NorthStar Stories

NorthStar Picnic and Baptism

NorthStar, being a young church, has relatively few church-wide traditions.  But the annual church picnic and baptism at the lake continues to be a crowd pleaser.  On Sunday, over 600 people came out to Dallas Landing at Lake Allatoona to be a part of the summer shenanigans.  The dinner and dessert were incredible, but the real icing on the cake came after the picnic, as nearly 100 people publicly professed their faith in Jesus Christ by being baptized in the lake. And, THAT is something worth celebrating!

 

NorthStar Baseball is looking for a few good boys . . .

It's not too late to make the team! NorthStar has three teams in the Noonday Association Boys Baseball League and, according to Coach Stan Kirk, all three teams are still in need of players. Boys from NorthStar, the community, and area boys' clubs comprise the teams. Games are played at Perry Parham Park in Marietta on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights, and the season will continue through August 7. Age groups for teams are by grade just completed: 1-3 grade, 4-6 grade, and 7-9 grade. If you or someone you know would like to get in on the last few days of summer baseball, please contact Stan Kirk at 770-427-3071.

40 on the field!

We collected over $5400 through the "Extraordinary Giving" urns on Sunday which enabled us to sponsor 40 players to FCA Camp. Thank you NorthStar for investing in the lives of young people!

NorthStar in the Community Highlight . . .

NorthStar has been busy this summer—continuing to supply and deliver lunches and help with dinners and laundry for MUST, providing buddies for special needs baseball, and showing Jesus' love in numerous other ways. Now, as summer winds down and the start of school approaches, NorthStar is working to meet physical needs for things like school supplies and clothing for area children. Please check out NorthStar in the Community to see where you can get involved. Next MUST summer lunch is August 6th!

For your enjoyment, a couple of glimpses into the satisfaction of serving: (find more at the Community Feedback page)

I just wanted to drop a line to say thank you to NorthStar for the opportunity to play baseball
with these wonderful kids.  I was teamed up with a young boy named Justin, who was in a
wheel chair, and it was the most amazing experience.  When we hit the ball together and ran
down the first baseline to be called "safe" at first, his face lit up like a Christmas tree and it
almost brought me to tears right there on the field.  There is no way that I could understand or
relate to what he or his parents go through on a day to day basis, but I pray that the hour they
get on the ball field on Saturdays brings as much joy to them as it has to me.  I look forward to
volunteering again! Thank you Northstar!

Neil Lettre
Special Needs Baseball Buddy (Submitted July 21, 2008)

I had so much fun today delivering meals with Kelley!!!  When we got home, my 7 year old son Riley said that it was a lot of fun handing out the sack lunches to all the kids!  Thanks for taking a leap of faith and signing NorthStar up to do these deliveries!!!!!

Shelly Powell
MUST Summer Lunch  Delivery (Submitted July 21, 2008)

Adventure Week—it's not just for kids!

If you've served at NorthStar's Adventure Week, you know that it can be intense! The kids have a great time, many meet Jesus, and there's always an emphasis on missions and outreach. But often something special happens in the lives of the adults as well. NorthStar in the Community received this comment from Kathy Saranillas: I was very impressed with VBS!!! It was the greatest VBS experience I have had as an adult! The interaction between the volunteers and the children was amazing and the women's ministry was amazing! To see our church so connected is very encouraging!!!!! Thanks Northstar for a great week!

Belize Mission

The mission team to Belize has arrived safely and has hit the ground running. They have a big day tomorrow. They are expecting 200 for VBS! Check out their progress on their Facebook page.

LEAP

LEAP was a God week!  According to Brad Parkhurst, 160 students and 20 adults from the student ministries of NorthStar and FBC Kennesaw began the mornings of LEAP week here at NorthStar where they worshipped, studied, and played together. After mornings of inspiring worship led by Chris Huff and his band and solid teaching by JR Lee of Freedom church, participants broke into teams of 15 and spent the afternoons serving area cities—Acworth, Kennesaw, Cartersville, Smyrna, and all the way to Decatur!  They helped with painting and landscaping at area schools such as Picketts Mill Elementary, Frey Elementary, Awtrey, North Cobb High School, Kennesaw Mountain High School, and Harrison High School. They cleaned restaurants, detailed police cars, helped with MUST lunches, and much more. These students were the hands and feet of Jesus in an amazing number of places and variety of situations in one week. To quantify, check out these numbers: 180 people x3.5 hrs/day x 4 days = 2520 hours of community service! During the week, 15 students accepted Christ, and 33 were baptized on Thursday! 

