High School club idea for me...

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Amicus Dei of [FoG]

Amicus Dei of [FoG]

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I was stricken with a divine idea (quite literally) a few nights ago just as i put my Bible up from a short reading (one of those too tired to sit up but I'm too devoted to just not do it Bible readings where I'm half-asleep and yet manage to remember it all the next day :p )...

I should make a club in my high school (everytime I think of this I get this cool feeling ^_^)! BUT... I have no clue how I can organize a club with all this [non-existant] free time on my hands! I have so much of it [taken] that it would be easy to fit in [almost no] meetings!

Any support would be greatly appreciated...


SO FAR:
The plan is to gather any and all Christians and anyone interested in learning about Christianity and becoming one themselves (like a good friend of mine who I really want to help become Christian before it's too late and the End Times come o.o)...
So, how to do this? Well, as far as I know, I would need a meeting place basically open to reservation and use at any time (there are none that come to mind since i basically hang out in the music area, which has most rooms occupied most of the time...
Also, I would need to create a schedule and give out hand-outs (simply use a word processor and print it out...). No difficult task there except that the schedule would need to be pre-determined up to three weeks in advance, and that would take at least a few hours to check every plan I have that might interrupt meetings...
Furthermore, it is necessary to have a way to attract attention... a little word of mouth can go a long way, but only if spread the right way will it go fast enough to get it to hit the ground rolling, rather than standing stright up...

Lastly, and of course most importantly (this is basically where I need your help), I need to organize speeches to give, so that the meetings aren't just disorderly mobs of Christians wondering why they assembled if they could just talk about Christianity in a common setting...

I have never created a sermon of any sort, and I'm very new to Christian hymns (seeing as my Baptism was January 1st, 2006, I really haven't been associated with hymns long enough to be the hymnal guru...).

As for your help, I need topic ideas and hymns and all this other juicy Christian stuff that I can spread amongst the believers of the school. I don't know that I can cover a topic without looking into it from all Biblical perspectives. Just because something is in Romans doesn't mean it isn't also in John, Luke, or Genesis, too. I still have trouble navigating through the Bible, I basically have only read between 3-5 whole books (i peek at random books to see what else there is... possibly due to a not-so-long attention span [somehow I've made it through this story without looking around at the room to find something else to do...? writing is the one thing I can do without getting easily distracted]). So my greenness to the ways of the Christian is probably overwhelming for me to become the leader of a guild on a game and a club at my school...

This is why I need that one thing... Oh, what's the word... It's on the tip of my fingers (typing)... I believe it starts with an... H? OH YEAH, HELP!!!
 
I don't have a lot of time right now, but just a starting idea. . .I just skimmed your post. Get a youth curriculum book (I like Group Publishing) and pick out a couple activies for each meeting. You don't have to do whole lessons, just pick out things that you think will work together, and work with your group and your style. I'll post more later for you :)
 
provide free food any they will come no mater what you do (oh wait thats only college students..)

try to feel out what students are interested in and pull some scripture and hold a open discussion on it. Just be careful what you talk about as some people may get offended.
 
You will probably need to get with someone in administration to find out how to get your group approved for meeting. (some school are more or less strick about this) I would advice caution with open discussion. Expecially since you are still young in your faith. There may be questions that come up that you aren't prepared to deal with, or are uncertain about how to back them up with scripture. You may not want to start out with a large group. It may be easier for you to start with a core group of believers, and then allow them to spread the word about your group. God usually wants us to be faithful in the small things, before he has us take responsiblity over larger things. Let him grow your ministry, as he sees you are able to handle it.

KEY SUGGESTION: DO NOT let yourself get discouraged or overwhelmed. God believes in you. He put this desire in your heart. He will give you the means to fulfill it. He does not expect more of us than we can handle.
 
oh yeah, and a quote that I believe very strongly in . . .
God does not call the equiped, he equips the called.
:)
 
Something interesting...was actually in yesterday's paper here... A group of people went to pray over a school. Many people nearby were up-in-arms because of the whole "seperation of church and state" here in the US. Since the group was not sanctioned by the school (and it's a public area), there was nothing stopping the group from gathering outside.

I'll post more details from the article, because it really seemed to me that the school was giving a silent nod to the church group - but couldn't come out and support the group for legal reasons.

However, your group, while it has a different focus than other clubs in school... if comprised of only school kids, shouldn't be allowed to turn you away. Honestly, you're no different than the foreign language club, the chess club, or the debate club. You're members of the school with common interests, looking for a place to meet. But like notashamed said, you'll need to check with the administration about meeting in the school.
 
From the Columbus Dispatch on August 31, 2006. (bold emphasis mine)
No harm done
Neighbors’ blessing of school didn’t force religion on anyone
Thursday, August 31, 2006

The nation long has struggled to balance religious faith with a commitment to secular government, and a recent neighborhood prayer session illustrates the tension perfectly.

About 180 people who care about Woodward Park Middle School on the North Side gathered outside the school on Sunday in Christian prayer, asking God’s blessing for the institution.

This shouldn’t raise any churchstate separation anxieties. School was not in session, school officials didn’t invite the blessers and no school officials participated.

