Posted by: Jody Shelton | December 3, 2009

Night of Worship

Last night was an amazing night of worship @ Mount Zion. I am amazed at the work of the Spirit of God in our midst. Most people would think there is now way students could be quite for over an hour, however last night I saw it first hand. I wanted to share with some of my youth pastor friends and students who could not make it last night some of the videos that were used! MZS thank you allowing God to work in you continue to strive for conforming to image of Jesus Christ!

To my youth pastor friends,

So here are some videos for you, youtube is great but takes time to search and find good stuff. We took the videos and downloaded them from youtube into a mpeg4 format. I was able to take it as an mpeg4 and put into my editing software and turn it into an avi format. Avi will go into media shout 4, so this allowed us to use youtube videos and load them into a seamlessly smooth format in worship. If I can help you let me know. Working together benefits us all! One last thing, you can use other audio in these videos–we switched the audio in all of them but one.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Student Ministry | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | November 22, 2009

Is church really important?

 

I have been in church since the very beginning of my life.  My parents didn’t give us the “option” to attend, as I look back I am so thankful! So what are some reasons why church is important? I’m glad you asked!

 

 

1. Connection-There is something amazing about meeting new people and seeing people every week that you love deeply and care about.  As Christians we should do our best to connect with others and build relationships with people who are like minded and diverse. The friendships I have with people from church surpass any of my other relationships.  Be real with people and remember we are seeking the same thing–to conform to the image of Jesus Christ.  Don’t forget we are all on different levels of conformity, some brand new babies in the faith some mature disciples. Be patient!

2. Corporate Worship-Singing to God as a body of believer’s, studying God’s Word together, celebrating baptism, experiencing the Lord’s Supper, watching and listening to the Pastor give a challenge from the Word of God—-my favorite, seeing someone give their life to Jesus Christ! These experiences you can not watch on TV or on a webcast.

3. Community-It is not enough to just show up at church, leave and forget what you have been taught. If there is one thing the local church needs to strive for it is the idea of  “doing life together.”  If you are involved in your church you have brothers and sisters who love and care about you. There will be times when those people in your church come alongside of you and help you through the tough times that will inevitably come.  Doing life together and experiencing biblical community takes your “church experience” to a whole new level.  God’s desire for each of us is to have a family of people who love us and genuinely care.  Spend time with God’s people and be at church every time you are able. God will not only teach you from His Word, He will also teach you from the relationships you develop with others.

Closing thought

Go to a bible believing church and begin using your gifts and passions to make your church better.

Don’t forget it’s ok to laugh and have fun at church Jesus made that pretty clear!!!

See ya Sunday!

Leave a Comment

Posted in Advice, Devotion, Friends | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | November 5, 2009

Dawson–doing some homework!

Dawson working on his colors

Dawson getting letters A-F!!!!

2 Comments

Posted in Autism, Family | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | October 30, 2009

Some of my ministry secrets!

toolboxThe Internet has opened up so many amazing opportunities for the world of student ministry. I can remember the days where youth pastor’s used overhead projectors and transparencies. When I first started in youth ministry we also used books of clipart to copy images for flyers and other activities. I want to share with you some tools I use that have made an awesome impact in the way I communicate with our students and our Wednesday night program thExchange. One thing I really enjoy about my job is networking with other student pastor’s if I can give you any ideas that will help you—please take it—chances are someone gave me the idea as well!

10420389

1. Simply Youth Ministry offers all kinds of incredible games, crowdbreakers, countdowns (t-minus), message series, powerpoint backgrounds and many other items.  Send me  an email if you need some recommendations. This site is by far the BEST for practical help in preparing for your program!

2. Powerpointsermons.com, My Pastor introduced me to this website, it does require a fee however it has made our Sunday morning graphics at our church come alive. I use it for messages and announcement slides on Wednesday nights and it has made a tremendous impact. Here are a few of my favorites.

3. media shoutNot sure what we did before moving images during worship. This will add a whole new dynamic to your praise and worship time. Make sure your computer has the specs that Media Shout needs. I know there is other companies out there but Media Shout is what we use and I have been very happy with the results!

