Oakridge Ministries

Dear Parents and Students-

SPURS and Cross Roads start up this week!!

You should hear announcements starting at school tomorrow , but please put these dates on your calenders now!!!

Tues Jan. 26^th - Tippit

Wed. Jan 27^th - Benold

Thurs. Jan. 28^th - Forbes

Reminder: meetings are from 4 - 5:30 in the cafeteria. ***Parents please pick them up promptly.

We'll have donuts, other snacks, and tons of fun games planned.

Remember to bring your friends and wear your SPURS and CR t-shirts on the day of your meeting!!!

We have some exciting changes and surprises in store for you this spring too, so come hear all about them this week. You'll see some new faces and some familiar faces at our meetings, but our same great high school leaders will be there to fire up, challenge and encourage you !

We'll have six other meetings this spring  and some of the dates, especially in April have three weeks in between so mark you calenders carefully.....

Feb. 9 - 11

Feb. 23-25

Mar. 9-11

Mar. 30 - April 1

April 20 - 22

May 4-6

You'll also notice some staffing changes this semester. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Heather Daniels, but we so appreciated her music ministry this fall and we are excited for her as she begins her teaching career. In addition, Randy will be sharing leadership of the meetings with our veteran guest speakers this semester, so you'll have the opportunity to get to know them even better!

And we're glad to welcome back Monica Turner as our Administrative Assistant. In fact, if you have any questions or concerns about the meetings, please contact her first at ( 512) 863-3388 or cell 508-2949 or turners2000@juno.com

Randy will be sharing more about the exciting things the Lord is doing in his life at the first meeting, but please know that we are in the process of accepting resumes for the Director of SPURS and Cross Roads. So if you know of a godly candidate please have them contact Monica at the email address above and she will send them more information.

Stay tuned for the dates for the upcoming SPURS New Leader Training at the 9^th grade center which will meet after spring break.

But for now, spread the word - - - SPURS and CR start this week !!!

See you then~

Dear Students, Parents, Supporters and Friends,

Our staff and leaders join me in in welcoming you to the 2009-2010 school year !

We're looking forward to seeing all that's in store for the SPURS and Crossroads programs this year and we're so glad you are a part of it !

We will get things kicked off at our first meeting Tuesday Sept. 8^th at Tippit , Wednesday Sept. 9^th at Benold and Thursday Sept. 10th at Forbes ~ all held in the school cafeterias from 4 – 5:30pm. Listen for the morning announcements at school and please help us spread the word by inviting friends!

Meetings will take place every other week and future dates are posted on our website www.oakridgeonline.org.

We have some exciting changes in store this year! Brand new lessons and discussion questions have been developed for 6 - 8^th grades and dynamic new guest speakers have been added to the line up – in addition to the favorites from last year. Some of the new topics this Fall will include perseverance, courage, forgiveness, gratitude, and dependability.

We have also added a new staff member! In addition to providing Administrative Assistance, Heather Daniel will co-lead the meetings with me at all three schools! Having graduated from Howard Payne University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Studies in 2002, Heather brings much youth ministry experience as well as incredible musical talent.

Sadly we are saying goodbye to Monica Turner who has served as the ministry's Administrative Assistant and trainer for over three years. We are thankful though that Monica will continue to serve on our Board of Directors. In addition, we are excited to announce the appointment of David Boone to our Board of Directors and we know his experience and gifting will be a blessing to the ministry.

We want to say a heartfelt “thank you “ to Joshua Harris who has served most recently as a Board member but also as a guest speaker, school coordinator and staff member over the years. He and his family have been called to serve a ministry in Mission, Texas and will be greatly missed.

So as you can see, in many ways this is a new season for SPURS and Crossroads and we are so grateful that you are partnering with us to reach out to middle schoolers!

As always please keep in touch with us and don't hesitate to contact me if I can ever answer any questions. (512 ) 818-1929

Blessings,

Randy Adair

Director of SPURS and Crossroads

Dear Parents, Supporters, Leaders and Friends, 

With school about three weeks from starting, it seems a good time to fill-in our community about our summer events. By Grace, many wonderful events have occurred.

In mid-May Monica and I presented a program to the Georgetown Ministerial Alliance about Spurs & Cross Roads. GMA includes representatives from 35 area churches and other like-minded organizations. The 20 minute power-point program highlighted our mission and outcomes for the school year 2008-09. A new network of affiliates, supporters, future possible speakers, and other contacts continue to develop through GMA.

Also, on May 18 we honored our student HS leaders with a meal at Duke’s Bar-B-Q in Georgetown. Parents and board members enjoyed the meal and we had a chance to honor our outgoing Senior leaders Lance Pryor, Tanisha Bush, and Katy Franklin. Our seniors gave us GREAT leadership and direction for our future. We are also excited about how God will use them in their futures. All three have expressed a desire to serve the Lord in some capacity as they go off to college. All we can say to each is thank you for every effort you made for Him.

Also, thanks to Duke’s for being a good host to us.

In June, I served as the camp pastor for the middle school version of Camp Crestview in Georgetown. Almost 300 middle grade students from area towns and churches attended this annual summer day camp. I had the opportunity to teach a week long curriculum that specifically targeted the age group and their needs. Outcomes were outstanding for the camp and it proved to be a great opportunity to network more with the youth of the area.

In July, I attended a Group Workcamps Foundation event at the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico with 30 HS age students from Georgetown. This non-denomination foundation sponsors 70+ camps nation-wide each summer to assist those who need help in their community. You can see more about their endeavors at www.GroupWorkcamps.com. I had the opportunity to lead a work crew of HS age student that painted the inside of a home on the reservation. These groups also do a serious Bible study each day and there is spiritual programming each night in a large group setting.

In August, we will begin training our high school leaders and then we will start meeting with our middle school students starting in Sept. The tentative schedule has been posted on the website as we wait for school approval.  www.oakridgeonline.org

I have two speaking engagements at area churches scheduled in August and am available to meet with individuals and groups about the vision and mission for Spurs and Cross Roads. On the horizon may be an opportunity to visit with other communities about this concept of an after-school ministry. We hope to invite additional youth pastors to our meetings this school year as possible guest speakers. You can contact me at adairr@suddenlink.net or by cell phone 512-818-1929.

