Dear Parents and Students:

Camp is coming!

This Summer, Hillcrest Students are attending Student Life Camp at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA. The dates for camp this year are Monday, June 11 – Friday, June 15. Student Life Camp has a long history of excellence in providing a camp experience that is fun, safe, and impactful for teenagers. The Camp Pastor is a good friend of Hillcrest’s named Landon Dowden. Landon has a long standing relationship with our ministry and our students and is a faithful preacher of God’s Word. The Camp Worship Leader is Casey Darnell. Casey and his band led our students last Summer at Big Stuf camp and we loved him. If you’d like more info on camp, visit www.studentlife.com.

Hillcrest will be one of many churches participating in this week of camp at Covenant. We will be joining more than 800 other Middle School and High School students while we’re there. This camp experience is for all of our 6-12 graders and will be the only camp we attend this Summer.

• Camp registration is $300. This is the same price we charged last year. Between camp fees, gas prices, and administrative costs the price of attending camp is going up every year. We want to absorb those increases as much as we can to keep camp at a price that is more manageable for your family.
• We only have 20 spots left available so this trip is going to fill up really fast. DON’T WAIT to get signed up. This trip WILL reach capacity and when it does we will start a waiting list.
• While we are doing what we can to keep costs low, I recognize that $300 is a lot of money. If I could make a case for it though, I would say that I genuinely believe that it is a value when weighed against the eternal impact an experience like this can have. The spiritual transformations that we’ve seen take place at camp in years past impact students’ lives in ways that transcend their involvement in school, sports, band, and other extra-curricular activities. Everyone has to make decisions that work for their family and we respect that – but my prayer is that you will prioritize this experience for your student and see it as an investment in their future, both earthly and eternal.
• Registration is open on a 1^st come, 1^stserved basis. You can acquire your registration materials one of two ways:
  • Stop by the church office and get them from Jessica.
  • Download and print them from this link  CLICK HERE
  • Either way, once you have your paper work all filled out and notarized (we have a notary available in the church office), you will bring to Jessica in the church office along with your $100 deposit and the spot is your’s.
  • We will have a mandatory meeting for students and parents on Sunday May 20^th at 4:00. This is also when final balances will be due on your account.

We are excited to see what God will do this Summer at Student Life Camp and our prayer is that your teenager will be able to join as we go. Please call us if you have any questions.

Whether you’re a student or a parent, everything you need to know about DNow 2012 is right here.

The links below will connect you to the documents that were distributed at our parent meeting:

• Schedule – click here
• Student Rules and Expectations (includes “what to pack”) – click here
• General Info (includes contact numbers) – click here
• Time Away Card (required for any student who has to leave at any point in the weekend) – click here

Doors open on Friday at 5:00. Every student has to check in. There will be a check-in table at the entrance to the atrium where you will check your luggage, pay any remaining balance, and turn in any “time away” forms. Dinner is at 6:00 so you don’t have to be here right at 5:00 but the closer to 6:00 you get, the longer the check-in line will be.
Once a student is checked in, they will get instructions at dinner and roll from there.

Students will not reunite with their parents until Sunday after church. When the 11:00 service is over, students will collect their luggage from the student suite or from the host’s vehicle, go home, and NAP! There are no HS Life Groups meeting Sunday night.

From 5:00 Friday until 12:15 Sunday there will be much to do. Most of it is covered in the schedule you can download above, but there are also a few surprises. =]

You also need to be aware of our missions collections. We are so excited to be partnering with Casting Seeds Ministries by collecting an offering at DNow that will put Hillcrest’s Chris and Kim Forehand over the top with what they need to purchase a new vehicle that will allow them to expand their ministries in to the mountainous regions of Ecuador. The goal of this offering for the weekend is $2000. In addition, we are collecting new or used backpacks that will be stuffed and distributed to homeless adults and children on the streets of Pensacola by our very own Go Team. Neither of these collections are “required” for DNow participants. These are opportunities that we are offering our students to demonstrate their worship of God through their generosity. We look forward to seeing the results!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding DNow 2012,
Please call Jessica in the church office at 476-2233.
We’re looking forward to this weekend and what God is going to do in the lives of the teenagers at Hillcrest!

If you missed the Info Meeting on Sunday, that’s OK, we have your forms available for download here:

General Info and Contacts

What to Pack/Rules and Expectations

Also, don’t forget to bring your canned goods for Hillcrest’s Food Pantry and Socks and Blankets for the Streets and Lanes Winter Warmth Drive. You’ll drop this stuff off at check-in on Friday.

