the church van with myself (Daniel Unekis) and one other adult along to drive.
Other Information:  Students do not need to commit to one of these schools in order to take this trip (but I would prefer knowing there is honest consideration).  I am still working on squeezing gas money out of the schools to drive down costs for students.  Students will get campus tours, meetings with professors, and possibly the ability to sit in on a class during this trip.  I hope it is a good and enjoyable time for them filled with learning, fellowship, and a lot of miles traveled in 72 hours (1500 or so).

Frontline Season Opener

Hey Frontline students and parents!  This is just a reminder that this coming Sunday, September 8, we have our first Frontline meeting of the year!  I am looking forward to seeing everyone again, and I am finalizing plans for a great first night including some kick off relay-games for all students, some singing, and some "housekeeping" issues.  We will be meeting after in the ARC after the concert of the Gray Havens and should be done by 9:00 PM.  Starting September 15, we will be back to our "regular" schedule of meeting every Sunday from 7:15 PM until 9:00 PM.

As a reminder, this blog will be the best way for parents to stay current on all updates.  I will also write e-mails to a list of parent e-mails that we will compile on our parent meeting at 7:15 PM on September 22.  Students can get the most up-to-date information on the Frontline FGRC Facebook page. (Students themselves can contribute to this page and will occasionally initiate "get-togethers" via facebook). In order to be invited to participate in that group, simply e-mail or facebook message me or another Sponsor.  This blog can be accessed through the URL www.fgrcfrontline.blogspot.com or from the church website.  You can also sign up to the RSS feed which will automatically e-mail your personal e-mail account when I post something on the blog.  However, I have been told that there is sometimes a delay of up to a few hours between the post and the update.

If you as a parent, student, or member of FGRC have any questions, concerns, comments, (or encouragement) you would like to pass along, PLEASE feel free to contact me.  My personal e-mail is danunekis@gmail.com, and you can also find my church phone number in the bulletin (ext. 12).  I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve in this capacity, and am grateful for your willingness to let me and the incredible team of volunteer adult leaders work with your children.  To God be the Glory!

Also, a quick announcement from Heidi Lodenstein!

We are looking for additional help on Wednesday nights for the PreK-6th grade program. We were wondering if any Frontline girls (or boys) would like to help. For the first 10 minutes we are singing songs. The music is on a DVD so they would just need to be up front singing along. We also are short a few people for leading during small group time. If they would be willing to stay, they could help lead a small group. They could help once a month, two weeks on and two weeks off, or every week. We are flexible!

Contact me at lodenstein@charter.net

Hey Frontline....I have 2 announcements:

a) So far, we only have 8 students signed up for Big day of serving. See previous posts for more information, but this is a 1 day big scale service trip in Grand Rapids. It happens Saturday, October 19, and we would love to do this as a group. I hope that things like the mission trip this past summer motivate us to be aware of when and where we can serve all around us! The cost is only $30, and we need you to sign up soon if interested. We currently have the following students signed up: Quinn VanKoevering, Brittany Meppelink, Lydia Meppelink, Matt Brouwer, Sam Miedema, Matt Miedema, Alycia, and Olivia Hoppen. If you want to go, e-mail me at danunekis@gmail.com

b) The college visit dates are set. We will leave ASAP after school on Wednesday, October 30 and travel to Pella. Thursday, October 31, you have a visit at Central College. Thursday evening, we travel to Orange City, IA and you stay in the dorms with current students. Friday, November 1, you have a college visit at NWC. Friday evening, we hang out and chill. Rumor is that Tanner Smith wants to see you, and my sister who just moved to Orange City would also like to meet you all and feed us  (she's a good cook). That night, we sleep in a local church and just chill all night--play games, watch a movie, talk about the college visits....whatever. Saturday, November 2, we head back to Holland. 
I can give more details about this to anyone who is interested, but I would love to have all interested let me know ASAP. So far, I have heard from interest from ellen, sam, olivia, shelby, hannah, sarah, brittany, kayla, and that tate and tate would like to go if they can make it work. If you're not included in this yet, but want to be, let me know asap! 

Thanks everyone for your participating this year, and I'm looking forward to another great year with you all!

Luau!

Hey frontline,
Don't forget about the luau tomorrow night! Bring a swimsuit and towel, and maybe a lawn chair. We hope to leave church by 5 and be back by 10.

College Visit Proposal

 Greetings Frontline Sponsors, Parents, and students,

• This message is intended primarily for junior and senior students in Frontline who are considering going to college after they're finished with high school. I realized a few weeks ago that we have a lot of interest, but with different schedules and the general cost (let alone the time it takes), it might be hard for students to get a chance to visit some great reformed schools in the Midwest.

  Therefore, I am trying to put together a trip in which we use the church van and drive to Iowa. Students would all get a chance to visit Central College in Pella, IA (an RCA school and Pastor Jud's Alma mater), and then would get to choose between visiting Dordt College (a CRC school) or Northwestern College (an RCA school). At this point, I have spoken with all three colleges and would like to figure out how much interest there would be among students in doing this trip with the following TENTATIVE outline:

  Wednesday, October 30: Leave FGRC in the late afternoon/early evening. Arrive in Pella, IA late Wednesday night.