Godspeed, Heb.10:24.

Randy

Dear Parents, Friends and Supporters,

As the school year winds down we celebrate all that the Lord has done in the SPURS and Cross Roads ministries in 2008 - 2009!

Throughout the semester the students had so much fun with special games, snacks and small group discussions, but it was sad to see things come to a close for another year. Our final guest speaker, Brett Levy from First Baptist Church, challenged us to be "Fishers of Men".  The students were exhorted to take all that they've learned and experienced this year out into their spheres of influence this summer to share how cool it is to have a relationship with Christ.  Brett also provided an opportunity for students to completely turn their lives over to Christ - to put Him in control.   Students were given the opportunity to share written feedback about SPURS and CR as well as indicate if they had responded to Brett's invitation for the first time.  We praise God for all of the students who made that first time commitment and we look forward to following up with them this summer as we provide them with materials that will help them grow in their faith.

Another highlight took place on Monday May 18th as we celebrated with all of our team members at Dukes Bar-b-cue for our Annual Appreciation Banquet. 

Our leaders, their parents, ministry supporters and Board members joined us as we heard highlights from the year, and honored our high school leaders for outstanding Christian service. 

 Framed awards were presented to our seniors, Tanisha Bush, Lance Pryor and Katy Franklin.  

These seniors have served tirelessly for many years, at multiple schools and are super examples of how the Lord uses the ministry training and experience provided through SPURS and CR to build outstanding Christian leaders.  

Their faithfulness and commitment to serving the middle schoolers of Georgetown is a testimony to their desire to honor God and be used by Him to build into other's lives and we are so very proud of them. We are very excited to see how the Lord will continue to use them as they head on to college and take their passion for ministry to another level.

We are also incredibly grateful for our faithful friends and supporters and we were glad to have an opportunity to honor them as well.

The Lord blessed the ministry this Spring with wonderful community exposure.  On  May 20th Randy and Monica had the opportunity to share a 20 minute powerpoint presentation about the details of the ministry to the Georgetown Ministerial Alliance during their monthly lunch meeting. They thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the 50+ community leaders in attendance and answering their questions. This led to several articles in the local newspaper highlighting the ministry as well as many new networking opportunities.

We are also excited to announce the addition of three new Board Members !   We welcome aboard Whit Anderson, Sr. Pastor of Christ Pres. Church,  David Boone, Associate Pastor of Terranova, and Sean Rhea, the new coordinator of the Oakridge Retreat Center.   At the same time we want to officially honor and thank Ted Ludlow for serving on the Board for the past three years and wish him the best as he continues to serve the Lord in the community.

Throughout the summer Randy will be visiting area youth groups in order to recruit more leaders for the fall as well as sharing more about the ministry to individual supporters and mission committees in order to sure up the financing for next year.

We are considering some schedule and organization changes for the ministry in the fall and we'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom as we meet with school administrators to determine God's will.

Thank you for your encouragement and support!

Dear Parents, Supporters, Students and Friends~

We are more than halfway through our spring semester and we wanted to fill you in on upcoming events for SPURS and Cross Roads, as well as give you a glimpse into what's been going on at our meetings!

The big news is that in addition to our regular SPURS and CR meetings.... beginning Monday April 20th we will be holding SPURS Leadership Training at the Georgetown 9th Grade Center!!!   For three consecutive Mondays from 4 - 5:30pm interested students will meet with our Director, Randy Adair ( and a few of our veteran leaders! ) to talk through the responsibilities and expectations of a SPURS Leader. This time together will include Bible studies and discussions as well as trying out new  games for SPURS meetings!   

At the end of the training time the candidates will be evaluated.  Some may be invited to become leaders for the fall of 2009 and some may be asked to attend additional training.  Those that accept the challenge to serve in the fall will be committing to attend one meeting each week throughout the 2009 - 2010 school year.   The meetings alternate between leader's training and the  actual SPURS/CR meeting.  

This leadership opportunity provides outstanding practical experience and training for students who have a heart for sharing Christ with others.....and it's a lot of FUN!  Many of our leaders have gone on to serve in full time ministry due to their experience in high school.      Please help us spread the word to qualified candidates both in GISD and the home-school arena!  It's open to all students 9th grade and above!!  Contact Randy for additional information - 818-1929.   We are praying for outstanding leaders!!

 There have been some great surprises at our meetings this spring -  including new guest speakers!   Zac Niles from Hill Country Bible Church shared a challenging message on "obedience". Prior to that the students discussed the lesson "Yes not No" in their small groups which encouraged them to dig in to see what the Bible has to say about it first hand.  Music videos, skits, new snacks and new games also topped the list of surprises.

Some other surprises have not been so great.  In a couple of the schools we've had to remain very flexible as to the actual location of our meetings.  We've sometimes been asked to meet in the choir room instead of the cafeteria or gym.   This is really not a problem, just a little inconvenient.    But on some occasions we were disappointed to have to cancel our meetings at the last minute due to a conflict with a school activity.   Our meeting dates and times are approved by the school at the beginning of each semester so this was very frustrating.  We are very grateful for the opportunity to use the school facilities but -  we ask for your prayers about this.  

Also - in general, our numbers have dropped.  We're on a mission to discover the problem and fix it - but until then - we ask for your prayers about this.

We are loosing several of our outstanding leaders this semester as they graduate in May!!  Many have served faithfully for many years  - not only at one, but two schools!!  More details about them next month - but all this to say - we are looking forward to the Lord raising up a fresh crop of leaders.  We ask for your prayers about this.

Overall, however, we see the students who are faithful, regular attenders really bonding together and growing deeper in their understanding and love of the Lord.   Our survey revealed that they love small group time.   They come because they want to talk and learn more about God.  That's why we are here!!

Three exciting meetings left !!  Plan on coming and bringing friends!

