Caroling Tomorrow Night

We're heading out to spread a little love. We'll be caroling from 6:30-9:00 all over the city. Hope that you can join in this special time of serving.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

How rich are you?

This past week we talked a lot about materialism. So many times we can make the mistake of thinking that we are poor by looking at people that have more than us. But when put into perspective we can see that we have much more than think. See for yourself... follow the link and see where your wealth measures up.

The Global Rich List

Since many of you may not have a great understanding of how much money your family has, you could do this with your parents. Or, here are some numbers you can try putting in to see how they measure up:

• $38,000 - The median household income of Winston-Salem
• $20,000 - US poverty guideline for a family of 4
• $1,300 - If you made $25 every week baby sitting
  

Prayer Nights this week

A quick reminder for you guys. This week there are nights of prayer on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each night prayer will be at the church office from 7:00-8:30pm. If you can, try to come on Wednesday but if that doesn't work than you can totally come on either of the other nights.

Random Poll

What is your favorite pizza place?

Leave an answer in the comments...

Staff Hunt Photos

This past Saturday, we held our Staff Hunt. Each of the seven Thrive Staff members dressed up and camped out in the mall. It was your job in your group of students to find each of the Staff. Some did well, some did not so well. Here are some pics to remind you what you were looking for.



You can click on a picture to see a larger version or to leave a comment.

Staff Hunt: Saturday, October 20th

It is finally here. The most talked about event of the fall. Staff Hunt.

Come on out to the church office on Saturday, Oct. 20. The fun begins at 2:30 so be on time. At the office you'll find your group and get instructs. Some parents and adult will take you over to the mall where you'll try to find all of the Thrive Staff.

• Dave
• Brie
• Matt
• Chris
• Jonathan
• Amanda
• Carlye
  

Did you figure out who's who in the picture? You may want to start there.

Photo Scavy Pics

Enjoy!



1st Place: Tree Huggers


2nd Place: Team Flipflop


3rd Place: Team X

Canoe Trip Update

We had a great trip on Friday and Saturday. Here's a recap:

Friday: Left a little after 9:00. Had about a 4 hour drive with a stop for snacks another stop for food at a mall food court. We got checked in with Headwaters Outfitters, had our orientation, and got the water around 3:30. Paddled 8 miles which took about 3 hours. It was absolutely pouring rain for 30 minutes. We got to the campsite and made camp, cooked some dinner, sang some songs, looked at God's Word, and played some games while make S'mores and Banana Boats.

Saturday: Quick breakfast and we were on the river by 9:30. We had a bit more of a relaxing day. A whole lot more tipping of each others canoes. Stopped for lunch on the river about noon. Continued on till our pick up point at 3:00. It was a total of 12 miles the second day. (Grand total of 20 miles paddled. Good work.) Quick run back to the campsite to pack up and the 4 hour drive home with a stop for dinner.

Everyone made it back safe and sound a little damp and very tired. Pictures coming soon.

Canoe Trip this Friday and Saturday

We are really excited about the canoe trip that is coming up this weekend. Here are the top five reasons why you should be excited too:

1. Swimming in a river.
2. Getting to hang out with Dave, Brie, Jonathan, and Amanda.
3. Two days without showering.
4. Banana boats.
5. Three and a half hours in a van road tripping to the mountains.
   

There is a brochure that has all of the information you could ask for like: schedule, packing list, and registration. If you have any questions about the trip, contact Dave.

Hogs Win... Hogs win!

Great game last night. Everyone that went had a great time. Great job with that wave guys. Those of you who couldn't make it, you were missed.

In case you missed it...

We played a little "Extreme Bobbing for Stuff." A fun game where our lucky contestants race each other to bob for some random objects using only their faces. The twist: they are bobbing in ice water. Let me tell you the water was pretty frigid.

