Tuesday= FUN DAY

We’re going tubing!

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’?!

Theology Thursday: Is Hell a real place?

If I was given a blank sheet of paper and asked to portray Hell, I would immediately begin decorating the paper with flames of fire. In the middle of the fire would be a stick figure with horns and a pointy tail. Sitting on a throne and holding a trident in his right hand, he would rule over Hell with a menacing grin and occasional evil laugh. His subjects (other stick figures because I am a terrible artist) come out of the flames with speech bubbles exclaiming words of pain and regret.

I think this is the picture that most of us get in our heads when we think of Hell. But where do these thoughts and images come from? Are they biblical? While it may be easy to draw and understand the picture I described above, I think it falls short of explaining the great amount of questions that come along with the doctrine of Hell. Once we start talking about Hell, we find ourselves with questions not only about the nature of eternal punishment – Is Hell a real place or only a state of being? – but also questions concerning the nature of God Himself – How can a loving God send people to Hell?

Hell is a difficult thing to discuss. For this reason, I think many of us settle with the simple images and thoughts we gathered somewhere back in childhood and avoid understanding the deeper issues and questions about Hell. However, I think it’s extremely important to push past the discomfort and wrestle with the various questions the doctrine of Hell raises. Why? For me, there are three simple reasons:

1. One’s understanding of Hell shapes how you see your mission and purpose as a Christian, how you see the world, and how you see God.
2. When people question you about your faith as a Christian, questions about Hell WILL come up. I guarantee it.
3. The Bible talks about it, so we should too!

Well, those are just a few of my thoughts as we approach the discussion this Thursday. But since I am far from being an expert on the topic, I want to see all of you there and hear what you are thinking! So PLEASE come and hang out with us from 11:00-1:00pm on Thursday. Jace and David will be cooking up some burgers and brats, so we will have great food AND great conversation! What more could you want? Come ready with questions as we all seek to deepen our understanding of our faith and apply it to the way we live our lives for the sake of Christ and the gospel.

See you Thursday!!

Grace

Introducing Grace Bell

Hey Everyone!

I am so excited to be hanging out with you all this summer!!  I can’t wait to meet every single one of you in the upcoming weeks, but until then David asked me to give a short introduction of myself so you all can get a small idea of who this strange girl hanging around campus is.

Well, my family has been a part of the Hillcrest family for the past few years – my mom, Vicky, works up in the Attic and my little brother, Reed, works in the nursery and in the café. Maybe you’ve had a chance to meet them! You haven’t seen me around much these past few years because I have been up at school at Wheaton College just outside Chicago. This upcoming year I will be a senior finishing up my studies in Christian Formation and Ministry as well as English Literature. After that, who knows where I will be. For now, I am extremely happy to be here in good ole Pensacola spending time with all of you Hillcrest students!

On a more fun and personal level, here are a few random things about me! Hopefully you will get to know more as I spend time with you all this summer, but to get you started here are five fun facts about me!.

1. I am a bit of a nerd, and I love reading! Over the years, Crime and Punishment has come to be one of my all time favorite novels, but I’m also a sucker for anything fantastical that transports me into another world, like the Harry Potter series or Chronicles of Narnia.

2. I am terrified of frogs. I don’t know what it is, but they freak me out.

3. I eat like a 5 year old. Seriously, I live off of Macaroni and Cheese, PB&J, fruit snacks, Grilled Cheese, and goldfish. I also usually always eat with both hands.

4.  I love Latin America and have spent most of my summers doing missions in places like Peru and Nicaragua. Most recently I spent a month with three other Wheaton students teaching in the Dominican Republic. 

  5. I have abnormally small thumbs. In fact, this discovery has led some people to address me by the endearment “LT” or “Little Thumbs.” (Though I do not encourage this nickname…)     

Looking forward to the summer and meeting more of you soon!

Grace

MAC Week

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Jace

What I have learned about Student Ministry in 4 weeks

First of all, I need to give a little background information. My name is Jessica Barnes. I am 27 years old; I am married to Matt Barnes, and have a 10 month old little boy named Jayden. Since being married to Matt, I have become very familiar to the Hillcrest family.  Matt has a long history at Hillcrest. His diapers were changed here, he went through the youth group (David was the intern back in that day), and has been involved in the youth ministry for many years.  I can truly say I love this church.  It is a family that I’m so excited to be a part of.

Now that you know a little about me, I feel I can let you in on 10 things that I have learned since I started here 4 weeks ago…In no particular order, here we go…

10:  Starbucks is a daily necessity for each of us here

9:  DO NOT touch or MOVE anything on David’s desk, or area for that matter.

8: Annoying text message ringtones are a requirement- I’m not naming names…you know who you are

7: Reminiscing on past youth trips in which Matt, Jace, or Ryan made David cry (from laughter or from anger) is a weekly occurrence

 6:  The world of cheese, I am being enlightened to many different varieties thanks to Thad Burkhalter

 5:  Last minute is how we roll-nuff said

 4: Cutting holes in a diaper to fit Jace’s eyes and mouth is part of my job

 3: Pranks are in order when David is out of town

 2: Elevator Music actually has a fan in David Wiggins

 1: Having a good sense of humor is a must

 Thanks for letting me share this with you all…In all seriousiness, i love my job, i love the students, and I love the people i work with. I just couldn’t be happier.

If you are on campus, please come by and see me, I would love to meet you.

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