YOUTH NEWS
Youth Retreat Experience
Youth Retreat at the Central Baptist Church camp proved to be a successful event. We met with the First Baptist Church, Gainesville, youth group. This is the second retreat the youth groups have experienced together and they are becoming very bonded.

At the Winter Retreat the youth studied Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus, a great study from Student Life. The focus of the study was finding your “identity in Christ.” The youth also had praise and worship time throughout the days. They were divided into groups at the end of the retreat to present a skit to portray what they had learned that weekend from the Bible study. We had a great time and a lot of fun watching the skits.

There was also free time for basketball, canoe rides, bonfires, cooking s’mores, fellowshipping, and eating Erma Dreas’ cooking. Erma and Beth Gibbons were our cooks during the weekend and the youth were well fed.
Garfield Dreas and Chris Cook were there supporting the kitchen efforts. Their help was much appreciated. David Gibbons and Tim Fisher were chaperones and led effective Bible studies for the boys.

Through the experience at the retreat three youth accepted the Lord. Two were New Hope’s and one was from First Baptist Gainesville. It is such a great experience to see the Lord at work in our youth. They had a hard time leaving the retreat; they all wanted to stay longer. One of the great things about the retreat is that they are in a safe haven where they feel they can express themselves with other youth about the Lord. Please pray for them as they return to their daily lives because they are faced with peer pressure and doubt about what they experienced.

We are already planning our summer retreat.
Cheryl
Director, Children and Youth Ministries



Youth Night Bonfire
Friday evening, February 12, 6:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M. Youth will meet at the church at 6:00 P.M. for a bonfire at Frank Rendon Park, A1A, and return at 10:00 P.M. Hot dogs and s’mores are the evening’s fare.




SNOWBIRD EVENING
New Hope’s Winter Visitors will be honored on Wednesday evening, February 24, beginning at dinner and continuing briefly at 6:30 P.M. before Bible study. Plans are in the making for a festive evening of recognition of these who visit with us annually.



KIDS KLUB
Awana’s theme night for Wednesday, February 10, 2010 will be Valentine Exchange. Children should bring a Valentine for other club members. We are also challenging the kids to bring friends. The clubber who brings the most friends during the month of February will win a free Daytona 500 Experience ticket valued at $15.00.

We welcome Fred Griffith as our new games leader and Olivia McDougald as our new secretary.


KIDS CONNECTION
Easter Performance
The children of Kids Connection are practicing on Saturday mornings for their next performance which will be Wednesday evening, March 24, 2010. They will be presenting an Easter program titled “Alive Forever.” This will be their first Easter program.

Skating Outing
Saturday, February, 20, 2010 Kid’s Connection will go skating at Skate City, South Daytona. Children need to be at the church by 9:30 A.M. and will return at 12:30 P.M. Cost, including skates, is $4.00.