Watching the Taylor and Rachel compete head-to-head was pretty hilarious. Here were a couple of pics from the night:

Warthogs Game

Next Wednesday, July 4th, we'll be heading over to Ernie Shore Field for the Warthogs game. We've already bought tickets but it is not to late to secure your spot. Be sure to sign up or shoot me an email if you are interested. We'll be enjoying the fireworks after the game. Cost is 8 bucks. We'll meet at the church office at 6:00 pm and return at 10:45 pm.

The Summer Calendar is done

If you haven't seen it yet, we have a SWEET summer planned. There is a scavenger hunt, a baseball game, and a canoe trip to name just a few of the awesome things happening!

In addition to those extra events we will be having our weekly program of Patio Lantern pretty much every Wednesday night 6:30-8:30. We will be combining both Jr. High and High School. The first one is June 20 and this is the night that we are inviting the upcoming 6th graders to join us. It should be a great night together.

We'll be mailing the calendar but if you just can't wait, you can download it over the the right.

A little break

You've probably noticed a little less posting than normal. As we draw closer to the Mexico Trip it has been increasily busy. We'll take a little break from posting here but you can definitely check out the Mexico Trip Blog to stay updated with the trip. You will be sure to find some full fledged posting right back here when we get back.

New Mexico Trip Blog

That's right... another blog. We have this blog ready to go so we can keep the church and all our supporters updated on how our trip to Tijuana, Mexico is going. We'll try and put up some pictures and specific ways you can pray for us. Check it out.

www.salemchapelmissions.blogspot.com

Check out our new ride

Salem Chapel is now the proud owner of a 12 passenger van. This is going to be our ride for retreats, events, and anytime we need to get somewhere. Pretty sweet, huh?

Paintball Next Saturday May 12

Here is what you need to know:

• Meet at the office at 3pm
• Return to the office at 9pm
• What we'll be doing:
• Paintball
• Swimming
• Cookout
• Other games
• What to bring:
• Jeans, shirt, and shoes that can get dirty
• Swimming suit
• Change of clothes
• Cost is 15 bucks
• If interested talk to Dave
  

Video of the Week: Matrix Ping Pong

This one is a classic.

Week of prayer

Don't forget there will not be a usually night of Thrive this week. Instead we will be joining the church in a night of prayer. There was already one last night but there is one tonight and tomorrow night from 7:00-8:30 pm. It would be great if you can plan on joining us for one of these.

Highlights of the Spring Retreat

We got back Sunday afternoon from the Spring Retreat. To those that weren't able to join us... you were missed. To those that were able to go... we had a blast. It was a truly great weekend. Perfect weather. Great food. Awesome hike. We had a weekend of fun and challenges from the Word of God. I will try and post some of Brandon's pictures up here soon. In the meantime, here are some of the highlights from the weekend:

• Cheddar brats
• Taylor's vast vocabulary
  
• Summiting a mountain
• Jake's banana boat
• Skonnectidy... for hours... and hours
• The blaze of glory during Risk
  
• Little kid's playing 500 (if that's what you call it)
• ... and more

What was your favorite highlight?

Video of the Week: David Crowder Band

Fun video to a great song.

Hang at the Jacobson's tomorrow night

It's Spring Break. What's a better way to spend a Wednesday night then hang out over at the Jacobson's? This is no ordinary Thrive. We are hangin' from 6-10pm for some pizza, games, and just plain chilling out. Should be a fun time together. If you are interested in coming give Dave a call or email at djacobson@salemchapel.org. You are going to need some directions and the gate code to get in.

Spring Retreat is Coming Up!

I hope that you are getting excited about the Spring Retreat in April. We had an awesome time with the Junior High this past weekend. We can only hope and pray that we have close to as good of weather as we just had. Be sure to pick up a brochure for you and your friends. Registration is due April 11 and it will be here before you know it.

Say goodbye to the message board

The message board was fun while it lasted but I really didn't like having pop-ups every time that you come to the blog. So... say goodbye. Looks like you will have to leave any comments on the different posts.