April 7 - 9th    "Hotline to God"  with Joshua Harris

April 21 - 23   "Temptation" with David Boone

May 5 - 7  "Fishers of Men"  with Brett Levy

Zechariah 4:6 tells us...."Not by might, nor by power,  but by my Spirit says the Lord !"   This is His ministry.  And those He calls, He equips.

Thank you for partnering with us!

Dear Supporters, Parents and Friends,

Our Spring semester is up and running and we have many praises to share with you!

First, we want to thank you for your faithful support - both with your prayers and your finances! The Lord is providing for our needs and we are so thankful that through your donations, the SPURS and Cross Roads Ministry will be able to finish the school year strong!!

Our second praise is that we have been able to provide follow up and guidance to the students who made decisions to follow Christ at our December meeting!   Our Director, Randy Adair has been able to visit with the students and present them with a Bible and some study materials that will help them continue to grow in their new found relationship with Jesus. If the students have a local church home Randy has worked in tandem with their staff to ensure the proper follow up is provided. Lives and families are being impacted and for this we give God all the glory!

Students may also be seeing Randy around campus more and more as he substitute teaches in various schools around the district. This has been so helpful in allowing him to meet more and more students, teachers and administrators. The word is getting out that we are here to help students grow !!

Speaking of which - have you seen the new Cross Roads logo? It's incredibly cool and we've printed up even cooler t-shirts with the logo on the front !!!  (see logo below)

We'd love for you and your favorite student to have one – they are just $10. Let Randy know to reserve yours today! (make checks payable to Oakridge Ministries) They make great discussion starters!

We are also excited about our upcoming guest speaker schedule!! We've invited local pastors and youth ministers to share dynamic messages on the same topics the students discuss in their small groups with their high school leaders. Two weeks ago Whit Anderson shared about “New Creations”, this week Zac Niles will share “Yes, not No!”. Later in April, Joshua Harris will share “Hot Line to God”, and in May, Brett Levy will challenge us to be “Fishers of Men”.   We so appreciate these gentlemen giving of their time !!

Have you heard?? There is a huge buzz starting at the 9^th grade center.....WHEN DOES SPURS LEADERSHIP TRAINING START ??? These students can't wait to become SPURS leaders – and we can't wait to start!!   Announcements will begin in April and meetings should start mid -month, every Monday for four weeks -  So stay tuned !!

We covet your prayers as the Lord raises up a new crop of Leaders for next year – and as He continues to raise the bar in helping us challenge students to put feet on their faith.

Blessings, The SPURS and Cross Roads Staff

adairr@suddenlink.net

www.oakridgeonline.org

Happy 2009 !!!

Mark you calenders now for a fabulous spring with SPURS and Cross Roads!   What's in store?

Well, for starters - have you noticed the new logos popping up on the lessons and on the website?

Pretty cool huh?    So cool that you'd like a t-shirt with these new logos on them??  Well, stay tuned and be sure to come to the meetings this spring!!!

Here's the schedule...

Jan. 20 - 22

Feb. 3 - 5

Feb. 17 - 19

Mar. 3 - 5

Mar. 24 - 26

April 7 - 9 

April 21 - 23

May 5 - 7

We also have some dynamite new guest speakers planned  - as well as some new games!  

Small groups will be revamped to provide an opportunity for veteran students to be challenged with new lessons designed especially for them !!

Plans are in the works for a day retreat for students and leaders - so stay tuned for that date!!!

For now ....  Welcome Back to School !!!! 

Listen for reminder PA announcements and pick up flyers to give to friends !!!

We're ready get fired  up about God - how bout you ????

See you then!

Randy

Congratulations to the Tippit students for winning the prize for best attendance and bringing the most friends to meetings this semester !!!

As a reward they were treated to a fun afternoon of bowling at Mel's here in Georgetown.   Many thanks to all of the parents who came and enjoyed the celebration as well!

Here are some of the best of the best shots.....scroll to the end of the page for the complete December newsletter!

 Dear Parents and SPURS / CR Supporters,

Please join us in praising the Lord for the 11 students that responded to a recent invitation to begin a relationship with Christ, and for the 17+ that indicated a renewed commitment to following Christ. Join us in prayer for these students and our staff as we follow up and provide discipleship to these young ones.

All students were provided a response card that also included an opportunity for them to share what they like best about SPURS and Cross Roads....as well as their suggestions for improvement.

We also congratulate the students of Tippit Middle School for the best attendance this semester! They enjoyed an afternoon of bowling as a reward! See pictures on the website....click here www.oakridgeonline.org/newsletter . We also announced the winner of the folding bike ....Cody Crowe !!   Randy delivered his bike to him last Friday !!     Meetings will resume January 20 - 22^nd !!!

As the semester winds down, please consider these thoughts as continued from last month's letter from our Director...

We know that a critical piece to an ongoing, growing and showing life in Christ is ‘fellowship’ in a body of Believers.  It is scripturally fundamental that we unite with one another in Him and for Him on a regular basis.  We journey through various phases in our life where we know, grow, and show Christ more than others. God designed us to share the good times and the hard times with each other. He designed us to be coals that need to stay close in order to stay on fire. Left alone, we grow cold and aren't able to do the job He created us to do. SPURS and Cross Roads is here for your students - to support and encourage them. But an expanded desire of ours is to see entire families encouraged and supported in their faith.

We invite area youth ministers and pastors to speak to our students in order to help connect those who do not yet have a church home. We invite people we know personally or who come highly recommended.  Normally, our guest speakers will incorporate the lesson of the day (that was taught by our HS leaders) into their presentation. All of our speakers this fall have done a tremendous job of teaching the students. If you don’t have a church home and your student really connected with one of the speakers – please consider visiting the fellowship of believers they represent. Our mission statement is: to help connect kids (and homes) to Christ, Christian mentors and local churches.

When I was a principal, I used a number of sayings over and over with my staff.  One of my personal favorites is “Children are living messages we send into the future”. What messages are we sending? John Kennedy said ,“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education”.  I would add and include our progress as a nation is no swifter than our advancement of the cause of Christ!  The whole education of the child goes MUCH deeper than grades, scores on standardized tests, or a GPA. While terribly important, and yes even critical to future opportunity—we feel the whole education goes much, much deeper into matters of the heart.  It engages matters of meaning, values, spirit and soul.  “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world but looses his soul?” Matthew 16:26 .

