Mission Trips: Re-Entry

by | Jul 31, 2014 | Orange Strategy

Re-entry, or Mission Trip blues… anyone who has done a short term mission trip has probably experienced these. I remember back a few years ago going on a short term mission trip to Venezuela, to help with the “Jonas Project” which is a home for troubled boys. We did a lot of work there that proved to be challenging both physically and mentally. I remember at the time, leaving “The Farm” and going back to work, with these feelings and emotions that were extremely heightened and magnified just... Read More
Starting from Scratch

Starting from Scratch

by | Jul 29, 2014 | XP3 Spotlight

by David Hibiske Starting something from scratch can be fun and exciting, yet challenging and at times overwhelming. If you find yourself in a place where you are able to build a family ministry from the ground up, get ready for an awesome adventure! We knew from the beginning of our church launch in February 2009 that we wanted to shape our family ministry to partner with parents, but we weren’t sure what exactly that would look like until we started incorporating the Orange Strategy. The... Read More
Shadowland: A Response to Tragedy

Shadowland: A Response to Tragedy

by | Jul 24, 2014 | XP3 Spotlight

One of our featured series for the month of July is the series titled:  Shadowland. What do we do if we learn about a tragedy or experience a tragedy firsthand?  This is obviously not fun and at times can feel like we are walking through a shadowland —where nothing seems quite right and there are more questions than answers.  What do we say? What do we do? What happens next? And, how long will it take? At some point, all of our student ministries we face a shadowland. When a crisis or tragedy... Read More
Teenage Narcissism Out of Control?

Teenage Narcissism Out of Control?

by | Jul 10, 2014 | Advice from Orange Specialists

Studies show there has been a 30% increase (in the last 30 years) in teenage narcissism. More kids today think they are more awesome than everyone else. Many teens struggle with narcissism because they are constantly faced with social media, reality tv and technology that tells them they are stars and entitled to do and say whatever they want. Children aged 9 to 11 now hold “fame” as their No. 1 value.  Fame ranked in 15th in 1997.  – Journal of Psychology Research on... Read More
Through Five Filters

Through Five Filters

by | Jul 9, 2014 | Advice from Orange Specialists

XP3 Students is a comprehensive curriculum designed to fuel three relationships—God, self and others. When we write a series, we write while looking through these five filters: Grow Spiritually Connect Relationally Serve Actively Examine Biblically Decide personally. So why are we mentioning all of this? It’s simple: You need a plan… you need a strategy… you need tools to implement that plan and strategy… and you need them to fit YOU. So when looking through our series, you’ll notice the... Read More

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