NorthStar in the Community Update

Here are a few of the exciting things NorthStar is doing in the community. For complete details and information on how you can help, please visit the NorthStar in the Community website.

Feeding the Community
Yesterday, July 9th, we had our second MUST summer lunch project. Almost seventy-five families served by providing, packing, loading, delivering, and handing out 1200 lunches!  While those families were packing lunches on Tuesday night, another group of NorthStar folks provided and served dinner to almost 60 MUST Shelter guests and volunteers. Now that's a good day's work!

How Cool are NorthStar Students? Literally FREEZING!
During LEAP Week, some NorthStar students had a chance to meet Ms. B, a retired teacher who has taken the kids of her community into her heart and home. After seeing how Ms. B teaches the kids about Jesus and watches over them, those NorthStar students began collecting funds.  As a result of their efforts, they were able to present Ms. B with a refrigerator/freezer for her home-based ministry! They also went down and played with the kids in Ms. B's neighborhood. Look for pictures on the NorthStar in the Community site soon!

Immediate Needs (see website for specific information)

• need 14 baseball buddies for this Saturday, July 12th, and 19 for Saturday, July 19th, for Special Needs baseball games
• need 50 new or gently used backpacks for a Back to School Bash on July 26th at Superior Creek Lodge and Dogwood Park

KidJam '08

Twenty-three NorthStar third to fifth graders and four brave adults (Chris Hutcheson, Tricia Levy, Glen & Lendy McLeroy) recently comprised the yellow team at Camp KidJam ‘08. The camp was held at the GA Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, GA June 30-July 3.

According to HideOut Director and intrepid camp chaperone Lendy McLeroy, campers learned that our daily connection to the kingdom of God affects everything we experience in this life. Each one of Jesus' parables reveals how our daily world is directly connected to an eternal world.  While at CKJ, students discovered how Jesus told the best stories ever heard, then explained them and lived them out for us. The camp theme—TAKE IT IN--LIVE IT OUT!—came to life as campers took a look at the parables of Jesus through memorable experiences, creative storytelling, and phenomenal worship sessions.   

Days were "jam"-packed and involved VERY LITTLE SLEEP. Take a look at this schedule!

A CAMP KIDJAM day involved…(7:50 am-10 pm)
Jam Sessions
In the JAM SESSIONS, kids learned to TAKE IT IN. They engaged in high-energy worship, laughed, watched some great stories unfold, and heard from a master storyteller who connected the parables to real life. Some highlights of the jam sessions include:
Crazy Derek’s “Get some FREE STUFF”
Flyest Kid of the Day
Awesomest Leader of the Day (nominated by campers; gross prank played on them onstage)
Leader Competitions onstage

Small Groups
In SMALL GROUPS, campers learned to LIVE IT OUT. Kids and adult leaders found ways to explore those same parables in depth as they searched to know what the stories meant and how they impact lives.

Activities
What’s a camp without outdoor games, late night fun (a.k.a. “Jammie Jam”), and team competition? Team NorthStar got their game on, laughing and playing hard through team competition, water games, relay races, and spirit competition. Check out a video overview here:

For our Attic Director, Tricia Levy, one of the highlights of the trip was sitting by the beautiful lake during small group time with Mr. Chris Hutcheson playing his guitar and singing. She says the kids loved the worship times, swimming in the lake, and shopping at the gift shop. This trip impacted the lives of both campers and leaders and led to one of our kids choosing to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.

Of course, in the true spirit of the HideOut, our students—under the careful direction of Mr. Glen—accepted the challenge of solving the great camp caper "Where Do the Dishes Go?" Join them in their quest here:

And the Lord added to their number daily . . .

At least it seems that way. We welcome another NorthStar baby this week! Elijah Grayson Barton arrived at a healthy 8 lbs. 10 oz. on Monday evening, July 7. His mom and dad, LeeAnn and Bryan Barton, minister to our college students and young singles. LeeAnn also serves as our Campus Connector for Kennesaw Mountain High. Congratulations, Barton family!