What better gift could you give your family this Christmas then the joy of being a part of a loving local church family?

Thank you for your support of this ministry to the youth of Georgetown! It's a honor to serve together!

Best Wishes for a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!   

   Randy and Monica

 Dear Parents and Supporters, 

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We are currently in the midst of our second month of SPURS and Cross Roads meetings and we are very pleased to share an update on all that the Lord is doing!

Our after school meetings for 6-8th graders started on Sept. 23 – 25....Tuesday at Tippit , Wed. at Benold and Thurs. at Forbes Middles Schools. We had a good number of students turn out that first week ( 50+ ) but we are thrilled to report that the Lord is steadily increasing our numbers ( 25+) as the students invite their friends and adjust their schedules to work around other extra curricular commitments.

Randy continues to visit the schools regularly, getting the word out to the students about how we've combined the SPURS and Cross Roads programs (no Friday meetings anymore). A new policy has restricted our ability to hand out fliers during lunch time but interested students are still able to pick up information at the school's front desk. Randy has met with all of the school administrators in order to reinforce the bonds of teamwork as they open their doors to us. He had a particularly good meeting with the new GISD Superintendent Dr. Abbe Boring. She was very encouraging as to her support of our mission to connect kids to Christ, Christian mentors, and local churches.

We have an outstanding group of twenty high school leaders this year, representing eight area churches. These trained leaders facilitate the small group discussions during our meetings. The mentoring and discipleship that occurs in these discussions is used powerfully by the Lord to draw students to Himself. Half of our leaders are new to this ministry but they have all hit the ground running and the middle schoolers are responding well. Randy and Monica continue to meet with the leaders every other week on Tuesday and Thursday from 4 – 5:30pm at Grace Bible Church for leadership training, discipleship, prayer and Bible Study.

We incorporated some new information into our leadership training this year. In addition to reviewing our mission, structure and spiritual/character expectations, we highlighted some general child protection guidelines. Principles such as honoring personal boundaries and being aware of inappropriate isolation situations and other unsupervised security issues were discussed. One result is that Randy and the leaders will be escorting the students out to their awaiting parents after the meetings. We felt this honors both the student and the parent, all the while increasing communication opportunities.

In addition, name tags and lanyards have been provided for all of our leaders to be worn during the school meetings. This will not only identify our leaders, Staff and volunteers to the school administrators and personnel but will encourage the SPURS and Cross Roads students to know the leaders by name. And the reverse is true as well;  every leader has been challenged to know every student by name.

Other resources were shared with the leaders which highlighted the different characteristics of how middle school age students learn and interact. These, in addition to instruction on how to effectively lead a small group, were reviewed to help give our leaders the tools they need to be the best small group leaders possible. These quality training materials combined with prayer, the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit are foundational to the success of the ministry.

A fresh addition to the SPURS and Cross Roads meetings is the use of multi – media. At each meeting the students are greeted by upbeat Christian music, scripture and fun graphics through power point presentations. The agenda for the meeting is then listed on the screen so students know what to expect regarding the time line of the meeting. We have wonderful guest speakers scheduled for each meeting ( local pastors and youth ministers) and their contact information, including the church they represent, will be displayed to encourage the students without church homes to consider visiting. The topics covered so far have included, "Why are we here?" and "Who is our Heavenly Father?"

We are also trying to increase our communication with parents through providing them a hard copy of each month's newsletter as well as sending monthly newsletter emails and upcoming meeting reminders. This contact information is gathered via the SPURS/CR registration forms. We have instigated a fun contest to motivate students to return these valuable forms and increase the percentage of forms returned. We hope that through enhanced communication the parents will be led to become active supporters of the ministry through prayer, volunteering and financial giving.

We do want you to know that our donations do not currently meet our ministry budget by $2,000+ /mo.  As we continue to communicate with churches and individuals, we seek the Lord's provision in order to cover even the basic expenses of operating the ministry. We invite you to visit the budget/donation page of our website for further details.    

www.oakridgeonline.org/budgetdonationsforspursc.htm

We covet your prayers for our support team to grow. Currently the ministry is supported monthly by Main Street Baptist Church, Grace Bible Church, Crestview Baptist Church, First Baptist Church and a handful of individuals. Randy and Monica welcome the opportunity to share more details with you. Please contact them: Randy (512) 818-1929 or Monica (512) 863-3388.

Thank you so much for investing in the spread of the gospel to the youth of Georgetown through your support of SPURS and Cross Roads !

Blessings-

The Staff and Volunteers of SPURS and Cross Roads

 Dear Parents, Supporters and Friends! 

A special welcome to all of the students and parents who are new to the ministry this Fall! We can't wait to see everyone at our first combined SPURS and Cross Roads meetings at Tippit Tuesday Sept. 23, Benold Wed. Sept 24 and Forbes Thurs. Sept. 25 !!!

I am very excited and humbled to start this new adventure with Oakridge Ministries in cooperation with area churches and Georgetown Schools! I especially want to thank GISD for their effort to support quality programming for every student. We at Oakridge are very familiar with the research about young people and their learning patterns. To disregard the state of their spirit, soul, and heart would be to create a huge “gap” in learning. Addressing this is of foundational importance. We applaud the principals, teachers, and staff of the secondary schools as well as the administration for their forward thinking and true care for the minds and hearts of all students. This ministry can be and should be a very exciting, enabling, encouraging, constructive, and critical piece to the “whole” education of students. We should never fail to train the heart and soul, as well as the mind. Thanks to all the individuals who support us and make this program possible.

Oakridge Ministries (formally Georgetown Youth Ministries) has existed for 15 years . As the former principal at Benold Middle School, I was thrilled to have SPURS and Cross Roads at our school. When the ministry began, the middle school grades were targeted because these critical years are when students make personal decisions regarding their character and faith that could effect the rest of their lives.