  Thursday, October 31: Visit Central College. Leave Pella in the mid afternoon and drive to Northwest IA. Arrive late evening.

  Friday, November 1: Students choose to visit either Dordt College (Sioux Center, IA) or Northwestern College (Orange City, IA). Visits finish mid-afternoon.

  Saturday, November 2: Drive back to MI (or complete drive if we start the trek back on Friday).

  As I said, this is a tentative schedule, but I'm curious how many would be interested.

  
  A few points of Interest: 1) Students would miss 1 day of school (Thursday, October 31). Hudsonville Public has Friday, November 1 with No School. It is my understanding that students are allowed one "free skip" day for college visits.

  2) I am hoping to coordinate this visit with another local youth pastor from Zeeland. That would give me a 2nd driver and allow kids to meet other youth in the area.

  3) If this youth pastor cannot come, I will need a 2nd driver to come along and I'm open to ideas (sponsors/parents?)

  Think this through and let me know how you feel about it. I will try to get a concensus on how people feel and make a final decision soon so we can get something on the calendar.

  Other details: a) We would use the church 15 passenger van b) Seniors would be given preference if there are more requests than seats available. After that would be a lotto system. c) Cost would be minimal. Approximately $25/student along with a little bit of spending money if they wanted it

Greetings!

Hey Frontline Students and parents!
I just wanted to let you know that I am officially back in the office at FGRC and am now the "youth director" on staff!

All that to say, if any of you would be interested in setting up a time to chat, catch up, share ideas/comments/questions/concerns/etc. for the upcoming year, just shoot me a facebook message or e-mail (danunekis@gmail.com) and we'll find a time! I can pick you up or drop you off if that's an issue. This is in no way required, just wanted to let you know that I'm available. Hope everyone is doing well, and looking forward to seeing you all this Saturday evening for the Luau!!!

New information!

Frontline students and parents! Put the following dates on your calendar 

Saturday, August 17: we will be having a luau at Sandy Pines. Be at the church at 4:45 PM to get a ride, and we'll be back by 10:00 PM that night. Come hungry--we're serving dinner there. Bring a swimsuit, towel, and any other stuff you might want (frisbee, soccer ball, cards, etc.) 

Saturday, October 19: We will be participating in the Big Day of Service in Grand Rapids! This will be most of the day (morning through late afternoon). The cost is $30 and you MUST SIGN UP BY AUGUST 17 to participate at this reduced rate! More information at:http://groupmissiontrips.com/the-big-day-of-serving/

Tomorrow...Sunday,July 28

A quick reminder...tomorrow we are doing our mission trip presentation at church in the morning. Please be at church at 9am and wear your tshirt!!
Also, tomorrow night we will have a fire at the ARC at 7:15.
Hope to see you all tomorrow:)

Last minute announcement!

Hey Frontline...super last minute notice, but here's an opportunity for you!  This is an e-mail from Jeff Niehof.

We are looking for a few volunteers for our annual horse show this sat the 13th. It would be from about 11:30 to 3. Lunch will be provided. Hannah Kalman and a couple of her friends helped out last year, they would be able to give some insight on the activities.
Thanks
Jeff Niehof

Help us out

Hey Frontline--I've got a good opportunity for you all, and great for a few reasons.
1) Learn what it's like to be on a committee at church
2) Get some time to work with Pastor Jud and get to know him better
3) Grow in leadership skills

This is a request from Pastor Jud, and I would love to see a few of you take him up on it.  Do it with a few friends and have a good time.
------------

Forest Grove will host The Gray Havens (www.thegrayhavensmusic.com) for a community concert on Sept. 8 at 6pm.  A freewill donation will be received in support of Jehovah Jireh Mission.

Pastor Jud is looking for high school volunteers to form a "Concert Committee."  The purpose of the committee is to implement preparations for the concert and to provide good hospitality for the band.  The responsibilities of the committee include community publicity, loading in and out for the band, helping with merchandise, and accommodating their needs.  The Concert Committee will meet Sunday, July 28 at 2pm in the ARC for a first meeting and assigning responsibilities.  All interested youth for the Concert Committee need to contact Pastor Jud before the July 28 meeting and inform him.  Thank you for helping!

Our final work day!

We finished up our projects at Teresa's house today! The kids worked really hard to finish all the loose ends, including the fence! Yeah God!!!
We took grills and burgers along and had a picnic with Christine, our TEAMEffort leader, and Teresa, the home owner. It gave us an opportunity to have a wonderful time of fellowship with them before saying our goodbyes. We presented Teresa with a framed picture of our entire group in front of her house.She was very grateful, and the tears flowed as we left her driveway!
We all know that God brought us to her house for a reason!

Prayer request for the day!

