Hope everyone had a productive and great Thanksgiving and I want to inform everyone of the email we received from Threads letting us know that it's time to start planning for Spring Break retreats.  I don't know if you've ever attended Beach Reach but this is an excellent opportunity for college students to encounter Spring Break partiers (think I may have just made that word up) who desperately need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Beach Reach provides students with a plethora of opportunities to share their faith with other college students while transporting them around their Spring Break destination.

Threads website describes the event as follows: 

BeachReach is a mission trip experience where servant evangelism takes the form of free van rides and pancakes. Thousands visit Panama City during spring break and many are hurting and searching for meaning. College students provide simple acts of service that open the door to life-changing conversations about the hope and love of Jesus Christ.

I enjoyed BeachReach when I went with some college students 2 years ago and was amazed at the spiritual conversations/conversions that occurred from simply chauffeuring people around Panama City and making free pancakes for college students.

I would encourage you to click the following link Threads BeachReach Website for more information on how to register and for dates for BeachReach.  I hope you decide to bring a group their this year and that God matures your students and uses BeachReach to help them minister to the lost and fallen world.

Well Thanksgiving is almost here and I hope you are having a nice time with friends and family.  I came across the following article on from Benson Hines and thought it would be a helpful reminder/brainstorming session for you.  I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!!!

This article originally appeared on the blog site exploringcollegeministry.com on Nov. 15, 2011

Yesterday, I posted many of the reasons Thanksgiving Break could be really important to prepare students for. And many of those reasons apply to Christmas Break, too. These two experiences are two of your students upcoming “hinge moments.”

So today, I just wanted to brainstorm “out loud” about ways you might teach, disciple, and otherwise prepare students for these times. Do what fits your purposes best, but I hope you’ll at least consider preparing students for the holiday Breaks.

Teaching / training areas

• - Evangelism (with a special emphasis on family members and “old friends”)
• - Honoring your parents
• - Spiritual Disciplines
• - Fighting Temptations (especially those brought on by being “back home”)
• - Rest
• - Decision-making (since, as noted yesterday, these are excellent times to ponder the semester / summer
•   ahead)

Methods

• - Message(s): Of course, you can always teach such things in a Large Group Meeting message or short
•   series.
• - Small groups: Use your present small group structure to talk through yesterday’s issues and/or the topics
•   above
• - Training devotionals via email or blog: In the week(s) leading up to either Break, what if you hit some of the
•   above areas in a written format?
• - Ongoing devotionals during the Breaks: Likewise, ongoing contact with students (especially over Christmas
•   Break) could be phenomenal. Students could even contribute both teaching and testimonies of how God is
•   using them during their Breaks.
• - Booklet: Instead of (or along with) an ongoing devotional, you could produce a “Quiet Time Guide” or other
•   resource students could take home with them.
• - Establishing in-break Community: Small groups shouldn’t end at the threshold of Christmas break. Either
•   your present groups or only-for-the-Break groups should be (remotely) providing accountability,
•   encouragement, etc., for students while they’re away from school.
• - Online Community: While less “organic” attempts at community may be necessary for students to actually
•   use them mid-break, supplementing on Facebook, a blog, or an email list could be great.
• - Personal connections: You, your staff, and your student leaders could certainly reach out to students
•   personally during the breaks. A call on the Friday after Thanksgiving or periodic emails during Winter Break,
•   for instance, could be more important and timely than you realize…

Lance and I just caught wind of the following event over at New Orleans BTS and wanted to pass the word to ministers in Texas.  Sounds like a worthwhile event that we hope a few of your ministries can attend.  We don't really know too much about the specifics of the event so if you're interested you should click on the event link found at the bottom of the text below.  Hope everyone had a great week last week and in case you were wondering, Annual Meeting went well!!

Collegiate Ministers – 

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has an exciting opportunity for you and your students!  NOBTS is hosting Defend the Faith on January 8-13, 2012 and would be honored for you and your students to attend.

Defend the Faith is a five-day, five-night conference in Christian apologetics training featuring quality biblical, philosophical, and theological instruction with outstanding worship.  Held on the main campus of NOBTS, Defend the Faith will feature speakers such as Gary Habermas, Paul Copan, Mary Jo Sharp, Mike Licona, James Walker, Robert Bowman, Bob Stewart, and many others.  Topics include Science and Christianity, The New Atheism, The Resurrection of Jesus, The Reliability of the New Testament, Islam, World Religions, Mormonism, New Age Spirituality, along with other hot-button apologetic and polemic issues.

NOBTS is proud to offer special pricing for Defend the Faith to any Collegiate Minister interested in bringing a group. 

For the Collegiate Minister who brings a group of 3 or more:

• Receive one FREE Leader Room (for 2 people)
• $120 Conference Fee waived
• Travel assistance available for those who qualify:

For the Collegiate Student:

• Reduced Package A: Conference only - $100 ($20 savings)
• Reduced Package B: Conference and 12 meals - $200 ($40 savings)
• or Reduced Package C: Conference, 12 meals and housing - $230 ($80 savings)

Travel Assistance (as calculated by MapQuest)

• Round-trip under 250 miles: $0 Assistance
• Round-trip 250-500 miles: $100 Assistance
• Round-trip 500-1,000 miles: $200 Assistance
• Round-trip over 1,000 miles: $400 Assistance

To receive this special pricing, you must register for this event through the Baptist College Partnership Program.  Please contact Robby Pearson at bcpp@nobts.edu or 504.282.4455 x8171.  For more information about Defend the Faith 2012, see www.defendthefaith.net or http://www.nobtsapologetics.com.

We want to let everyone know that this year we are streaming the 2011 Bible Conference and Annual Meeting LIVE! Go to this link to see the schedule(right hand side of page) of when the sessions will be and when you can join in!

http://sbtexas.com/2011-sbtc-annual-meeting/2011-bcannual-meeting-live-stream

Tim Simpson's webinar on November 7th titled Disciple Making Small Groups is available for download through our SugarSync account.  

The link to obtain the download is as follows: Tim Simpson Webinar