Driven with Purpose Youth Ministries  

Even though our youth is small we strive to serve God and live by his will everyday.  We all await that day when we enter heaven and find him saying "Well done my good and faithful servant now enter the Kingdom of Heaven!"

The growth of our youth.

Our youth group has took off these past couple of months with a desire to serve the  church and the community. In February the youth held a service filled with praise and worship, messages,  prayer, and faith. God is truly working with the youth and with our church. 

Jr. youth group.

Here are some pictures from our kids youth group with the leaders Ted Nerris and Milton Ntragatakis

Stories 

Making A Difference

One day, when I was a freshman in high school I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all his books. I thought to myself, why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd. I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon) so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was waking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I  saw a tear in his eye, as I handed him his glasses. He looked at me and said, Hey thanks! there was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out the whole weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same way of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said Boy you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!  He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He  looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, Hey, big guy you'll be great! He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. Thanks, he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. „Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach but mostly you friends I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.  I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over he weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me an gave me a little smile. Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.  I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person‚s life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in the same way.

Dart Test

A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a seminary class, given by her teacher, Dr. Smith. She says that Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons. One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts. Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture. Sally's friend drew a picture of  a person that made fun of here. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the overall affect she had achieved.  The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats. As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn't have a chance to throw any darts at her target. Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall. Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus.. A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.  Dr. Smith said only these words... "In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me."
Matthew 25:40.  No other words were necessary; the tears filled eyes of the students focused only on the picture of Christ.

Do you believe in God?

There was an atheist couple who had a child. The couple never told their daughter anything about the Lord. One night when the little girl was 5 years old, the parents fought with each other and the dad shot the Mom, right in front of the child. Then, the dad shot himself. The little girl watched it all. She then was sent to a foster home. The foster mother was a Christian and took the child to church. On the first day of Sunday School, the foster mother told the teacher that the girl had never heard of Jesus, and to have patience with her. The teacher held up a picture of Jesus and said, "Does anyone know who this is?" The little girl said, "I do, that's the man who was holding me the night my parents died."