Good morning!
One quick prayer request for all of you that are praying for us this week....we are growing weary....it is hot and humid here, and we will be working outside again today. Please pray for strength, stamina, safety, and smiles.....thanks:)

Work Day #1

We spent our first day priming and painting for a very gracious homeowner named "Theresa". Also, cleaned the siding, fixed some steps, and had lots of fun....especially the boys :) Also, God answered our prayers tonight and we were able to pick up Brett from the airport so he could join us for the rest of the week!!! It was hot and humid today...so we are hitting the beds early tonight!!! Yeah God for air conditioned bedrooms!!!

We made it!!!!

We have arrived at our final destination...Gatlinburg, TN!
The trip was uneventful...but the mountains are beautiful! We were really thankful for air conditioning in the vans! We had a wonderful worship time with 180 other students tonight and now we are unpacking and heading to bed to get a needed night of sleep!!!!
Blessings~
Marcy

Last reminder!!!

Vans are gassed and ready to go....this is your final reminder:
_ luggage drop of today at the ARC between 3_7pm.
_ bring a sack lunch for tomorrow!!!!
_ be there by 5am!!!!

Can't wait!!!!

Let the countdown begin....Smoky Mountains or bust!!!

One more reminder....bring old tennis shoes or sandals with a back strap for our tubing adventure!!!

Mission Trip countdown!!!

Greetings Frontline and parents...
One week from right now we will be checking into our mission trip "digs"!!!
So.....please check back here or on facebook in the next few days as we post last minute reminders/ announcements and or prayer requests.

First John 3:16....read it and spend some time in prayer tonight or tomorrow preparing your heart and mind for a week of service and "God sightings"!

~marcy

Bonfire

Greetings frontline clan. Sorry for the short notice but heads up! Kyle and Kayla are hosting a bonfire tonight at their house. You are welcome at 7:15 pm., and can look for Kayla at the nursery at church if you need a ride or directions! Blessings!

Great work!

Frontline,
Thanks so much for the awesome work you all did yesterday with Youth Sunday!  I have gotten so many compliments from people at the service.  Each individual element--from singing to seating people was deeply appreciated.  I hope you had an enjoyable time with it.  One pertinent piece of information to pass along is from Pastor Jud.  He would like to encourage you all with the great work you did, as well as to invite any of you who have interest to continue to participate in Sunday services.  If you like singing, talk to Pam! If you would like to read a prayer or Scripture, talk to me or Pastor Jud!

Thanks for those who came to my place yesterday and thanks to Hubachs for Babysitting you all :)  I hope the bonfire was good for those who were able to make it.  See you all around! 

3 reminders

Greetings Fronline,
3 reminders...

1) This is the link to the FINALIZED version of our order of worship. Please contact me with questions. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bx8HTT8uyLK5b2dvYnkyVGY3UWs/edit?usp=sharing

2) Please be at the church by 8:30 AM on Sunday, April 28.

3) After the service, and as our last scheduled event of the year, you are invited to come hang out at my apartment (The friendship house) in Holland, MI. Transportation will be leaving from the church at 1:00 PM, and you will be back by 5:00 PM. If you would like to go along, but need a ride to church at 12:45 (ish), please contact me, Karri Hubach, or Jonathan Hubbach. At the Friendship house you can hang out with Seth and the other friends, play cards or board games, watch a movie, play wii, play frisbee, soccer, etc. outside, or just chill and do homework. It should be a great time!

Reminder: Mandatory meeting

Hey everyone, just a reminder that we have a mandatory mission trip meeting tomorrow night at 7:15 at the ARC. Plan to be there from 7:15 until 9:00 PM. Your parents should be there at 7:15 but will not need to stay the whole time as far as I understand. They will get some logistical information, fill out forms to be notarized, and should also have your insurance card and the records of your last tetanus shot. Look forward to seeing you there!

More Official Order of worship

In case you prefer this format, here's a better look at it.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a_BvPxuScqCqYfTfq0rM0bT3-EqTC_X40o-PLHTcmRU/edit?usp=sharing

Order of Worship for Youth Sunday

OK Frontline...here's the order of worship. I will personally message you if you have lines to say so you can read through them a few times this week.

Prelude...................................organ and piano

announcements......................pastor Jud

Opening Song: Great is thy Faithfulness-- Brittany Meppelink Hannah Kalman Kayla Driesenga

Call to Worship: Troy (I'll send this to you)

Songs of Praise: Tena Baar on piano, Sarah Dean on guitar, Sam Miedema Quinn VanKoevering and Olivia Hoppen singing. Songs are "Mighty to Save" and "From the Inside Out"

Prayer of Adoration: Matt Brouwer (I'll send this to you).

Prayer of Confession: Nathan Schipper (I'll send this to you)

Words of Assurance: Kara S. (I'll send to you)

Passing the Peace: Daniel Unekis

Song of Gratitude: Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone-- Sarah Dean on guitar, Tena Baar on piano? Kayla Driesenga, Brittany Meppelink & Hannah Kalman singing.

videos talking about where God has been at work in your life: Ellen Wildey, Quinn VanKoevering, Lydia Meppelink possibly?

My words about leading youth at FGRC

Prayers of Intercession & Lord's Prayer: Cam Van Koevering

Children's Message: Olivia Hoppen & Kayla Driesenga (Karri Hubach & Marcy VanDyk Heslinga for help)

Scripture: Paul S (I'll send to you)

Prayer of Illumination: Me
Sermon: Me
Prayer of Application: Me

Prayer of Thanksgiving: Hannah Kalman (Cam Van Koevering can help write).

