INSIDE[HSM]A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT

HOPEVALE STUDENT MINISTRIES

MEET THE HSMSTAFFQ & A WITHJASON WALTERS

FALLCALENDARVOLUNTEERSPOTLIGHT

FALL 2013

I am so glad that you have decided to spend your Sunday or Thursday nights here with us @ HSM. Whether you are in Wired (middle school), Ignite (high school), or Encounter (college) you will find friends, caring adults, fun, laughter, music, and teaching from Godʼs word that we hope will be helpful for you and that will move you a step further on your journey towards knowing Jesus better.

Here are a few ways to make your experience in HSM great:

1. Be Open to Meeting Friends.Each of our programs (middle school, high school, & college) are filled with a lot of students. The odds are pretty good that you will either 1) have friends who attend or 2) know someone from your school that attends. That is great! We want you to connect with friends you know! We also want you to be open to meeting friends that you donʼt already know. We strive to provide an atmosphere where everyone is welcomed and loved whether you have been to church your whole life or this is your first time.

2. Be Open to Having Fun.We believe that having fun and laughing is worship to God. I think that God smiles when we enjoy being in church. One of our goals is that we want our programs to be engaging and fun for teenagers. So let your guard down, and anticipate that you are going to have a good time.

3. Be Open to Hearing from God.Believe it or not, God has a plan for you. He wants you to experience Him and get to know His Son, Jesus, on a personal level. Because of that reality, we strive to create environments where we unapologetically teach the scriptures because we believe that what God has for our lives is BEST. When you attend any HSM program, we want you to hear the unique thing that God wants to speak to you through His Word.

I canʼt wait to see you at one of our programs!

SamStudent Ministries Pastor

Hopevale Church

FROM PASTOR SAM HSM[staff]

Sam BurkeStudent Ministries Pastor

Jason WaltersMiddle School Director

Kristin ErdmanHSM Assistant

HSM

[interns]

Kyle FletcherHSM Worship

Amanda DelbekeHSM Girls Ministry/Groups

HSM Wired | HSM Ignite | Encounter

THE VISION OF HOPEVALE STUDENT MINISTRIES IS TO CREATE IRRESISTIBLE ENVIRONMENTS THAT INVITE

MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, AND COLLEGE STUDENTS INTO A GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS

CHRIST.

@HSM_wired | @hsm_ignite

HOPEVALESTUDENTS.ORG

Kyle & Ashley TaylorEncounter Coaches

WHAT IS HSM?LARGE GROUP SMALL GROUPMIDDLE SCHOOL MEETS SUNDAYS AT 5PM, HIGH SCHOOL

MEETS AT 7PM AND COLLEGE MEETS THURSDAYS AT 8PM AT HOPEVALE CHURCH’S SOUTH CAMPUS. WE SPEND TIME IN WORSHIP, LAUGHTER, AND LEARNING FROM GOD’S WORD

IN A WAY THAT CONNECTS WITH TEENAGERS.

COMMUNITY GROUPS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO HOW WE GROW SPIRITUALLY. WE GROW BEST IN THE COMPANY

OF FRIENDS AND MENTORS. MIDDLE SCHOOL GROUPS MEET AFTER LARGE GROUP, HIGH SCHOOL GROUPS MEET ONCE A

MONTH AT SOUTH CAMPUS FOR THE WHOLE NIGHT, AND COLLEGE GROUPS MEET THURSDAYS AT 8PM.

INDIVIDUAL GROWTHIN HSM, WE ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO LEARN TO OWN THIER FAITH. WHILE WE LOVE GATHERING TOGETHER IN LARGE GROUP TIME, AND WE LOVE HANGING OUT IN COMMUNITY GROUPS, WE REALIZE THAT A MAJORITY OF A STUDENT’S SPIRITUAL LIFE WILL BE SHAPED BY THE TIME THEY SPEND WITH GOD ALONE. WE WANT STUDENTS TO LEARN TO READ THE SCRIPTURES

FOR THEMSELVES, DEVELOP THEIR OWN BELIEF SYSTEM, AND GIVE THEIR LIFE TO CHRIST SERVING SOMEONE ELSE.

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Q: What is your favorite sport/ sports team?

A: My favorite sport is definitely football. My dad asked me when I was little if I wanted to play flag football and I told him that I would play football as soon as I was allowed to hit someone. I played football from age 8 or through my freshman year in college and I still love to watch the game! My mom is from Wisconsin so I am a diehard Green Bay Packers fan. I can remember watching them win Superbowl XXXI in New Orleans. I can also remember crying too following year when they lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos. I have a Packers shirt I could wear every day and my dog even has her own Packers jersey.

Q: Where did you grow up and what was a favorite childhood memory?

A: I moved all over the country before I even hit 1st grade. I was born in Washington, lived in Ohio, Tennessee, and then finally settled just outside of Richmond, Virginia. We basically lived in the suburbs and we had what many would consider the “picturesque” upbringing complete with a loyal dog and a local park close by.

I think my favorite memories as a child all revolved around the long road trips that ! we would take as a family. Since we had five people in my family (mom, dad, older sister, younger brother, and myself), it was always cheaper to drive than fly to go on vacation. We would drive twelve hours to visit my grandparents in Wisconsin and we would invent all sorts of car games. I cannot imagine what people in the cars behind us thought when we would turn around in our seats and pretend to own an ice cream shop as we looked out the back window of the van. I also have a vivid memory of spitting my gum out the window while we were in Florida. When we got to my grandparents condo, we noticed that the gum had stuck

and melted down the entire side of the van. My dad ended up sending the kids out with ice cubes to freeze the gum and then pick it off by hand in the parking lot. Long car rides have their share of boredom but vacation with my family was always interesting to say the least.