(The pictures below are of some of our Fall 2008 SPURS and Cross Roads leaders !!)

As participants progressed and graduated through Spurs (6^th) and Cross Roads (7/8^th) they arrived in high school desiring to continue in this ministry. They recognized the importance of the lessons learned, and the fellowship with other Christians , and they simply “missed” being involved. It was at that point that our founder John Hargrove, and other board members, decided to invite these high school students to not only help with SPURS games and retreats but to be trained to facilitate the small group Bible Studies as well. Thus the wonderfully unique aspect of our ministry was born!

During the weeks that SPURS and CR do not meet, our high school student leaders receive training that includes Bible study, scripture memorization, life application, leadership skills, preparation of personal testimonies and much more! They are required to sign contracts committing to cultivating their personal walk with the Lord, being good role models and submitting to accountability. They recognize that they are ambassadors for Christ.

I think more than anything, the quality of our high school leaders convinced me that I want to be a part of Oak Ridge. Our leaders are awesome young people! I team up with my Administrative Assistant , Monica Turner for their training session every other week. Together we dig into God's word, pray, and have a lot of fun. Monica loves training these leaders and is a very thoughtful, intelligent, Godly woman. We are privileged to have her on our staff.

I once read in the Matthew Henry commentary years ago a description of the Latin term “Esse Quam Videre” which translates as our English “to be and not just seem to be”. I think it the greatest challenge to every Believer, every parent, every teacher, and adult to actually “be there” for others. We are trying to imitate a model the Bible teaches, educational research confirms and all history documents, that the best learning is both “heard and seen”. What we say and what we do teaches best. We adults must be truly “present” in the life of our children. We cannot ignore the style and teaching of the Savior, apostles and other disciples. We must be who we say we are. I’ve heard Christ’s life best described in a simple formula that reads “service + sacrifice + no sin = Jesus! We want to model His Truth and His Love. We teach fundamental Bible basics to youth. We teach “leadership” through Godly “followship” to our youth. This is our worship and our service. It is a very high performance expectation and goal for us all!

Well, you need to know that the name Randy traces back through linguistic study to a Hebrew term for the word we know as “passion”. I cannot think of a better single word that would describe my current mindset for Spurs, Cross Roads, and Oak Ridge Ministries. I have a burning desire to see this work spread across our community and into every setting to the “hearts” of young people. I hope you will share this “passion” for youth with us.

Please pray for this ministry and all the positive possibilities and potential! Pray that we can find the fiscal support to sustain our small budget and expenses. We lift your children to the Great Father daily and it will be our pleasure to serve Him through serving them. Pray for our youth, our schools, all the parents in our community, and for us to capitalize on the incredible power we have in Christ!

Randy Adair

Executive Director of Oakridge Ministries

adairr@suddenlink.net www.oakridgeonline.org (512) 818-1929

Even though central Texas has been experiencing a severe drought - the blessings of the Lord have continued to pour down on Oakridge Ministries !!!

We are so excited to begin our upcoming 2008 - 2009 school year!   The staff are in the midst of rallying new student leadership and supporters as we prepare for the Kick- Off Leadership Training Meeting on Sunday evening August 10th at Grace Bible Church.  

This will be the first of two meetings offered to new and returning leaders.  In addition to sharing the expectations of a SPURS or Cross Roads leader, we share important team and leadership skills, as well as the organization, mission and vision of the ministry.  Our volunteer leaders are an integral part of the team and we want to give them all the tools they need to be the best leaders they can be.  We train and encourage them in daily quiet times with the Lord, clear presentations of the Gospel, as well as how to share their personal testimony.  These are important life skills that apply way beyond their years as a high school leader.

We're blessed to have many veteran leaders returning, as well as some new 10th grade leaders from the SPURS Leaders - in - Training program at the Ninth Grade center last Spring.

School meeting dates are currently being finalized and will be posted as soon as we get the approval from the schools.  

But we do have some big news!  The Lord has led us to combine the SPURS and Cross Roads programs this semester.  Rather then meeting separately (SPURS on T, W, TH and CR on Fridays) both programs will gather together Tuesday at Tippit, Wednesday at Benold and Thursday at Forbes from 4 - 5:30pm.   For certain parts of the meeting the groups will be combined.... for example,  during the snack time and when we hear from the guest speakers,...... but will then divide into SPURS and CR small groups for the appropriate discussion topics.   We think this will allow us to stream line our personnel needs as well as honor the school administrators for their generous use of the school facilities.   And by eliminating Friday meetings we hope more students will be able to attend with out extra curricular conflicts.

Please be in prayer with us regarding these changes.  In addition to eliminating extra meetings it provides increased consistency as we can personally train/mentor all of our leaders.  SPURS and CR will continue to meet only every other week.  On the odd week the teams will continue to gather at Grace Bible Church for Bible Study and training.

We also wanted to share an encouraging report from our managers of the Oakridge Retreat Center just west of Florence.  They've recently hosted several family groups and a large youth group but are now taking bookings for the Fall and Winter.   Please consider visiting this beautiful property as you make church or family plans.  John and Kathryn Clampitt can be reached at (254) 793-3222 or johnkclampitt@yahoo.com.

On an administrative note we wanted to share our great love and appreciation of Dan Amon and his wife Pam as Dan rotates off of the Oakridge Board of Directors.   Dan has served faithfully for many years and although we trust the Lord's leading, we will miss him terribly.   Dan also served for several years as a team member and small group leader at Tippit Middle school.  During that time he offered friendship and discipleship to many students both churched and un-churched.  As a local builder and businessman he also brought much expertise to the table and played a major role in the building and expansion of the Retreat Center.   Many, many thanks Dan!

We do continue to look to the Lord to lead us to board members, volunteers and partners who have a heart  to see the youth of Georgetown reached with the Gospel.  We have created special brochures with details that we would love to share with you or for you to share with others!   Please just email us at turners2000@juno.com and we will get those to you.

Thank you so much for your commitment!  We look forward to sharing more details as we have our first meetings but meanwhile please pray with us that the Lord would draw many students to this wonderful afterschool ministry!  It is very unique that we are welcomed in and we want to meet these students with the life giving message of hope that only Jesus Christ can offer!