Doxology: Ellen Wildey, Lydia Meppelink Sarah Dean singing

Closing Hymn: (Same 3 as above)

Benediction: All sing Omega!

 

Ushers: Freshman boys and Dylan

Greeters: Shelby, Kendra, Tena 

Change of plans for this Sunday (4/14)!!

Greetings to all!

My apologies for the late notice and change, but this coming Sunday night, I would like to request that all the Frontline students who are available come to the ARC at 7:15 PM.  I am hoping to use from 7:15 until 9:00 PM to plan for youth Sunday which will take place on April 28.  We would love for all students to take part in this event/service!  It is a blessing to be in a church that allows the youth to be such an active part of the church's life, and we want to take this opportunity to serve the congregation through helping with morning worship on April 28.

Please let me know if you know of a conflict with either this Sunday evening from 7:15 until 9:00 PM or April 28 (roughly 9:00 until 10:30 AM).

Girls book study

Hey Ladies,
Sorry for the short notice, but hopefully you already knew about this from your parent letters!  Remember, tonight you are going to continue your book study on Captivating which you began on your retreat!  I think time is set at 7:30 PM, but please text/call a sponsor to confirm.  Hope it is a great study for you all!

Frontline 3/24

Dear Frontline--No special updates this week...just a huge thanks for all the great memories this year.  Remember, there is NOT a meeting next Sunday.  April 7, we will have guest speakers from Lakeshore Pregnancy Center.

Frontline 3/20

Thank you!
First off, thank you so much to all who participated in the Night of Music.  You all did a wonderful job, and I am grateful for those of you who took time to pray for it, participate in it, usher, be a deacon, sing, play, etc.  I really do think it was a successful event, no matter how much money we made.  I do ask one favor from each of you--please take time to e-mail, call, text, facebook, write, or talk with the people you know who performed, helped with music, did sound work, cleaned up before or after, etc.  We want to let all know that they were appreciated.

Upcoming Dates:
Tonight, we firmed up our plans for the rest of the year.  While thing are always subject to change, here's our tentative schedule.

March 24: Closing Frontline for the year--normal time.  7:15-9:00.  After this date, we are no longer having "official" frontline meetings.  However, from 7:15-9:00 through April, you are invited to come to the ARC the same as always.  We'll always have something to do.  See below.

March 31: No Frontline--Easter day and Spring Break

April 7: Hopefully a team from Lakeshore Pregnancy Center will be in to share testimonies and begin some teachings on sex and sexuality.

April 14: I will be finishing the teaching on sex and sexuality.

April 21: Mission trip Meeting.

April 28: Youth Sunday is this morning.  7:15-9:00 PM is Game night!!!  Yay :)

Other Announcements
Please make sure you are up to date with payments for you mission trip.  Remind your parents of the meeting on April 21st.


Ask me if you have any questions!  e-mail is danunekis@gmail.com and phone is (616) 594-6144

Game night cancellation

Hey frontline students! My apologies for the late notice,  but the game night scheduled for tomorrow night (Thursday March 14) has been cancelled.  Rest assured we will try to make it happen another time!  Take some time to do your homework for the weekend so you are ready for our big day Sunday with  night of music!

Frontline 3/10

Thanks for a great meeting last night! Here are our week's announcements!

1) This Thursday, 7:00 PM--come join us as we have a game night with SALT (the older half of our congregation). It'll be a blast, and wonderful to connect with people with more life experience than you have

2) Next Sunday is night of music! If you have questions at this point, talk to Shannon VanKoevering. You should all know what your responsibilities are. Remember, everyone will be singing "Bless the Lord 10,000 reasons" and "Mighty to Save". We will close with "Omega" (our closing song). Some have volunteered to read scripture (Matt Brouwer) or usher/deacon. We should all be at church by 5:00 even if you don't have extra responsibilities because it will make sponsors and me less stressed out if we can count on everyone to be there :-) Make sure to bring at least 1 dozen bars/cookies/treats for afterwards!

3) We will meet after night of music for whatever time we have left until 9:00.

4) Saturday, March 23 at 9:00 AM, we are making croissants at the ARC. If you cannot be there, it is your responsibility to find a family member to cover for you. If you ARE going to be there, invite your family members anyway :) This has the potential to be a great time.

5) Sunday March 24 is our closing frontline for the year. Plan on being there!

6) Any questions? Shoot me a facebook message, e-mail (danunekis@gmail.com) or a text (616)-594-6144.

Frontline 3/3

Hey Frontline!  For those of you who were not at church tonight, we have a ton of announcements so please read through them all!!!

1) This Wednesday at 8:30 PM, we will have Prayer and Praise in the ARC.  This is a structured time of praying, silence, and singing.  Come check it out if that interests you.

2) This Saturday, the girls are leaving for their retreat at 8:00 AM.  Please be at church NO LATER than 7:45 to pack up.  The van leaves at 8:00 AM with or without you :)

3) Next Sunday March 10, we will have a normal Frontline meeting 7:15-9:00 PM.

