Anyone else share this thought, “I can’t believe how fast summer went by!”  Before June, July & August are completely buried in the recesses of your mind, ask your kids and/or your spouse the following questions to gain wisdom and insight.  You might be surprised by their answers! What happened during the summer that was great? What do we want to be sure to repeat in the future? Where did God show up? What victories could we celebrate? Where was I surprised? What last minute “audible” or changes were we forced to make? What went wrong? What could have been better? Were...

Start out the new school year with ONE awesome night!  Join United as ONE Student Ministries Wednesday, September 8 for our annual Back2School Rally. (Click read more and click promo video)  The evening begins at 5 PM in the east parking lot with tons of fun & games as well as a $2 meal deal for each family member. (hot dog or hamburger, chips, bottled water & brownie) Also joining us will be local talent the Saylor Skate Board & BMX Bike Team performing their amazing tricks & stunts. Then, at 6:30, we’ll move to the sanctuary for a rockin’ good time with special...

As one parent puts it, “I communicate with my daughter, she just won’t listen!”  I can relate!  God has given you & I the tremendous gift, and might I add, responsibility, of communicating effectively with your son and/or daughter.  The question you and I as parents must ask is how am I communicating? Listen to yourself this week.  Are the conversations in your home healthy, life-giving, & productive?  Or are your words negative, sarcastic, demanding and demeaning?  Evaluate the health of your communication between you and ALL the members of your house by looking...

On June 26, 2010, twenty middle school students and adults climbed into the Des Moines First minibus and headed south for the week.  Vacation? No.  Fun trip?  Try again.  Pleasure cruise?  Hardly.  This was an army of servants ready to show God’s love in practical ways on the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University, located in Waxahachie, TX.  For three solid days, we moved furniture in and out of dorms, up & down 3 floors of stairs, sorted bed frames, and blessed the university with whatever our small hands could do.  The result?  An amazing group of students and...

Spending or investing?  That is the question.  Each summer, parents are bombarded with all sorts of “opportunities” to spend money & time on their students, ie. sports, music lessons, out with friends, the latest-greatest-movies, etc.   So, as you peek at your check book and see where your money is flying off to regarding your children, are you simply spending money on them, or are you spending with purpose?  The latter is what I like to call an investment.  For example, if you spend $350 for a week of basketball camp, you hope to get a return, right?  The return is that your...

United as ONE officially launched our STL Spring Challenge Wednesday, May 12.  The challenge?  Raise $2,000 by July 1.  Pastor Dave Beroth promised to “buzz” his head should we meet the goal.  I am very pleased to announce that at the time of this writing, our students and leaders have given over $800.  Way to go!  If you would like to help us with our cause and help Pastor Dave save on his shampoo supply, we would greatly appreciate it!  What a fantastic way of supporting our missionaries.

No, we’re not talking about WWE or a cage brawl happening in United as ONE.  What we ARE talking about is a challenge Pastor Dave Beroth threw down a few weeks back on a weekend after announcing that our students gave over $3,300 in just four weeks as a result from the STL Winter Challenge.  As you may recall, he praised our students from the platform for their sacrificial giving, but then uttered these words (I’m paraphrasing): “If the students can personally give an additional $2000 by July 1, I will buzz my head.”  So, there you have it.  We’re asking students...

If you’re like me, I feel overwhelmed by guilt at times. The incriminating self-speak goes something like, “You should be a better example to your kids,” or, “You don’t pray enough with your family,” or, “My kids are soooo falling short of your glory Lord, HELP!”  In other words, I get discouraged, and I’m a pretty up-beat guy! Sunday evening, April 18, is a night specifically designed to encourage you to worship the Lord with your family. It will be a rich, meaningful, interactive night for all ages.  The night will end with many different...

From February 10 through March 10, United as ONE students and leaders accepted the challenge to see how much missions money could be raised for Speed The Light. In just four weeks, UNITED High School received $1,900, and ONE Middle School received $1,431, for a grand total of $3,331. WOW! Way to go United As ONE students and leadership! How did they do it? Some of the stories were scooping doggy “treasures,” shoveling snow, asking everybody they know and don’t know for a quarter.  One leader even donated his overtime pay! Praise God for the servant-leaders and our amazing students. The...

Click on “read more” in the right hand corner of this post to download the 2010 Parental Consent Form.