Superhero Knowledge

Just in case you wanted to brush up on your superhero knowledge:

• Marvel Comics
• DC Comics
• The A-team
• Jack Bauer
  
• Captain Planet
• Larry Boy
  

Upcoming Service Project

Just a reminder for our Service Project one week from tomorrow. We are going to be going down to the Second Harvest Food Bank and help to stock food, clean, or do whatever they need to keep the ministry going. The times are 8:30-12:15 (Sat, Mar. 10) and we'll meet at the office. Be intentional. Set aside this morning to put some feet on your faith.

Video of the Week: Panda Sneeze

Okay, this is good for 2 reasons:

1. How does that little guys have such a ginormous sneeze?
2. Mom does not know what to do.
   

I'm already tired of the message board

I didn't know it when I put it up but the message board opens two popups each time you open the website. What's your vote... should it stay or go?

Message Board

Ever wanted to leave a comment on the blog for the whole world wide web to see but it was totally unrelated to the posts that were up here? I know Taylor has. Now you can leave any messages you want on our message board over on the sidebar. Of course you can still leave comments on the posts but if you have something to say on an unrelated note, go nuts on the message board.

Mexico Trip Meeting

We are going on a Mission Trip to Mexico June 10-16. If you are at all interested in coming or even just finding out more, plan on coming to our parent and student informational meeting. The meeting is this coming Sunday, Feb. 25 at the church office at 4:00 pm. If you have any questions you can contact Dave. Go to Salem Chapel's website for contact information.

Laser Tag this Saturday

This coming Saturday night is Laser Tag. The cost is $15. We will meet at the church office at 5:30 pm and return at 9:00 pm. You don't want to miss this. If you haven't signed up yet, email Dave at djacobson@salemchapel.org.

Heroes series begins tonight

Tonight, we are starting a brand new series called Heroes. We take the next six weeks and look at the lives of just some ordinary guys that did some pretty extraordinary things for God. There is a lot that we can learn by what they did. We can also be pretty encouraged by the fact that God used these guys when they had little more to offer than just themselves as they were. And they were no more special than you or I.

Super Bowl Poll

You would you like to see win on Sunday?

Video of the Week: Crazy Frog Bros

You may have seen this one before, but I thought you needed a crazy video for a crazy week.

Get Your Spring Calender

The spring calendar is here and we have a ton of great stuff planned. I am really excited about the things coming your way in the next couple of months. If you would like, you can download a PDF of the calendar to the right. Also, we are going to be starting a brand new 6 week series called "Heroes." I know that you are going to be encouraged and challenged through it.

Here are some of the events we have planned:

• Laser Tag (Sat, Feb. 24)
• Service Project: 2nd Harvest Food Bank (Sat, Mar. 10)
• Hang @ Jacobson's (Wed, April 4)
• SPRING RETREAT (Fri, April 20- Sun, April 22)
• Paintball Party (Sat, May 5)

Additionally:

• We are going on a mission trip to Mexico this June. The dates are going to be June 10-16 or 17. There will be an application and interview process if you are interested in going. Start praying and talking to your parents about this exciting opportunity. In a few weeks we will be having a parent/student informational meeting where you will get all the details.

What event are you most excited about?

Isaac Timothy Lidbom

Isn't he cute?

Night of Prayer Tomorrow

Just a reminder, we are not having a regular night of Thrive. However, do still plan on coming because we are joining the church in a Night of Prayer from 7:00-8:30 pm. This is a cool chance to join together as a church body and lift up our church and city in prayer.

When's the baby coming?

Check out this poll we have going over on the Junior High blog. You can make a guess to if you would like.

Wii have it

Thanks to the Lidbom's efforts this weekend, Thrive Student Ministries is the proud owner of a Nintendo Wii system. We'll be playing with it this week. If you want you can feel free to come 15 minutes before we start to get in a little extra playing time.

Video of the Week: Diet Coke & Mentos II

The guys at Eepybird are at it again.

Video of the Week: Statue of Liberty

If you haven't seen it yet, check out this sick play last week by Boise State. If your not into football... sorry.