The participants, members of four neighborhood churches, care about their community and have helped the school by donating supplies and volunteering in other ways.

The event originally was proposed for inside the school but was moved outside at the request of school officials. While the event was in the planning stage, the American Civil Liberties Union objected, declaring in a letter that "permitting" the blessing would violate the school’s constitutional duty to remain neutral in religious matters. The district defended the event by citing a U.S. Supreme Court case, Good News Club vs. Milford Central School, holding that any group is permitted to rent and use public-school facilities.

But the school district didn’t need to give permission for praying outside an empty school; that’s free assembly and free speech.

Some people in the gathering told a reporter they don’t think religious practice should be banned from schools, and doubtless some in the group would favor activities that would improperly mix religion with public education.

On the other side of this issue, some people never will be comfortable with anyone expressing religious faith, especially near a public school. But personal discomfort doesn’t cancel the right to pray as these people did.
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From the bolded text - the school district felt the need to respond, even about rented/used rooms, despite the fact that anyone can walk on the grounds outside :)
 
Oh, and the school can NOT stop you from having a christian club or whatever on their property. Take it to the courts if you have to. The law is very clear about that.
 
Durruck said:
From the Columbus Dispatch on August 31, 2006. (bold emphasis mine)

About 180 people who care about Woodward Park Middle School on the North Side gathered outside the school on Sunday in Christian prayer, asking God’s blessing for the institution.
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Whatever happened to Matt 6:5-6?

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men....when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret...."

How did Jesus pray?

The Gospels contain many references to Jesus praying, including:

Matthew 14:23: Jesus went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

Matthew 26:36-44: Jesus went with three disciples, left them behind and went further to pray alone. This is the well known passage in which his disciples fell asleep at Gethsemane, just before Jesus' arrest and execution.

Mark 1:35: Jesus went to a solitary place to pray.

Luke 3:21: This passage describes how Jesus was baptized and was in prayer when the Holy Ghost descended. Unfortunately, this passage does not describe how and where Jesus was praying.

Luke 5:16: Jesus is described as often going to lonely places to pray by himself

Luke 6:12: Jesus withdrew to a mountainside to pray. Verse 13 implies that he was alone at the time.

Luke 9:19: Jesus was praying alone, with his disciples in the vicinity.

Luke 22:41-43: Jesus withdrew from his disciples "about a stone's throw" to pray by himself.

John 16, 17: These chapters are ambiguous about the circumstances of Jesus' prayer just before his arrest. He first talked to his disciples; then he prayed, then he went with his disciples across the Kidron valley. It is not clear where the disciples were situated when Jesus prayed. But if he was consistent with the pattern described in other passages, he would have left the disciples behind, and prayed in private.
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From: www.religioustolerance.org
 
On the other hand tho - they initially wanted to go into the school; they didn't plan on standing out in the street - the school basically asked them to not enter the building.

Also a contrast - Jesus tells us that we should publically proclaim our faith - if we are ashamed of Jesus, He shall be ashamed of us at the Father's side. This band of people was not afraid to proclaim their belief and faith in Jesus, and asked Him to come down and give His blessings to the school.... to protect the ground they tread upon.
 
Durruck said:
On the other hand tho - they initially wanted to go into the school; they didn't plan on standing out in the street - the school basically asked them to not enter the building.

Also a contrast - Jesus tells us that we should publically proclaim our faith - if we are ashamed of Jesus, He shall be ashamed of us at the Father's side. This band of people was not afraid to proclaim their belief and faith in Jesus, and asked Him to come down and give His blessings to the school.... to protect the ground they tread upon.
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How do you reconcile that with the verses I posted? It seems pretty clear what Christ was commanding.
 
They are not standing in the auditorium praying in front of their entire class. They are simply meeting together and praying together.

dont use scripture out of context, if you read it all you will notice the pharacees were using prayer to self appraise themselves.

Since the meeting is private, they technically are in the closet :P
 
vibrokatana said:
They are not standing in the auditorium praying in front of their entire class. They are simply meeting together and praying together.

dont use scripture out of context, if you read it all you will notice the pharacees were using prayer to self appraise themselves.

Since the meeting is private, they technically are in the closet :P
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Perhaps you missed this part:

About 180 people who care about Woodward Park Middle School on the North Side gathered outside the school on Sunday in Christian prayer, asking God’s blessing for the institution.
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How did you misconstrue the text to read the meeting was private?
 
Matthew 6:2-4 said:
When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
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wacko 3 verses before explains the topic very well. They are gathering to pray respectfully, they arnt shouting at people as they pass calling them sinners and trying to display how good they are.
 
notashamed said:
KEY SUGGESTION: DO NOT let yourself get discouraged or overwhelmed. God believes in you. He put this desire in your heart. He will give you the means to fulfill it. He does not expect more of us than we can handle.
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That makes me feel quite special, actually <3 . I believe in Him, too!!! :D :D :D

Something I noticed in that article... quite amusing:

churchstate separation
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if they are separating church and state, why are the words together? nice little bit of irony there :p
 
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