Serving Him~

The Staff and Volunteers of Oakridge Ministries.

PS. Please visit our web page for an update on our fund raising details.... www.oakridgeonline.org  click on "budget".  

Wow what a hot spring we've had in central Texas! 

And there's no sign of it cooling off any time soon!

That also describes the excitement of the Oak Ridge Staff and volunteers as we rally support for the 2008-2009 school year!   

Our new Executive Director, Randy Adair, has been busy meeting rising 6th graders through volunteering at Camp Crestview for two weeks in June as well as hoping to attend a youth work camp in July.  These are wonderful ways for him to meet and recruit some of our best upcoming students and leaders!!      It will be so encouraging for these students to see a familiar face when Randy visits the Middle School cafeterias in the fall to announce the start of SPURS and Cross Roads!!   

However, we need your help in several ways before all that happens !!  

First, we invite you to nominate local middle school and high school students that you feel would make excellent leaders in SPURS and Cross Roads!

Just send us any contact information you might have and we'll do the rest!!   We'll let them know who nominated them and then share more about the SPURS and Cross Roads Ministries!   It's a wonderful opportunity for them to receive amazing discipleship and leadership training all the while serving our community!  Our leadership training is scheduled for mid- August so we'd love to contact them ASAP - please send it to turners2000@juno.com.

Second, we'd invite you to help us get the word out about the ministry!  The staff have been creating communication resources of DVD's and a brochure that we would love to share with you and others who have a heart to reach students with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   Dr. Boyd Bush, our newest Board Member, is working on an exciting DVD that highlights the ministry and it's impact on Georgetown over the last 15 years.   We hope to share and leave these with churches and individuals all over town during the next month !!

Third, we also would like to keep you up to date on our fund raising goals:  

Total 2008 - 2009 Operating Budget: $38,290         

One time gifts received to date:  $1, 550

Monthly gifts received to date: $ 725

Balance of monthly gifts needed: $2,337

Please click on SPURS/CR Budget on the main menu for more details.  It is a priority for the SPURS and Cross Roads ministries to be financially transparent and we look forward to sharing those details with you!

So as you can see, we are in great need of additional folks to partner with us to reach the churched and unchurched students of Georgetown!  All donations  may be mailed to PO Box 2153 Georgetown, TX 78627 and are tax deductible.

This ministry is unique in the fact that it meets students right where they are - on the public school campuses!! And because of this, we want to acknowledge the time sensitive nature of the ministry - not only in rallying support for the next school year coming upon us quickly, but by sharing the reality of how blessed we are to have the doors of the schools opened to us - not knowing how much longer that hospitality will be extended.

Thank you so much for your support!   If you have any questions about the ministry or would like to meet with the staff personally we would love to visit with you!  Feel free to contact Randy Adair at (512) 869-8972 or adairr@suddenlink.net   or  Monica Turner (512) 863-3388 or turners2000@juno.com .

We'll continue to look to the Lord for His perfect provision in His perfect timing!

Serving Him~  Acts 17:28

The Staff and volunteers of SPURS and Cross Roads

PS.  Included below are the questions addressed in our new flier!

What are SPURS and Cross Roads? They are exciting after school programs which meet every other week from 4 – 5:30pm at all three Georgetown Middle Schools. The program begins with snacks and games or skits and leads to small group discussions about Biblical principles, culminating in a creative message by a staff member or guest speaker.

What ages are included? SPURS is for 6^th graders and Cross Roads is designed for 7 - 8^th grades. Our small group leaders are trained High School students who meet with our staff on the off weeks for Bible Study, discipleship, team building and leadership training.

What does it cost? The program is free thanks to our generous supporters but a suggested donation is $25 per semester per student. For more information on our budget and sponsor information please visit our website.

What about retreats and summer camps? We offer Fall /Spring retreats and summer camps at the beautiful Oak Ridge Retreat Center just 30 minutes north west of Georgetown, TX.

What is Oakridge Ministries? Several years ago we changed our name from Georgetown Youth Ministries to Oak Ridge Ministries. It is now the umbrella organization under which SPURS/Cross Roads and the Oak Ridge Retreat Center operate. How many are on Staff? Two... Randy Adair is the Executive Director over SPURS/Cross Roads and Monica Turner is his Administrative Assistant . They are under the supervision of the Board of Directors which consists of an outstanding group of community business and ministry leaders.

How long have you been around? We're celebrating our 15^th year of raising up and equipping young Christian leaders in Georgetown. This next season of the ministry is already gearing up to be very exciting !

How can I help? We'd love for you to pray for us ! We also invite you to visit the website for updates on our fund raising goals as well as volunteer opportunities. The Staff are passionate about how the ministry directly impacts 200+ students each year and would love to personally share more details with you !

Please contact : Randy Adair, Executive Director (512) 818 – 1929

adairr@suddenlink.net

oakridgeonline.org

Ending Strong!

As the 2007 - 2008 school year winds down we praise the Lord for His perfect provision and blessing! 

At the top of the list of praises are the 27 students who indicated that they put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior this Fall !!!  Please join us in prayer for these precious ones as we desire to continue to provide discipleship and leadership training to them, as well as all the other SPURS and Cross Roads students, as they grow in their relationship with our Heavenly Father.

We also praise the Lord for our wonderful adult facilitators  - James and Christina Guzman, Joe Mattson, and Joshua Harris  - and all of our highschool leaders who donated countless hours as they ministered to our local  6- 8th graders at our after school meetings, as well as attending our Fall and Spring retreats ! 

We enjoyed a wonderful evening of celebration Monday May 12th as we gathered at Grace Bible Church for the Oak Ridge Ministries Appreciation Dessert Banquet.  We are so thankful for the warm hospitality provided by the Ladies of Grace as we enjoyed delicious desserts and a slide show during the elegant reception hosting 165 guests. 

Each of the SPURS and Cross Roads teams were well represented as they were introduced and thanked for their ministry.

