Hi all!
I hope you all have been enjoying the warmer weather these past days! It has given a very nice preview into spring, and I am very ready for it! Definitely a big change from the snow storms we were having at this time last month.
As I am trying to remember all the things that have happened this month, I am reminded that February has truly flown by fast! We started out February with our staff Christmas party at Tolhouse in Toledo. You may be wondering..."Christmas Party...in February?!" I learned, as a staff, we tend to celebrate Christmas together during the month of February because December is such a busy time with everyone preparing for Christmas services, then during January, we do 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, so a majority of staff are fasting from things. Therefore, this leaves us with having to celebrate Christmas together in February. It was such a fun time getting to see and spend time with everyone outside of the office - and Tolhouse is a super cool place too!
Later in the month, on February 15th, I got to teach for Student Night at the West Toledo campus. I taught about reputations, how important they are, how to change them, and that it's never too late to change your reputation. I still have to work on preparing a little earlier so I don't read off my notes so much, but overall, I felt pretty confident while I was up teaching. It can unfortunately be difficult to keep the attention of some students at the West Toledo campus, but Cody said that I really reached the students that wanted to pay attention and get something out of it. He also gave some really positive feedback on my confidence and engagement with the students. This really made me happy and feel more confident about speaking. AND so excited that some students actually engaged well and had some take-aways from my talk! I speak at Whitehouse Student Night at the end of the month, so I am going to be sure to start preparing a couple weeks outs to ensure I know my content well.
Last week we had our second big Student Worship Night, where all the 7-12th grade students came to the Perrysburg campus for a night of worship and message. It's like a mini preview to Fusion and High School Camp for our students. We had a pancake and waffle bar for the students - which I think was a total hit! I didn't get a chance to eat much or have fun toppings, but I did eat two plan pancakes, and they were delicious! We attempted to put on a dodgeball tournament, but that did not work as well as we would have liked it to; Though students eventually came back and started just having a free-for-all with dodgeball! We had all the other fun games, like gaga ball, 9 square, and corn hole out for the students to play, and I think they really enjoyed it all! The service/experience itself was a blast! It felt so much more organized since the student team and the programming team worked together to put it on this time. Hannah had such a powerful message that I think resonated with some of the students very well, and when it came time for response stations, those students flooded the cross, writing down their, "Why God statements". It's just so moving to see all the hard work we're doing in motion and witnessing the fruit of all that hard work by impacting so many of the next generation.
In intern class, we finished off the book Amplified Leadership, where we continued to learn about coaching an apprentice and mentoring a new leader. My biggest next step from reading that book right now, is to really pray for God to show my someone that I can establish a good relationship with and engage with, then eventually take them under my wing to start mentoring them in an area they feel most called to in the church (or even not in the church). In the position I am in, I am finding it difficult to see someone that I can mentor as a leader because I don't really have anyone under me, nor do I work directly with volunteers on a regular basis. So that is my big step from the last book we were reading in class, is to look for someone that I can work with and develop into a leader. We also recently had a class where Andy Rectenwald came in to speak on apologetics. I had never really read on anything apologetics before, nor have really ever had the interest, but listening to Andy speak on some things was actually super interesting. He didn't necessarily direct his view of something specifically on us though either, he laid out all the views for us to consider. Some specific things were the earth's creation, evolution, Cain and who he was afraid of. All of the different views and facts that Andy brought on this information really did interest me and got me into apologetics a little more than I was before the class.
The biggest excitement about February though, had to be our intern's class trip to CrossPoint Church down in Nashville. The van rides were not too terrible - though I felt slightly sick most of the drive home. I continue to get asked my favorite parts from the trip were, and every time I have to say that I really have one from two different areas. The first area is the trip to the church in general. It was really cool to see all the similar things we are doing and definitely reassuring in that area. But there were also so many cool things from service and how they run things in general that would be cool in implement! For example, they do their baptisms at the end of service - I feel this gives more time and more focus on the baptisms itself, rather than "fighting" for time with worship at the beginning of service. Also, their transitions were just so fluid and soft and didn't seem so forced. Next Gen wise (the Nashville campus is a little different, but this was a big take away I got overall)they do not have any student services on the weekend. Their 5th graders are bumped down into elementary and the 6-12th graders all have their services during the week (on Wednesday nights), the 6-8 are just split from the 9-12. On the weekend then, the 6-12 graders are encouraged to serve in some capacity during one service and sit in during another service (this is with hopes that the parents are there serving and sitting in for two different services as well). Sometimes their leaders even sit in an area and encourage them to come sit with them during service. I personally LOVE this idea! It gets students serving and used to serving more at a younger age, and it allows the students to actually sit in, hear from the pastor, and learn what is being taught. It also allows for more relatable content on the week night service for 6-8 graders then a different message that is more relatable for 9-12th graders. My other favorite area from the trip was really just getting to everyone better and spend time with everyone. I got to hang out with all the interns, especially Edna (she was my roommate) more and get to know them, but I also got to hang out with Jason, Spencer, Lauren, Ben, and Brian more, which was a huge highlight for me! It was really fun to just spend time together in a non-work environment and laugh with them all. Jason, Spencer, and I also rode the electric scooters around for about a half hour, which was by far one of my favorite moments! :)
Overall, February was a great month and I am looking forward to even more to come in March!
Thank you all so much for your continued support! I am so thankful for everything I am fortunate to have and receive!
God Bless and Much Love,
Michaela💜