4) Thursday, March 14, we are tentatively planning on joining SALT for a game night (meaning, we are inviting ourselves to hang out with the old people at FGRC.)  Should be a blast!!!!

5) Sunday, March 17 is our night of music!  This is a big fundraiser, so please be present.  We will sing a number of songs together, so make it a priority.  Invite others to worship with us!!!  Please bring at least a dozen cookies/bars/etc.

6) Sunday, March 17, we WILL be having a normal frontline meeting after the night of music.

7) Saturday, March 23 we will be making our croissants from 9:00 AM until noon.  If you sell croissants, you are expected to be present.  If you cannot be, you are responsible to have a family member there to represent you.  The adults and I want to help, but we cannot do it all alone! 

8) Sunday, March 24 we will attend the evening worship service together at 6:00 PM.  There is a guest speaker with a powerful and beautiful testimony.  After that, we will have our closing frontline for the year.  Please put this date on your calendar as it will be a beautiful close to a great year and a busy month!

lost keys

Hey frontline! A set of car keys on a lanyard were turned into the church office today. Theh had a panera breads card on the chain. They are in my mailbox in the office if they are yours.

Frontline 2/17

What we covered tonight:
Tonight we talked about what we can learn from Samuel.  We are never too young for God to speak to us and use us in incredible ways.  On top of that, we see that our actions really do speak louder than our words.  When Samuel approached the people at the end of his time in charge (1 Samuel 12), he asks if they have anything against him, but they testify to his honesty and integrity.

We also talked through an article that ran on CNN a few weeks ago about an Atheist mom from Texas.  She lays out 7 reasons she has decided to raise her children without God.  We will return to a discussion on this article in 2 weeks, but I strongly encourage you as students to continue to wrestle with what you read.  Please remember that I am always willing to talk about this with you further. 

Winter Retreat:
Please be at church no later than 7:15 PM this Friday to pack up for the retreat.  We are leaving at 7:30, so be sure to be at church plenty before then :-)  Remember to bring your Bible, your favorite journal and warm clothes (wear them on the bus since it's not heated!--it'll save room in your bags, too!)

Please do not bring any movies that are rated R.  We will not watch them on our retreat.  Be considerate of others with what you choose to bring and leave behind.




Parents and Students alike--Please know that I am more than willing to help in any way I can.  You can reach me very quickly via e-mail at danunekis@gmail.com or via text/call on my personal cell phone (616) 594-6144.

Tomorrow night

Who will accept the challenge?

The Challenge is: In the next 32 hours, read 1 Samuel 3:1-20 AND 1 Samuel 12:1-5. Reflect on it for Frontline tomorrow night.  Also tomorrow night, we will discuss night of music.  If we have time at the end, I am going to ask us to reflect on an article written to CNN by an athiest mother in Texas.  She argues against teaching God or religion to her kids.  Get ready to engage this interesting article from our Christian worldview.

Frontline 2/10

What we covered tonight:
Tonight we talked once again about the importance of liturgy in our worship.  It informs the way we move from one thing to the next.  So, from now on, we will be having a time of confession, assurance of forgivness/pardon, prayer, worship, and teaching with our closing at the end.  I hope you enjoy it!

We also covered the story of Ruth tonight.  God continues his habit of using people that are not the most obvious choice.  In a culture very different from ours today, God chooses a woman, a widow, and a foreigner.  All three of these make Ruth an unlikely choice!!  However, God's plan are higher than ours and we see a beautiful story of God's grace, faithfulness, and love through the book of Ruth.  Thanks for your great participation tonight, and I look forward to next week!

Announcements:
As far as I know, at noon tomorrow, a group of people are getting together for pizza ranch at 12:00 noon to be followed by playing games/cards in the ARC.  Please shoot out a text to let people know. You can call me at 616-594-6144 if you need a ride.

The last day to sign up for the Frontline Retreat is Tomorrow!!! If you are not signed up but want to go, please e-mail me.  Troy and Tait have been added to the list since it was last updated.  The cost is $25 for the retreat.

Thanks again to everyone for the warm birthday wishes.  The notes you all gave me brought a big smile and warm, happy feelings! :-)  Glad to know so many of you random people love my beautiful green car so much!

Change of Plans

This Sunday, February 10, Hope College is NOT having the Gathering service we had hoped to attend.  So, we will instead be having our normal frontline meeting at 7:15 PM at the ARC.  Sorry for the late notice, but please help spread the word via e-mail, text, or in person to other Frontline students!

Guy's retteat

Hey guys. As of NOW, we are still planning on going on our retreat this weekend. Please check back here or facebook tonight for any updates around 6. Cam is planning on driving and we have the church van. The report is that we may be slow starting, but weather will clear up as we go and our destination has not had the same weather we have had here. Parents, please email me if you questions or concers or further updates.

Prayer and Praise

Hey frontline! Don't forget, tonight is our first installment of prayer and praise. it was supposed to start last week, but programming was canceled on Wednesday night due to weather. Tonight at 830 p.m. in the ARC.

