What does a Saturday morning, a yummy breakfast, lots of flowers, a fashion show, sweet mothers and their daughters and a look at God’s Word have in common? That’s it…the first annual Pure and Whole Girl’s Conference at Rolling Hills! This past Saturday was a genuine time of worship and celebrating the goodness of God’s relationships with His daughters.  This conference was born as a dream of two moms who desired to have time together with other moms and their daughters. It has been such a neat journey to this point.

Truth. Transparency. Honesty. Realness. These words seem to capture the truth of the message Susan Briggs shared with girls and moms! She challenged moms to fight for their daughters and believe in them, supporting them with truth and grace. The Lord gives moms and daughters such a unique bond and He calls us to love and encourage one another, asking the hard questions and being transparent with our struggles. As she shared God’s story in her life, the beauty of redemption and God’s deep love for us brought light. His presence was real and sweet in this place.

Who doesn’t love a fun fashion show? Sheila Hail and Blush Boutique provided several trendy, adorable and modest outfits and accessories for a few sets of mothers and daughters to model! With fun music and great commentary, the girls were able to see how they can be tasteful, cute and God honoring in their daily dress!

Moms had a chance to have a skype conversation with Judy Williams and ask the hard questions about being moms to daughters! She is a mother to three girls and has many years of experience in loving and challenging them to walk in the ways of the Lord!

While the moms met with Judy, the girls had an opportunity to meet with Katherine Crouse and have an honest time of questions and answers with Maria and Susan! It was neat to see the girls be vulnerable and ask the difficult questions.

With all the prayer and preparation, the Lord was faithful in His presence and His Word at the Girl’s Conference! The stories of what He did on Saturday are being shared and hearts were truly drawn closer to Him. These are exciting and precious moments in the life of girl’s ministry!

-Anna Townsend

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We have some amazing women involved in this day-lets get to know a few of them:

Susan Briggs (speaker) has served in Girls Ministry for as long as she can remember.  She’s currently the Kids Ministry Small Groups Coach and Director of College Girls Ministry at Grace Community Church in her hometown of Clarksville, TN.  She’s had the great joy of doing life with girls of all ages and is thrilled to share with you from God’s Word today.  She loves world travel, Just Dance, sunsets, bubble baths, and her ridiculously good-looking fiancé, Brandon, whom she is marrying in 42 days…not that she’s counting.

Katherine Crouse (speaker) Professionally, I began working as a mental health counselor in a Nashville area public high school in 2004.  It was there that I fell in love with helping others through difficult times in their lives.  I have gained a broad scope of experience counseling with children, adolescents, parents, and adults.  In order to gain more knowledge in my passion I continued my education at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville obtaining my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. I am currently seeking licensure and opened my counseling practice in 2011. 

Personally, I love relationships and consider it an honor from those who allow me to walk beside and counsel them in areas where they are hurting.  Counseling is an incredible opportunity to love others for who they are and where they are in life.  It is a beautiful picture of Christ’s love for us and brings glory to Him one conversation at a time.  

Outside of counseling I enjoy life with my husband (married in 2008) and being an Aunt to my nieces and nephews.  I have been an active member at Rolling Hills Community Church since 2004.  In my free time, I love to be artistic and enjoy sewing and home decorating.  

Judy Williams(speaker)  has been a teacher for over 40 years. As a mathematics professor she has worked in West Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and in Virginia at Tidewater Community College since 1987. During these years, she has also shared Biblical learning with adults, youth, children, and preschoolers. She and her husband, Bob, have spent the past six years with 18 to 30 month olds, and this past September she became a Titus 2 Mom when First Baptist Church Norfolk began its Mom To Mom ministry.                                                                                          

Although Judy has attended church her entire life, she began her personal walk with Jesus as her Savior and Lord in 1972 after participating in a retreat for young married couples, and realizing that many of the other attendees had a peace and joy she was missing.        

She and Bob have been married for 42 years. Through 30-some years of parenthood, the Lord has seen fit to guide them in raising three Godly daughters, Deborah, Elizabeth, and Maria.

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Learn more about the camp we are attending this Summer here http://www2.lifeway.com/fuge/.

And then watch this awesome promotional video http://fuge2013.s3.amazonaws.com/fuge_promo_-_cut_4_1280x720.mp4.

We can’t wait!

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Pure and Whole conference is for moms and daughters. This conference is a great way for moms and daughters to connect and discuss tough issues within our culture. Participants can expect worship, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and more. We couldn’t be more excited about our first Pure and Whole Conference at RHCC. Click here to register.

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We are excited to release our new Student Ministry podcast on Teen Dating. We understand Teen Dating is a sensitive subject matter that cannot be ignored. Our hope and prayer is that we offer some useful tips to help you begin the dialogue with your preteen or teenager in their dating relationships. We take no stance on when you should allow your teen to date, but hopefully these tips will help you engage the subject matter in a healthy way.

You can listen to the podcast by CLICKING HERE.

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Throughout the course of the year our Student Ministry team is putting together a series of podcasts that will help teens and parents tackle todays tough issues with biblical truth and understanding. Our hope is that these podcasts will be another tool that you can add to your spiritual database.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions you can email those to Anika Watkins (watkins.anika@gmail.com), cohost of DOCK Talk, or Chase Baker (chase@rollinghillscommunity.org), Student Pastor.

You can also download our “RHCC Family Ministry” App in the App Store to get all the resources we provide parents and teens.

Click here to view our most recent podcast on Gender Roles.