Q: What drew you to working at Hopevale Church?

A: When Alicia and I decided to look for a church to work for and call home, we had a list of things that we were looking for. We wanted to find a church where we could be ourselves. We wanted to find a place that was growing and that was making an impact on the community around them. When Sam and I began to talk, I began to see more and more what it looked like to be a part of the Hopevale family and throughout our interviews Alicia and I began to find more peace. Hopevale not only met our criteria but far exceeded what we thought God would provide for us. One thing that “sealed the deal” so to speak happened when we came up to visit the church. We had an awesome weekend visiting and getting a feel for the church. One night when we came back to our hotel we started talking to the person at the desk and when she heard that we were ! visiting Hopevale, she had nothing but good things to say. She doesnʼt attend church here but when we saw how the church was viewed outside itʼs walls, we knew that we had found a church that we could call home.

Q: How did you meet your wife?

A: This is a long story but I will try to keep it short for the sake of this magazine. I was a teaching assistant over a class that Alicia was in. I always noticed her but she had a ring, which to this day she says looks nothing like an engagement ring. I tried to do my due diligence and Facebook her to find out her relationship status ! but all to no avail. We attended the same church and so one day we began talking about the 4th service that our church

Q & A WITH JASON WALTERS

Q & AwithJASON WALTERS

was adding in attempt to make more service space. Somehow, that turned into more conversations and I eventually found that she didnʼt have a boyfriend. One thing led to another and before we even started dating I knew that I was going to marry her. We dated for three months before I “popped the question” and we got married nine months later.

Q: What are some things that excite you for the future of WIRED?

A: I am excited about so much now that we are finally here and really diving in! One thing Iʼm looking forward to this fall is NERF WARS! Basically itʼs going to be one big night of shooting each other and eating junk food. "In all reality I love the potential that middle school age students have. There is so much change that takes place in this age group and I am excited to seize the momentum that the ministry has. We are poised and ready to see our ministry grow in size, vision, and dynamics. There are so many directions that we can go and I am ready to see what that looks like as we move forward as a ministry. My heart is to see students grow as followers of Christ and to take this season of their life to make faith “their own.”

Q: What has been your favorite part of living in Michigan so far?

A: The weather! Now I know itʼs summer and I am sure that come winter when we have a ton of snow, I may reconsider this answer, but I will enjoy it while it lasts. In Virginia throughout the summer it is close to 100 degrees every day with 100% humidity so the fact that it got into the 50s some evenings didnʼt bother me in the least. I will enjoy my cool summers and endure the freezing winters but for now I have to say that I love Michigan weather.

Q: You lived in the south before moving to Saginaw. What is one big thing you miss about living in the south?

A: I would say southern food as a general answer with Chick-fil-a as my more specific answer. I grew up on southern food like biscuits and gravy, mush, fried apples, country fried everything, and the list could go on and on. I may be able to get a lot of those things up here but until Christian chicken comes to Saginaw, I will always miss it!

Q: What is something that you do in your free time?

A: I love movies and disc golf. One of the traditions that I have with my in-laws is that we always go to the theater a see a new release. I love good movies and I would have to say that this summer the best movies I have seen are Monsters University or the Amazing Spiderman. I have

also played disc golf pretty regularly for the last few years. One of the first things I did, when we started considering Hopevale as a church home, was look up disc golf courses in and "around Saginaw! If you want to play, let me know I am always up for a game.

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: This is a question that is impossible to answer because there are so many good books out there but I will give you two-ish. As far as spiritual books go one of my " recent favorites would have to be Sweat, Blood, and Tears by Xan Hood. The book basically talks about what makes a biblical man and was timely for where I " am at right now in my walk with God. If you were to say fiction I would have to "say that Hunger Games is my most recent favorite. I am that guy that goes to the midnight showing so letʼs just say that I am excited about Catching Fire being released in November!

Q: Where would you travel and why?

A: I would love to go and tour Europe. This may be somewhat of a cop out answer but I have always wanted to go on a historical tour. I am a huge history buff so I would love to hit England, Germany, and Italy primarily. I also would love to go on a Mediterranean Cruise but that is definitely a bucket list item. One day!

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Jason Walters is the new Middle School Director for Hopevale Student Ministries. He can be reached at Jason.Walters@hopevale.org.

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Thursday nights @ 8pmFRIENDS | WORSHIP | COMMUNITY | TEACHING

BRENT & KATE SAWYER

VOLUNTEERSPOTLIGHT

HSM volunteers are the backbone of our ministry and without them we could not do what we do. HOPEVALE CHURCH employs 3 staff and 2 interns to serve almost 200 students. As you can imagine, there is no way that we can do that effectively. That is why our volunteers are so crucial. Our Community Group volunteers create safe environments for our students to grow in their relationships with Jesus and each other.

Brent and Kate Sawyer have been volunteering in our Middle School ministry as Community Group leaders. They both will be leading our eighth grade students [boys and girls] as their group leaders this year.

Brent and Kate love our students and their consistent Christ-like attitude definitely rubs off on every student they come in contact with. So THANK YOU Brent and Kate Sawyer for pouring into our kids for these past 3 years!

if youʼd like to volunteer in HSM, visit our student desk on a Sunday morning or our office at Hopevaleʼs South Campus and fill out a volunteer application ASAP.

Brent’s Community Group

Kate’s Community Group