With Summer 2019 quickly drawing to a close, I wanted to take time to write about how God has used me this summer. It has been a summer of spiritual growth.

I want to give Shane Williams a special thanks for allowing me to lead youth on Wednesdays. Preparing each week for the messages God had laid on my heart not only helped the youth grow but help my faith grow as well. Studying each week to prepare has helped me learn so much about what God has to say to us.

Throughout the series we did, I learned so much. Greater Purpose taught me that we have a far greater purpose on this earth than we could ever imagine! We have a purpose to share the Gospel to others, being an ambassador for Christ. We have to share our testimony to the world so that we can bring others to Christ.

After Greater Purpose, we moved into Endgame, a series that really pressed on me. Throughout the series, we looked at how God's promises are here for us now! We can hold onto the hope that God will always be by our side. We have to realize that our hope and help are truly found in Christ alone.

In the second week of Endgame, we looked at holiness. Holiness isn't something we should regard as negative. In our society, we have let the word holy have a negative connotation. We should be seeking to align our lives with Christ, walking in his ways and seeking to be more like Him. We have to remember that holiness is a life-giving boundary which allows us to focus our God-given ambitions upon Him.

Week 3 of Endgame was about faith and works. I mentioned how after the March 19, 2018 tornado that devastated Jacksonville and the JSU campus, we had several of our youth give up part of their Spring Break to help serve the people of Jacksonville. They helped in such an awesome way! Through their work, one individual came to know Christ and was baptized in his bathtub. It is important that we remember that our belief in Christ is not merely an idea, but rather that's true faith sparks a change to seek to serve others in Christ.

Lastly, we looked at God's promise of a new creation. When we are saved, we become a new creation. Likewise, when Christ returns, He will create a new heaven and a new earth, where sin will be no more. We have to remember that we are not simply tourists passing through this earth to get to Heaven, rather, we are God's chosen people, called to give glimpses of the glorious future God has in store for us!

Lastly, I am so thankful that Bro. Ryan Fortenberry for allowing me to help out with the first annual Pine Mountain Community Church youth retreat. The theme for this retreat was A Compass for Your Life. This showed the youth what being a disciple of Christ is like.

Overall, I am so thankful for this summer and how God used me. While I am sad that it is over, I am eagerly waiting to see how He will use me this semester!