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Atlanta Mission Trip for Middle School

In Atlanta, our students will be helping with homeless ministries and working with children in trailer parks through an organization called the Path Project that Greystone played a major role in creating. The Path Project is a Christian organization that provides tutoring for under privileged children in trailer parks. Our church is currently doing the Path Project in our local trailer park, Franklin Estates. Under the umbrella of the Path Project and Greystone Church we will be leading bible studies, playing games, leading music and crafts, and potentially tutoring children.

Sign-Up here with a deposit!

Washington D.C. Mission Trip for High School
In D.C., Our students will be helping with Food Pantries, Operation Kindness (Military Ministry), The Clothing Shop, and other ministry areas National Community Church and McLean Bible Church need assistance with.

Sign-Up with a Deposit Here!

X-Fuge Summer Camp 2013-Panama City Beach
Summer Camp is always a great way for student to build relationships with each other, their leaders, and God. Students always have a great experience, we are excited about what God will do in 2012. Cost: $330 If you register with a deposit before December 31, camp cost is $300. If you register before January 31, camp cost is $330.

Sign-Up with a deposit here!

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Very good blog post by one of our adult leaders in Student Ministry. Mitch helps lead worship and teaches 8th grade boys.

When God Moves

There were no fireworks.  No earthquakes.  No explosions.  In fact, there wasn’t anything that you’d consider “powerful” that happened, at least by earthly standards.  And yet, in spite of the lack of a monumental sign or fan-fare, Wednesday night’s youth service was, indeed, powerful.  A true moment in time where the creator of the universe looked down on our backstage area and rested His presence there in our midst.

It’s a true sight to behold when God moves.  There comes a moment in time where the hearts of everyone in the building, no matter where they started, all seem to converge on one spot: the utmost, absolute worship of the God who created us.  People’s faces change; their entire demeanor does, in fact.  Their expressions turn from the strained worries of the week to a peace that is completely thankful, open and willing to take in every atom of the presence surrounding them.  Where guarded personalities once stood, now stand teenagers who care about nothing more than praising God for His wondrous mercies.

I spoke with a few of the students after the service.  Wiping the tear-stricken mascara from her face, one student recollected memories of a time before when she felt God’s presence.  ”I haven’t felt anything like this since Church Camp”, she mentioned.  Church camp, for most students, is the top of the spiritual hill in their lives.  It’s a place where you can escape from the harsh realities of life for one week and be truly attuned to what God has in store.  It’s a place where decisions are made and (more importantly) lives are changed.  It’s a place where students shed their attitudes and cares and dive head-first into God’s goodness.

How fantastic, then, is it that God doesn’t limit himself to revivals or church camps.  How wondrous is it that we – ordinary people – can, on a random Wednesday night in November, experience God moving in a way that we typically only feel once or twice a year. Seeing students worship without inhibition is one of the most powerful sights I personally could witness.

So, to any students reading this: remember last night.  Don’t try to stay in that specific moment, but instead know that God does not limit himself to a week in July to show Himself.  God can move at any point – all we have to do is be ready and waiting to accept His spirit.  And always be thankful; because, without Christ, where would we be?

Mitch Canter

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

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Do you ever feel the pressure of an overloaded schedule? As a Student Pastor the one thing I see families struggle with is managing a busy schedule with work, school, sports, band, and church activities. How are you managing? Do you feel overwhelmed with all the hustle that life has to offer?

Could a greater question be, out of all the activities how would you prioritize each category? The answer to this single question could transform how much time you choose to spend in each category, or how much time you choose to allow your teen to spend in each category.

I love seeing students making church a high priority, but that is not what I want most from our students. I would rather them make Jesus a priority in all that they do. No, I don’t want our students to miss church activities, because as believers the Church is the body of Christ, which is the hope of the world. But until we see that Christ is the reason by which we gather, we have missed the purpose of the Church.

Jesus did not budge on priorities. In fact He was pretty stern, “Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.”(Luke 14:26 TEV)

Jesus does not share our affection for Him with anyone else, not even our families. This can be interpreted as ruthless and callous, but Jesus is looking at the eternity. He wants to prepare us to be with Him forever in heaven, and to make Himself known to the world.  He wants us to re-center our lives into His image. Jesus is not saying we can’t have other priorities, He is asking if He is our highest priority.

The moment you feel pressure from an outrageously busy schedule ask yourself, “who has the highest priority in my life and my family’s life?” The answer may cause you to make some tough decisions that will ultimately be the best thing for you and your family. Know that this is a good struggle to have. Any time you can be honest and ask the tough questions your faith is deepened and your teens notice.

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Disciple-Now is an amazing time for students to grow closer to the Lord through times of worship, bible study, and mission projects. D-Now is October 12th-14th for students 6th-12th grade.  They will be spending the night in homes of Rolling Hills Community Church partners.  Each home will have a group of students in the same grade & gender. Throughout the weekend students will be challenged on how to live a missional life like Jesus.  Speaker Justin Lett, Pastor of Eden Gate, will inspire & encourage students to love on those God loves locally, nationally, and internationally. D-Now will be filled with times of worship and bible study, as well as participating in Feed My Starving Children & other missional activities in the Nashville/Franklin area. Sign-Up clicking on the link before, cost is $50 for the weekend. If you sign-up by September 30th, the cost is $30. On October 12, you will need to be dropped off at 3108 Old Murfreesboro Road / Triune, Tennessee @ 7pm. This is about 20 minutes outside of Franklin.  We will begin our weekend with a bon fire, games, and an introduction from Justin Lett. If you can’t make it until later, that’s ok. Just contact Maria Williams below. Our leaders will make sure you have a ride all weekend. Pick-up will be October 14th at 12pm at the church. Register Here!

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