4. txtWhen I first started out at my present church Mount Zion I sent mail to all of my parents, then I went to everything being on the website (which I still do), email….facebook….now I send out mass text messages to my entire group. I have the largest plan so for $40 a month I can inform over 100 people an important announcement in a matter of seconds. They just added a new feature that allows text forwarding back to my phone so if I need to answer a question I can. You can also create groups and teams within the software. One thing we know for sure…..teenagers ALWAYS have their phone and they love getting text messages! This software has become invaluable to me!

5. youtube_logoRemember all the video books we used to have to buy and the many rentals in order to show video clips in our groups—now you just have to search hard enough on youtube and you will find good stuff. I have saved money by having wi-fi in our youth building and showing clips from the internet rather than renting. Here are some recent clips I have used from youtube.

Making friends, What is a friend, Be Still, God’s Chisel, Intro to Jesus, In the Beginning

6. polleverywhere-265x300It is difficult to impress a teenager however this software will do it—have you ever wanted to see what your students were really thinking about the topic you are speaking about? Are you curious where they are in their relationship with Christ?  Poll Everywhere is completely confidential so it allows you to get a sense of your groups thoughts and beliefs. Here is a video of the software being used in my youth group MZS, watch our Wednesday night promo video here. I have the $65 a month package and Poll Everywhere allows you to pay month by month as needed. Thanks to Josh Griffin for the idea!

7. supportHELPkeyOne great way to inform your students of what is coming up in your ministry is a website. One of the best decisions I have made was purchasing 2 snapshot websites for our church and my student ministry MZS. If you decide to buy a website, I would be happy to get you started and help you with your ministry site just shoot me an email. I had no experience in building a website until we bought from snapshot and it was a great decision and very simple to use! Now I am able to update both websites with no problem at all!

Here is a few more tools:


facebookbadge

—I use the group feature for getting word out along with Simplytxt.

 

glo1—Absolutely amazing–requires a lot of space on your computer but if you got the space you need glo, we use it for pictures on Wednesday night and also bookmark passages that you can navigate with the click of a button!

 

 

logojosh

—Josh is the owner and does amazing work, he designed our MZS logo and has done a ton of work for our church, his prices are great and he is easy to work with, which is a big deal. Here is one piece he just did for our recent emphasis at Mount Zion. Checkout Fit Brochure

 

 

action

—I have been using these guys for t-shirts, logos, sweat shirts etc.. They do a fantastic job at a great price–talk to Spencer when you call he is a great guy and will do anything to help you get what you need.

So here are my secrets, hope you get some fresh ideas!!!

1 Comment

Posted in Advice, Misc, Student Ministry | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | October 25, 2009

Watching Dawson—the light bulbs are coming on!

When we first were told Dawson had autism we thought he would never be able to truly function in the real world. There was a time that Dawson could hardly understand anything we said. However, with so many people working together Dawson understands so many amazing things. For instance when you see on these videos Dawson picking the right picture like shoes, hat, car… that enables us to tell him what we are doing or where we are going and he understands and follows our prompts. This translates to an easier life for us and cognitive growth on Dawson’s part.

The hardest part of this process is that ABA therapy is NOT covered by insurance. Every hour of Dawson’s therapy has come from wonderful people giving sacrificially to help him become who he is today. All I can say to those who have helped is you are truly a blessing not only to Dawson but to all of us. Words cannot express how much we thank you. Every month is a new venture to pray that God provides for Dawson through people from all over. If you would like to make a donation for Dawson’s therapy and expenses you can do so here. If you would rather send a check make it payable to Mount Zion Baptist Church with “Shelton Fund” in the memo line. Please understand any gift you give to Dawson is a tax deduction. We greatly appreciate your help and you will now see in these 3 video clips how far Dawson has come. Thanks Again.

1 Comment

Posted in Autism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | October 14, 2009

Some new videos

God is doing some great things @ Mount Zion!!! Wednesday Nights @ 7:00PM

mountzionstudents.com

grey & navyxxx

Leave a Comment

Posted in Student Ministry, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | October 12, 2009

Tebow sharing his faith

tebow

Checkout this video of Tim Tebow

Leave a Comment

Posted in Misc, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | September 19, 2009

thExchange t-shirts

Every year we like to offer t-shirts for MZS–these shirts are by far the best yet! There are 7 different colors—choose as many as you would like, notice we tried to represent most of the school colors of MZS. Shirts are $12.00 a piece. The last day to order will be Wednesday Sep 30th. To see a bigger image click on the picture.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: Jody Shelton | September 14, 2009

A New Name for a New Season!

gear-patrol-salute-to-football-seasonHave you been asked the question what your favorite season of the year is spring, summer, winter or fall? I would say without a doubt it is fall for me. The weather is cooling off, the leaves begin to change, but most important football season begins. There are not many things on TV these days enjoyable to watch, but when it comes to watching a college football game on Saturday is there anything else better? Really?