We are so excited about this coming weekend. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to call us at the office at 476-2233. And if you haven’t signed up yet, head right here and do it now —-> REGISTER

This event is for all students grades 6-12 and the cost is
$100. That covers everything from transportation to and from Camp Baldwin, all
of your meals starting with dinner Friday night through Lunch on Sunday,
lodging, and what will be one of the most life-changing experiences with your
friends that you can imagine!

In addition to the worship, recreation, and ridiculous fun,
we’re offering breakout courses in various topics led by some of the most
influential leaders in our church. You will indicate which 2 breakouts you wish
to attend when you register. The options this year are:

“Tough Stuff”
with Pastor Jim – Do you have a question about the Bible, the church, doctrine,
or theology that has been nagging at you? In this “town hall” style breakout
you’ll have the chance to ask your Senior Pastor and see what he has to say.
This was one of our most popular breakouts last year!

“Spiritual Gifts”
with Pastor Doug – Join Executive Pastor Doug Kimsal as he leads you through
the process of discovering not only what your spiritual gifts are, but how you
use them to serve the church!

“Evangelism is Easy”
with Pastor Brian – Pastor of Missions and Evangelism Dr. Brian Barlow will be
on hand to lead through a conversation on how, as a believer, you are equipped
with everything you need right now to
share your faith and live on mission for the gospel.

“Worship Leadership”
with Various Leaders – Do you have gifts that you think could be used to lead
others to worship God? It could be many things – music, drama, dance, art,
video, and much more. Find out how you can use your creativity to not only
enjoy God through it but lead others to do the same!

For the very first time, we are going completely online with
our registration process. You don’t pay online, you only sign up. When you
submit your registration form, a “signature” will be required. If you are 18 or
older then you can sign it yourself but if not you’ll have to have a parent or
guardian enter your name. We will contact you ASAP upon receipt of your
registration to arrange payment.

To register online RIGHT NOW – CLICK HERE!

DO NOT MISS this brand new event. You don’t want to be on
the receiving end of the stories students are telling when they come home. Be
there and experience it yourself!!!

Online registration has been closed. Please call Jessica in the Church Office to sign up or for more information, 850.476.2233.

Recording artist and worship leader Chris Tomlin, Passion Founder and Speaker Louie Giglio, and the mega-talented Christy Nockles are coming in concert to the Pensacola Civic Center on Saturday Oct. 22. That day also happens to be Pastor David’s 32^nd birthday and there’s no way he’d rather spend that night than singing his lungs out with some of you guys at this awesome event.

We have a limited number of tickets available here in the office and they are currently being reserved for STUDENTS and/or STUDENT WORKERS who want to attend. They are $25 apiece and they are really good seats!

The concert starts at 7:00 so we will be leaving the church at 5:30 to beat the traffic and get there in plenty of time so not to miss anything. We ARE providing transportation to and from the church downtown to the Civic Center.

You can purchase your ticket from Jessica here in the church office M-F from 8:30-4:30 or in the cafe starting this Sunday morning at FUSION. We will take cash or check (checks made payable to Hillcrest Baptist Church). WE CANNOT RESERVE OR HOLD TICKETS. WE MUST RECEIVE PAYMENT IN ORDER TO RELEASE TICKETS.

Again, we have a VERY limited number of tickets and they are going to go FAST so get your’s today!!

If you are interested in serving on August 16 you need to do a couple things for us.  First thing we need is for you to find Grace Bell at Wednesday Life Groups, Sunday Fusion, or Sunday night Life Groups and let her know you are interested. Second thing we need from you is advertisement.  If you know anyone who is in need of school supplies, please let them know they are invited and welcome on August 16 at 4pm.

We are very excited about this ministry and hope and pray you will come and be a part of this outreach with us. If you have any questions, please call Jessica at 476-2233.  This Ministry is right around the corner, so don’t miss out!!

Download Reg. Card here.

This Tuesday, July 5^th, we taking a 6 hour tube trip down Blackwater river and it’s going to be a blast!

Interested? Here’s the details:

Who – All 6-12 graders.

When – Tuesday, July 5. Meet at the church at 7:30 and we’ll provide transportation to Munson. We HAVE to be on the river by 9:00 so we’ll be pulling out of here by 7:45 at the latest. If you’re late, you’ll have to get yourself to Munson on your own!! We will return to the church by 5:00 that afternoon.

How Much – Only $15 per person (you can make a check out to Hillcrest or just bring cash).

What Else – Bring a sack lunch. We’ll provide drinks (water and soda) and will have a cooler to keep your lunch in until we eat. Don’t bring your own cooler unless you plan on renting an extra tube for it ($9 fee).

We’re still looking for a few more adults to join us so if you’re interested hit me up! We’ll pay for your trip, but you have to make your own sandwich  (Jace and I are no good in the kitchen)

So – you comin’?!