We also honored and said goodbye to our outstanding seniors - Daniel, Kelsi, Alicia, Meghan, David, Doug, Cody, Bianca, Johnny and Micah. 

We heard from seniors David and Meghan as to the lasting impact their involvement in the ministry has had in cultivating a stronger personal relationship with the Lord.  Board MemberTom Schoeneck challenged all the seniors to trust the path that the Lord has for them rather then their own.

In a special presentation, Jeff Black was honored for seven years of dedicated service with Oak Ridge Ministries.

John and Kathryn Clampitt were welcomed aboard as the new coordinators of the Oak Ridge Retreat Center.

We also thanked our Board of Directors, volunteers and staff for their faithful service. Joshua Harris and several alumni honored John Hargrove for his 15 years of ministry as he passed the baton of Executive Director to Randy Adair.  Randy spoke with great humility and excitement regarding the Lord's plan for the future of the ministry.

We thank everyone for joining us on that special evening!

As we jump into the summer we look forward to Summer Camp 2008 !!  Mark your calender for July 7 - 11 and register your students to attend this exciting week of Bible Study, discipleship training, sports/games and team building.  This camp will include rising 7-8th graders as well as 9th grade SPURS leaders in training.  Randy and our veteran high school leaders will help coordinate the activities as John and Kathryn Clampitt host the students at the beautiful Oak Ridge Retreat Center for $150/week.   We would be happy to email or mail you more details.....please write to Monica at turners2000@juno.com or PO Box 2153 Georgetown, TX 78627.  Or click on "summer camp" on this website for a registration form.  The $50 deposit is due July 1st.

We covet your prayers as the Lord transitions the ministry into the next season.   Specifically we are in need of significant financial support.  Randy and Monica hope to visit soon with the Missions Committees of local churches to share how the Lord is using the after school program to spread the gospel to unreached students as well as discipling churched students.  If you could make a personal introduction to a committee member we would be so appreciative! 

In addition to garnering increased local church support we are hoping to develop a broad base of individual supporters who have a heart for reaching youth.  This ministry operates on a shoe string budget with the lions share of support covering one full time and one part time staff position.  These two staff positions coordinate the ministry needs for four schools - three middle schools and the Ninth Grade Center.  Currently that includes 200+ students!  If  you are interested, we would love to share more details regarding our specific ministry needs to see how you could best partner with us.

Other vital support is needed through specific prayer requests :

 - Clear the path for the Gospel to spread throughout Georgetown and beyond.

 - Smooth the leadership transition - wisdom, provision

 - Increase community awareness of SPURS and Cross Roads

 - Connect with "hands on" ministry opportunities for the students 

 - Rally a financial support team

 - Prepare the hearts of future students/adult leaders

 - Draw record number of students to the after school programs and retreats for God's glory.

As always we would love to hear from you - or answer any questions you may have.  But for now, please know how grateful we are for your support and that we give God all the Glory for a successful 2007 - 2008 school year!

Serving Him ~

The Staff and volunteers of Oak Ridge Ministries 

  Dear Friends and Ministry supporters,

(See pictures below!)

Dear Ministry Friends and Supporters,

With the culmination of the Fall semester we wanted to take this opportunity to update you on all the Lord is doing in Oak Ridge Ministries.

The primary highlight of the Fall included 21 students indicating that they prayed to receive Christ for the first time during the gospel presentation in November. For this we praise the Lord! This news combined with positive feedback on how other students have come to a deeper understanding of who God is and what He has done for them is evidence of how the Lord is working in the hearts and minds of middle school students across Georgetown. Even though the number of student participants decreased this fall, the number of high school leaders remained strong, allowing for several leaders to team up to lead groups. This provided a wonderful way for our new leaders to learn from the more experienced ones.

The SPURS Fall Retreat was well attended (see web photos) with students representing all three middle schools. The students learned a variety of ways to share their faith as well as participated in two Bible Studies on the parable of the “Sower” in Luke 8 and “Running the Race” in 1 Cor. 9. And of course a lot of fun was had with volleyball, the challenge course, carpet ball and a huge bon fire – complete with smores!

We continue to offer snacks, fun games and meaty Bible Studies at both SPURS and Cross Roads meetings and the students, overall, are responding well. Our upcoming spring topics cover salvation, obedience, the Word, prayer, fellowship and witnessing. During the spring semester youth pastors/pastors from across the area are invited to share a message pertaining to a specific topic at the SPURS meetings. This fulfills one of the foundational goals of the ministry... “to give the students an opportunity to connect with an area church or youth group”.

We anticipate being able to offer a SPURS Leadership Training Program again this spring which will meet at the 9^th Grade Center on Mondays. This affords us the opportunity to train up our future SPURS and Cross Roads leaders.

The Cross Roads meetings continue to be facilitated by Joe Mattson (Benold), Joshua Harris (Forbes) and James and Christina Guzman (Tippit). These volunteers continue to offer leadership and continuity to the program and do a great job. We are also very grateful for the regular donations of snacks by Daylight Donuts. Please join us in expressing our appreciation to them whenever possible !

From our last newsletter you'll recall that our Executive Director, John Hargrove has announced his retirement and desire to train a replacement this Spring with the hopes of fully transferring the headship of the ministry by Fall of 2008. We are in the process of interviewing candidates for this position but have not received as broad a spectrum of resumes as originally hoped. We appeal to you to help put us in contact with gentlemen whom you feel would be a good match for the position. The main qualifications include a heart for serving the Lord, a heart for teaching and discipling youth and an energetic, fun loving attitude toward ministry. The position requires afternoon availability to facilitate SPURS and Cross Roads meetings as well as leadership meetings. The position is financed through a partial salary in addition to support raising. Please refer anyone that comes to mind to our website www.oakridgeonline.org or contact John at (512) 635-9001 johnhar1@verizon.net, or his Administrative Assistant, Monica Turner at (512) 863-3388 or turners2000@juno.com.

Many thanks again for partnering with us. You are indeed a blessing!