Skiing!!!

This announcement from Karri and Jon Hubach!

  This Friday- Feb. 1st- Weather dependent-  They've been closed the past two days!!
     Leaving church at 5:30 returning at 10:00 pm.   Please text or facebook Karri if you are going so we can figure out drivers/vehicles.

    Thursday- Feb. 7th-  Leaving church at 4:15 pm  and returning at 9:30.  Please text or facebook Karri if you are going so we can figure out vehicle usage.

     Friday-  Feb. 15th-
           Leaving church at 5:30 returning at 10:00 pm.   Please text or facebook Karri if you are going so we can figure out vehicles usage.

     Sat. March 2-  Weather Dependent
           Leaving church at 4:15pm and returning at 10:00 pm.  Please text or facebook Karri if you are going so we can figure out vehicle usage.

Guys retreat information for this weekend

The short version:
Who: Frontline guys and sponsors
What: Men's retreat!
When: This weekend.  Friday 7:00 PM until Sunday later in the morning
Where: Cam's family's cabin
Why: Have fun, relax, and get to know each other better.

The not as short version
Ok everyone here's the details for our guys retreat!
We will leave from the ARC at 7:00 PM this Saturday. The plan is to return Sunday AM (hopefully in time that your parents will not have to make a separate trip to church to pick you up). Please remind your parents that even though you might not be there for it, there is a meeting about the mission trip this summer immediately after Sunday School.

Things you should bring:
-$25 (or $30 if you came to our event last Saturday for food&shooting but forgot to pay).

-Sleeping bag and Pillow

-Bars, cookies, or chips AND a 2 liter of pop to share


-Any games you want

-A fishing pole or 2 if you have them

-If anyone has a Wii and a game or two, that'd be great. If not, I will get us hooked up with one.

-You can bring some movies if you want, but make sure they're appropriate. If it's rated pg-13, shoot me an e-mail to ask me about it. If it's R, leave it home.

-Anything else you think you might want to make this a great weekend.

-Don't bring guns--there's nowhere to shoot there.

Food for meals will be provided (snacks are on you guys).
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call/text/facebook/e-mail me. Looking forward to a great time!

Announcements!

While I was bummed to not have frontline last night, I did hear a number of people who said roads were very dangerous and icy last night.  I'm glad that everyone stayed safe (and that Hudsonville closed today!)   



Since we didn't get to talk about announcements last week, please read through these carefully.  They may look similar to last weeks, but some additions and changes have been made, so read it through please!

-----------------------------------------------------
-Frontline guys who participated in our day of shooting & eating Jan. 19, please give Cam $5 for the expenses (food, shells, pigeons, etc.)

-”Prayer and Praise”, this Wednesday, January 30 at 8:30 PM.  Come for a time focused on worshiping God through prayer and Singing.  We’ll meet at the ARC.  This is a completely optional event.  As of now, this is not a regularly-scheduled event.

-Men’s retreat dates: Guys, please check your calendars to see if you are available either Fri Feb 1 through Sun Feb 3, or Fri Feb 15 through Sun Feb 17.   Please e-mail or facebook me with a yes or no for BOTH of those weekends.  This needs to be done ASAP!  At this point, most people are available on the first weekend (Feb. 1-3)

--If you are a parent of a kid going on the mission trip this summer, please mark your calendar!  There will be a brief meeting on Sunday, February 3 right after Sunday School. Plan to meet at the front of the sanctuary.  Sunday school usually ends right around 11:30.  Ask Marcy for details or let her know if you can’t make it. 

- Also, Sunday, February 3 is the night of the Super Bowl.  Sponsors and I decided that we did not want to cancel frontline all together, so we are going to have an hour-long meeting from 4:30 PM until 5:30 PM for those who would like to come.  We will meet at the ARC as normal.  There will not be a meeting at 7:15 PM on Feb. 3.

-Rockin Worship Road Show: This event requires you to sign up (currently the sheet is in the ARC).  Cam & Shannon are leaving with the church van from the ARC at 5:00 PM on Friday, February 8.  Jon is willing to leave at 6:00 PM if anyone cannot leave at 5:00.  Please bring $10 in cash.  They do not accept credit/debit cards.

- Frontline is not having a normal meeting on Sunday, February 10.  Instead, you are invited to attend The Gathering (a contemporary worship service led by Hope College students).  The bus will be leaving from the ARC at 5:30 PM and coming to Holland.  You will first stop by the Friendship House and then head to the Gathering.  If anyone would like to come but needs to come later, please arrange for a ride to Holland and call me when you get here.  I will hook you up with the rest of the group, and you can ride back to FGRC on the bus.  I think the bus will be back to church around 9:45 PM (give or take 15 minutes).  For most Hundsonville students, there is no school on Monday Febrary 11.

-Juniors and Seniors, Sherri from Jamestown Reformed Church has invited you to join her group to a visit at GVSU on Monday, February 11.  The purpose is to start learning more about campus ministries.  What they are, who participates, and what they do.  You will need to sign up for this event (sign up is currently at the ARC).  This would probably be a late night...you would get back to FGRC around 11:00 PM.

