10 for the 2000s: 2004 Personally

1. Coffee House Outreach: We tried something different in late February. We allowed students the opportunity to plan and organize an event. We sat the Gym up like a Coffee House and multiple students put their talents on display. It ended with our Senior students (Josh Sabo, Andrew Myers, Jessica Focht, Michael Couse, and Martin Ufkin) covering David Crowder's cover of Sinead O'Conner's Thank You for loving Me while Lizzie Burns and Grant Longenbaugh painted on stage. I really feel like that ushered in a new style and approach to worship for us.
2. Revival at NorthWood: The Class of '04 really saw a move of God at NorthWood. I have seen the spiritual tone at NorthWood go in waves of religious apathy to spiritual awakening. We saw many students radically saved from "Churchianity" and enter into authentic relationship with Christ.
3. Panama City Spring Break: Janelle and I went with 10 students and 2 other leaders to "the Core" Spring Break trip in Panama City Beach, FL. The trip itself was pretty average for our students, but it was very good for Janelle and my relationship. Jeff Simpson was one of the other leaders with me. We both found an event that we were going to be able to return and completely serve to allow the other youth ministers and ministries present to focus on their group.
4. SEMP Toronto: It was the last year I would travel to SEMP. It was also the best year of training and experience they offered. The next Summer ('05) I was in Peru. Sonlife then messes up the entire event in '06 by making it more of a camp experience instead of a peer evangelism training experience.
5. Camp Growth: At '03, one of the Seniors threw out the thought of seeing our Camp attendance double in size. Our '04 Camp saw that nearly happen. It was also a Camp where God's presence and move was so real that it can't quite be fully explained.
6. Mackinack and Ludington: At the close of a crazy Summer, we headed North for where I officiated my 1st Wedding. It was on Mackinack Island. Janelle and I got to enjoy three days on the island (horse poop and bike rides, that's how I'd sum it up) and then headed to my parents place in Ludington for a couple extra days of relaxation. I remember thinking a lot about how I really wanted to have a child during that trip.
   
7. Fall Attendance Records: That Fall, we saw crazy a crazy attendance boom at NMC Senior High. We saw nearly an average of 260 on regular Wednesday Nights. There were 500+ at our Senior High Outreach. The Fairfield, Wawasee, and Concord High School presences were very strong. The Senior Class was leading evangelistically and with integrity. It was a crazy Fall with major spiritual and numerical growth.
8. Friday Night Football: Many of the Small Group Leaders would head to the various NMC students' football games on Friday Night. Along the way, we followed Wawasee all the way down to the State Finals in Indianapolis.
9. Orlando fun: Orlando started to become a focal vacation spot for us. In mid-November we flew down for a week in the sun. A great time to go. We visited both Universal Studios and Disney. The crowds were really low. The sun was out. The relaxation was fantastic.
10. The Terry Transition: Terry Bley's role with the Connection Service was continuing to demand more and more time from him. What had been a major team approach in Senior High for several years became less, and it really became my baby.