Observations to why we like football so much in America—see if you agree.

ga

Everyone loves a good rival game. How much fun is it when a close friend is rooting for the opposition? Yes, it stinks when you lose to the rival and oftentimes you hear about it for a whole year. The most intense rivals in college football would have to be: Georgia/Florida, Ohio State/Michigan, Alabama/Auburn, Texas/Oklahoma, Clemson/South Carolina. I try as hard as possible not to talk too much trash just in case my team loses. I don’t want to listen to all the SMACK talk!

DallasCowboyslogo

I did not grow up a HUGE Cowboy fan, however when I moved from Texas to the east coast my Texas pride increased. There are not many Texans who are not Cowboy fans, the Houston Texans—come on what is that all about?

Jason Elam and Tim Tebow are two players I really enjoy watching. Jason goes to my churchNFL/ and is an awesome Christian example. He is taking classes right now at the seminary I graduated from LBTS. I admire his intensity and focus on the field and his character and love for his family off the field.

Tim Tebow is unbelievably dedicated to sharing Christ with the world. His big sister was friends with my wife, Ruth went to church with the Tebow’s at FBC Jax. The Tebow family was at my wedding in April of 2000 and Tim’s sister was one of Ruth’s bridesmaids. Tim would have been in middle school. I look forward to seeing Tim live out his Christian faith on and off the field. tim-tebow1During the National Championship last year Tebow had John 3:16 under his eyes, that day John 3:16 had more hits on google then any other word or phrase. I love athletes that use there influence to share Christ with so many people who are in search for the truth that is only found in Jesus Christ!

Closing thoughts: Why we love football

1. Gives us something to talk about!

2. Life is HARD–Gets your mind off life when things are difficult–but if football is your life not sure what you do?

3. Gives you a reason to get together and hang out with good friends and family

The new name for fall—Football!!!

1 Comment

Posted in Misc, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jody Shelton | August 29, 2009

Apologetics for a New Generation

joshIt has been 10 years since I graduated from Liberty University.  After graduation, I left school and flew to Amarillo for the summer before beginning a new job in Jacksonville, FL . Something really cool happened to me as I was walking in the Dallas airport. I saw a man with his wife who looked familiar and sure enough it was Josh McDowell. I walked up to Josh, introduced myself, and insisted on buying him and his family dinner at the airport. He said, “college students have no money, I’ll pay”. I still insisted on paying and ended up buying everyone dinner at McDonald’s!

I felt honored to sit down and discuss youth ministry and culture with a legend in the Christian faith. We sat and talked about youth ministry and he shared some life experience with me. As I left Josh got my address and sent me a copy of his latest book which at the time was “The New Tolerance,” WOW, what a day to remember! Apology for those who know me well—I realize you have it heard this story many times before!!!

Apologetics for a New Generation prntJosh McDowell’s son Sean is my age and I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with him at a couple of camps in the past and hear him speak. Sean is an extremely gifted communicator and author. Apologetics for a New Generation is the book that I am reading by Sean, what a tremendous impact this book has made on me. The third chapter is written by Josh McDowell here are some of the comments he makes in the chapter entitled “Relationships that Transform”.

  • The culture we live in is generally uninterested in the truth of the gospel, partly because they are unimpressed with those who proclaim it.
  • Some opinions from nonchurchgoers & non-Christians, on average 86% believe the church is judgmental, hypocritical, phony and unreal.
  • The bottom line, people are looking for truth in the context of relationships.

When asked the question to non-Christians what would make the Christian faith attractive and irrestible the answer was “I wish the church was a loving place,” and “I wish the church would respect my intelligience.”

After Josh and I had dinner at McDonald’s the last thing he said before I walked away to catch my flight was, “Jody just love those teenager’s.” Amazingly enough he hit the target of what people around us need to see and feel. People need to hear the truth of Jesus Christ and see it modeled before them.

1 John 2:6

Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

3 Comments

Posted in Apologetics | Tags: , , ,

Older Posts »

Categories