-Please sign up for the Winter Retreat!  We are leaving church Friday, February 22 and returning Sunday, February 24.  We will NOT meet Sunday night after the retreat.  Cost is $25.

-Frontline girls, your retreat is scheduled for March 9-10.  Cost is $25.  You will leave early Saturday morning and return Sunday afternoon.

Frontline Cancelled 1/27!

Frontline has been cancelled for tonight, January 27.  The weather forecast is for freezing rain and very dangerous driving conditions.  Thanks for your understanding. 

Remember, next week, Frontline is meeting from 4:30 until 5:30 PM in the ARC.  We will not be meeting at 7:15-9:00.

Please be sure to check the blog tomorrow for important updates!  I will communicate with sponsors tonight to add or edit any announcements. 

All activities cancelled

Please disregard the previous post.  All activities for Wednesday, January 23 are cancelled.

Worship night is on!

Greeetings Frontliners!  At this point, I am still planning on having our worship and prayer time at the ARC tonight at 8:30 PM.  Church activities are still on, so I don't see why we should cancel :-)  Please be smart on whether or not it is a safe drive for you and as always, listen to your parents! (bonus points for me!).  Hope to see some of you there, but if you can't make it, fret not!  This is not the last time.

One more announcement

Please take time to read the post published "1/20" as it has a large number of important announcements. In addition to those, I would like to add that the girls in front line are planning a retreat March 8 and 9. Please check your calendars to make sure this will work for you.

1/20

What we covered tonight:
Tonight we talked about Rahab.  Rahab is an unlikely character for Scripture for a number of reasons. First, she was a woman in a very male-oriented culture.  Second, she was a prostitute.  Third, she was a Canaanite.  However, God revealed himself to Rahab and used her for incredible purposes.  First, she protected the Israelite spies from her own people.  Then, she saved her family and followed God.  Eventually, she is listed in Matthew as being in the family line of Jesus.  She was King David’s great great grandma.  She is listed in Hebrews 11 as an example of true faith, and even James talks about her putting her love and faith into actions.  

Announcements:
-Thanks to the guys for a great time Saturday.  If you didn’t already, please give Cam $5 for the expenses (food, shells, pigeons, etc.)

-Please turn in Mel-Trotter forms ASAP to Shannon if you are interested in volunteering there.

-”Prayer and Praise”, this Wednesday, January 23.  Come for a time focused on worshiping God through prayer and Singing.  We’ll meet at the ARC.  This is a completely optional event.

-Craft night this Thursday, January 24!  Please e-mail/facebook Marcy if you are planning to go but forgot to sign up!  It starts at 7:00 PM at the ARC.

-Men’s retreat dates: Guys, please check your calendars to see if you are available either Fri Feb 1 through Sun Feb 3, or Fri Feb 15 through Sun Feb 17.   Please e-mail or facebook me with a yes or no for BOTH of those weekends.

-If you are a parent of a kid going on the mission trip this summer, please mark your calendar!  There will be a brief meeting on Sunday, February 3 right after church. Ask Marcy for details or let her know if you can’t make it.

-Also, Sunday, February 3 is the night of the Super Bowl (yay).  Sponsors and I decided that we did not want to cancel frontline all together, so we are going to have an hour-long meeting from 4:30 PM until 5:30 PM for those who would like to come.  We will meet at the ARC as normal.  There will not be a meeting at 7:15 PM on Feb. 3.

- Rockin Worship Road Show: This event requires you to sign up (currently the sheet is in the ARC).  Cam & Shannon are leaving with the church van from the ARC at 5:00 PM on Friday, February 8.  Jon is willing to leave at 6:00 PM if anyone cannot leave at 5:00.  Please bring $10 in cash.  They do not accept credit/debit cards.

-Frontline is not having a normal meeting on Sunday, February 10.  Instead, you are invited to attend The Gathering (a contemporary worship service led by Hope College students).  The bus will be leaving from the ARC at 5:30 PM and coming to Holland.  You will first stop by the Friendship House and then head to the Gathering.  If anyone would like to come but needs to come later, please arrange for a ride to Holland and call me when you get here.  I will hook you up with the rest of the group, and you can ride back to FGRC on the bus.  I think the bus will be back to church around 9:45 PM (give or take 15 minutes).  For most Hundsonville students, there is no school on Monday Febrary 11.

-Juniors and Seniors, Sherri from Jamestown Reformed Church has invited you to join her group to a visit at GVSU on Monday, February 11.  The purpose is to start learning more about campus ministries.  What they are, who participates, and what they do.  You will need to sign up for this event (sign up is currently at the ARC).  This would probably be a late night...you would get back to FGRC around 11:00 PM.

-Please sign up for the Winter Retreat!  We are leaving church Friday, February 22 and returning Sunday, February 24.  We will NOT meet Sunday night after the retreat.

-Frontline Gals: Please check your calendars to see if you are available for a retreat on March 9-10.  

