brian shivers

Here are ten things young people say they want in their relationships with the adults in their lives.  What do you think? Teens said they want adults to... Look at us. Spend time talking with us. Listen. Be dependable. Show appreciation for what we do. Relax. Show that you’re interested. Laugh with us (and at yourself). Ask us to help you. Challenge us.

RESCHEDULED! - Because of inclement weather the September 25, HAYRIDE & BONFIRE at StoneyCreek Farms has been rescheduled! We will now have the event Sunday, October 2nd from 6-8PM. Encourage your student to invite a friend. Please RSVP to Stephanie Kandrac at 317-253-6461.

Sometimes conversations about faith and God can be difficult.  As a matter of fact, we are taught that you never talk about the weather, politics or religion in public.  However, it is vital that these conversations, as uncomfortable as they may be, take place in your home.  So, where do you start? Start with a question like... What do you think God is like? Why do you think it is important to do good things for other people? Where do you think your amazing talents come from? What do you think happens when someone dies? Then... listen.  Listen to their responses without interruption.  Allow them to share what they think.  After that, take the opportunity to share your thoughts.  Conversations like these give birth to more trust and more conversations.  Therefore, make sure you are ready.  And don't get discouraged if the first several are very short and to the point.  It takes a while to warm up to these deep conversations. God bless as ...

This is a link to the high school ministries blog. Here you will find interesting links to what has been and what will be discussed in high school ministries. High School Blog

"And God said, "Let light be and it was light" (Genesis 1:3). "In him was life, and the life was the light of all people; and the light in the darkness shines, and the darkness will not overcome it" (John 1:4-5). Jesus said, "You, you are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). "For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light - for the fruit of light is in all that is good and right and true" (Ephesians 5:8-9). God, the Creator of light; God, the Source of light, has called us to be light. To shine, if you will, right where we are.  The questions is, how will we shine? Watch this amazing video about how one man has become light and has brought light to many others.    How will we let the light shine? Let LIGHT be!

One... Such a small word.  One... Such a tiny value. One... That is, until you consider its significance. Sometimes it is just one who decides to do something instead of standing idly by that makes a difference. Sometimes it is just one who has eyes to see the promise in a life others curse that sparks a willingness to be. Sometimes it is just one who listens when others will only speak that give space for the voiceless to be heard. Sometimes it is just one who speaks a prophetic word into hopelessness that instills a sense of new life. Sometimes it is just one who takes a risk to reach out in love that gifts another the courage to continue on. Sometimes it is just one who invests their time in the life of another that encourages a spirit of confidence. Sometimes it is just one who understands their own life as a gift to be shared that opens a way where there appeared to be no way. Sometimes it is just one who sits by the side of one who has nothi...

Who among us hasn't uttered those fateful words from the back seat of the family car? Are we there yet? A sure sign of our boredom and impatience. Are we there yet? The promised destination has not yet been reached, and that is all that matters. Are we there yet? Finally in exasperation, the reply rings out in almost perfect unison from the front of the car, "Not yet! Will you please stop asking?! You will know when we get there!" And in response we tune out or shut down for a little while. Let's be honest. For most of our lives we have simply been waiting to get somewhere. When we were 6 years old, we wanted to be 10. When we were 10, we couldn't wait to be 13. When we finally turned 13, we couldn't wait until high school. High school, college. College, real world. And so the list goes on and on. It seems as though we are always asking, "Are we there yet?" Our internal journey and our journey of faith are really no different. We want to know where w...

It seems as though we have become experts in drawing lines that divide our world into nice little compartments.  Then we work overtime attempting to convince ourselves that our matrices represent the reality of the world in which we live. With our work completed, we gather in groups surrounded by our same-minded compatriots and wag our fingers and shake our fists at those standing on the other side of our imaginary lines of demarcation.  We then arrogantly congratulate ourselves about our "rightness" and the absurd "wrongness" of those "over there." Unfortunately, this line drawing often leads to paranoia and shouting in all directions because we find that our complicated lines have effectively isolated ourselves from everyone else. We see the fruit of this labor all around us. It exists in our government, our congregations, our businesses and our families. Our arrogance and pathological need to be right ultimately leads to destruction of self and ...