-The Staff and Volunteers of Oak Ridge Ministries

The SPURS Fall Retreat November 2 - 3 was a big success!  We had a great group of students and leaders who thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful weather the Lord provided.  After ice breakers and dinner John and the leaders shared some creative ways to share the gospel message with others.  Afterwards we enjoyed a huge bon fire  - complete with smores!   The girls and guys then headed back to their cabins to read and discuss the parable of the sower and the seeds.  The next morning John made us all delicious pancakes and then after a devotional, we headed out to play volleyball.  The girls and guys then split up again to study and discuss the importance of running the race of the Christian Life.  Afterwards each group was led through the fun obstacle course designed to build team work. After lunch, and a review of the lessons taught, we all cleaned up and headed back to Georgetown. 

Just click on the SPURS web page to see shots of all the retreat fun!

The Cross Roads retreat is coming up this weekend so please be praying for open hearts for the gospel message as well as alot of fun and safety!

The fall meetings will be wrapping up in just a few weeks.  Stayed tuned for the announcement of the spring dates and topics!!  Until then - best wishes for a blessed holiday!

For more exciting details please read the following letter that was recently sent out to  ministry friends and supporters.

Dear Friends and Ministry Supporters,

We wanted to take this opportunity to update you on all that the Lord is doing through Oak Ridge Ministries!

As we begin this 15^th year of ministry to the youth of Georgetown, it’s shaping up to be one of the best years yet!

We kicked off the Fall semester two weeks before school started by inviting all of the high school leaders of SPURS to a pizza party/ “retreat”.   It was a fun time of getting to know the old and new leaders better through various ice-breakers.  In addition, John Hargrove, Executive Director, reviewed the gospel and expectations of leadership.  Both Joshua Harris and Monica Turner shared their testimonies and a challenging message.

This semester we have 17 girl and 9 guy leaders committed to SPURS,  which meets after school from 4 - 5:30pm.  They each serve one of the three Middle Schools …. Tippit on Tuesdays, Benold on Wednesdays, or Forbes on Thursdays.  The leaders are a mix of high school seniors, juniors and sophomores.  The first meetings were held the second week of September and have had an average attendance of about  20 – 30 sixth graders per school, but we expect the numbers to continue to grow as the word continues to get out…about how fun SPURS  is – and of course about the great donuts!!!   The schools have been very helpful in allowing announcements to be made both in the morning and during lunch time. 

John continues to do a great job of coordinating each SPURS meeting. The meetings continue to follow the traditional format…refreshments, games, small group study/discussion and then a closing message by John, highlighting the main points of the study.  Regularly one of the high school leaders will share his/her “Life Map” summarizing their testimony.

Seven SPURS meetings are scheduled for this semester with the following topics: Why Are We Here?;  Who’s Your Daddy?;  The Good Book;  We Bad;   Alien Encounter;   Lost and Found;  and  Earth, Wind and Fire.   The gospel is presented in each lesson but the topics build to a salvation invitation at the end of the semester.

A SPURS Fall Retreat for all three schools is scheduled for Nov. 2 – 3 at the Oak Ridge Retreat Center.  These low cost ($25) retreats are designed to build strong relationships between the leaders and the students in order to identify where each student is in their walk with the Lord and encourage them accordingly.  The retreats are usually well attended and a highlight of the semester.

Since SPURS only meets every two weeks, the high school leaders gather in the Grace Bible Church youth room on the “off “ week for discipleship and leadership training.  The hour and a half meeting is spent reviewing the games and lesson for the following week at SPURS, as well as in a time of accountability regarding their personal walk with the Lord and small group discussion.  These meetings take place from 4 – 5:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as well. The guys are led by John and the girls are led by Monica.  Monica also continues to serve as John’s Administrative Assistant.

Cross Roads  - the ministry to 7^th and 8^th graders - kicked off the Fall with record breaking numbers!!  Last spring only a handful of students attended the meetings at Forbes.  Yet, at the very first Cross Roads meeting at Forbes on Sept. 28^th,  48 students attended!  The Lord also provided a good number

of students at Tippit and Benold as well!  Unlike SPURS,  Cross Road’s schools are facilitated by different team leaders due to the fact that they all meet on the same day - Fridays.  James and Christina Guzman head up Tippit, Joe Mattson leads Benold and Joshua Harris leads Forbes.  They are assisted by 15 high school leaders divided between the three schools.  The team leaders coordinate the refreshments, games, small groups and messages.  Administrative support is offered by John and Monica through the provision of lessons and leadership material as well as coordinating retreats (Cross Roads Fall Retreat Nov. 30 – Dec. 1.!!), but the team leaders are responsible for training their own high school leaders on the “off “ weeks. 

We continue to be so grateful for the generous use of the three middle school facilities as well as the prayer and financial support from so many in the community.  It is this valuable community support that sets these ministries apart from so many.

As we look ahead to the future of the SPURS and Cross Roads ministries we stand in anticipation of what the Lord has in store for the next 15 years!  And it is with mixed emotions that we announce that John senses the Lord calling him to transition the leadership of the ministry to a younger Executive Director.  

Because local relationships are so crucial to the success of the ministry, John, along with the Board of Directors of Oak Ridge Ministries, has decided to first seek out local candidates for this position.  Ideally this candidate would be available for training this upcoming spring and summer and would begin leading the ministry next Fall 2008. This gentleman would be gifted in teaching, discipleship, and administration. He would have a heart for kids, as well as being “a kid at heart”. He would have the stamina to tackle high energy games as well as be a visionary, leading the ministry into the Lord’s perfect plan.

If you know of someone who would qualify for this position please have them contact John Hargrove at (512) 635-9001 or Monica Turner (512) 863-3388 or send resumes to P.O. Box  2153 Georgetown, Texas 78627.

We know that you care about the hearts and minds of the students in Georgetown and we are committed to the partnership and support the Lord has blessed us with so faithfully over the years.  We’d covet your prayers as we continue to reach out with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet at the same time, prepare for a new season for Oak Ridge Ministries.  We invite you to visit our website www.oakridgeonline.org regularly for pictures and updates of ministry specifics.

Blessings,

The Staff and Volunteers