Frontline Tonight

Update: As of right now (1:30 PM), we ARE planning on having fontline tonight.  Church was cancelled this morning due to a power outage at the main building, but from what I hear, the ARC is all good to go.  If something changes, I will be sure to put a notice on this blog and the facebook group right away.  However, as of now, let's plan on a normal meeting :-)

Blessings!

Announcement from Marcy

Frontline girls: craft night is next Thursday at 7 pm. We will be starting our "mission project" for Lakeshore Pregnancy Center. I think it would be neat if we could raise a little money for this in the next week, so i have an idea! In the next few days, ask your parents, grandparents, neighbors etc... If you could do a small project for them, in return for a small donation for our project. An example, ask your grandparents if you could return their pop cans and have the money, or ask your neighbor if you could babysit while she runs errands and donate the money to our project. The simplest way yet......just give up one luxury you would do for yourself this weekend (ex. A pop from the vending machine or a movie ticket!) And donated the money you would spend to our project.
Lets see how much effort and money we can raise!!!!!
Let's use the gifts God has given us to show His love to those in need!

Frontline 1/13

Brace yourselves for a lengthy post!

Thanks for an awesome night :-)  Seth told me the whole way back home how much fun he had!

What We Covered Tonight:
Tonight we had a great time doing hotseat with my roommate Seth, and had time for a survey to give feedback to Daniel and the sponsors.  Our lesson was over God's calling of Moses. If you could take one thing from the lesson, I hope that it is this:
God calls each of us, and he will accompany us to wherever and whatever he has called us.  He does not forsake us or leave us alone, and he will give us what we need for our journey.

Announcements: 

Well, I've got a ton of announcements and reminders, so buckle up and enjoy the long post!

Announcement from Karri Hubach:
Ski Club heading to Bittersweet This Saturday.
Leaving Church at 4:15 pm and Returning about 9:30 pm
If you have questions, you can call/text Karri at 893-4136.

-Guys--This Saturday we're going to Shannon's parent's house for hanging out and shooting (clay pigeon, target with .22), and then we'll grill for dinner and play card games and board games.  Please bring your calendars Saturday so we can set a date for a men's retreat.  Bring $5 and maybe a snack to share (a 2 liter of pop, bag of chips, cookies, etc.)  E-mail, text, call, facebook me with questions, or get ahold of Cam.

-Craft night, Next Thursday Jan. 24

-Feb. 8: Remember the concert in Grand Rapids...We will see if the church van is available since the bus will most likely be gone with BASIC's retreat.  $10 tickets at the door.  We'll talk more about this next week.

-Feb. 10: Plan on coming to the Gathering at Hope College. Plan on leaving from the church immediately after the evening service (around 7:00 PM).  We may push this back to an earlier leaving time, so stay tuned.

-Feb. 11: Juniors and Seniors--Sherri (Bill and Nancy’s daughter) invites you to Campus Praise Rally at Grand Valley on Feb. 11.  The purpose of this trip is to introduce you to a few campus ministries.  What they are, what they do, who participates, etc.  You don’t have to be looking at GVSU for this to be a good opportunity for you.  Talk to me or Marcy if you’re interested.

-Feb. 22-24: Winter Retreat.  Sign up ASAP.  Remember, you can come Friday and leave Saturday, come Saturday and leave Sunday, etc if you need to.  The hope is that you can come Friday-Sunday!

-March 2: 6 girls volunteered for childcare at the prayer workshop.  Put that on your calendars!

Night of Music (March 17) stuff we talked about tonight:
-More people than just FGRC
-Nate's band should play
-More Frontline involvement
-Cookies and Punch afterwards!
-No more hymns? at least not the way it's been done before
-Do we want a slideshow during the offering?
-We sing before the offering with all of Frontline, and we close with our closing song (OMEGA) with everyone


Hope the announcements are helpful!  Please look back here for updates!

Girls breakfast Saturday!

Who: Frontline Girls and Female Sponsors
What: Breakfast and discussion
When: This Saturday, January 12 at 9:00 AM
Where: the ARC
Why: To eat together and talk about activities for the next few months.  See below.

Early Bird gets the worm, right? Well, at Frontline, early birds get a bountiful breakfast on a boring, saturday morning in January! We want see all of your beautiful smiling faces THIS saturday! We are going to have a great time cooking breakfast AND discussing the rest of the year at Frontline for the GIRLS!!!! We want your input on girls book study, womens retreat, craft nights, and a possible service project....and ALL things GIRLY!!!! This morning will be about YOU and what YOU want to see at Frontline.....so please come... we need your help!!!!

Frontline 1/6

what we talked about tonight:
 tonight's lesson focused on resisting temptation. Looking at Genesis 39, we learned the story of how Joseph fled from temptation. We also learned the truth promised to us in first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13. Every single 1 of us will be faced with temptation, but we know that God will be faithful to us in providing a way out, and he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.

 announcements:
 while January is not very busy for us, the rest of the spring will be. We have a winter retreat the weekend of February 22, night of music on March 17, and youth sunday on April 28. On top of these major events, we also have craft nights and other small frontline outings. We will try to post regular blog updates to keep you informed about the time and days of future events, but always feel free to call or email1 of the sponsors or me if you have any questions.