Not Ashamed Connection 2012!

Not Ashamed!


Whew! All I can say is wow! This weekend was such a blessing! I know many of you felt the same way! I was blown away by what the Lord said to us through Leigh Gray and our time of worship with Cindy Johnson was so refreshing. I peeked my head into conferences and heard wonderful things from conference leaders, Kent and Shawnah, Jessica, Sarah, Jen and Jeff and Rachel! I am blessed to call each of these leaders friend!

I hope many of you took advantage of the Human Trafficking experience. It was eye opening to many and a reminder to others of the injustice in the world. Listen to a few excerpts from prayers lifted up this weekend for those involved in modern day slavery: "Dear Lord, I just come to you right now to end this human trafficking in our corrupt world"; thank you for looking after me, but can you help out the slaves, im okay for now...just help them"; I pray that you protect their hearts from emotional damage and put people in their lives that will show your love to them.

I am so excited about what God has in store for our partnership with Sweet Sleep! I know many of your hearts were opened to being a part of this ministry and I look forward to seeing many of you on the 2013 trip! For more information on the trip click here: Sweet Sleep and TN Acteens

Many of you have already shared how God spoke to you during the weekend. If you have not already shared your story with me, I would love to hear from you.

Mark your calendar now for March 15-17, 2013 where we will gather once again in Gatlinburg. Be sure to bring a friend!

This morning Leigh recorded a special message to her new friends! Leigh's Blog Check it out! 

Thank you for being at Connection, remember to live NOT Ashamed! To God Be the Glory!

What was your favorite part?

Connection 2012!

We are just days away from the start of Connection 2012!  I am so excited about what God will be doing in the lives of the teens, leaders, and other adult ladies that are attending our event this weekend!  As I have been praying I have been asking God to reveal to all of us ways we can live out our faith boldly, confidently, and not ashamed!  Leigh Gray has been working hard on the messages God has laid on her heart, she will challenge the girls in many ways!  Cindy Johnson and her band have such a heart to see others worship and grow in their love for the Father!  She will no doubt be a highlight of our event this weekend! 

Our 2011-2012 State Panelist have been working on several elements that I know everyone will enjoy!  Watch for boxes of chocolate, the Blues Brothers, pink shirts, crazy excitement, and a surprise video on Sunday morning!  If you see them around the building this weekend, give them a pat on the back and thank them for the hard work they have put into this year!  They have been a fabulous group of girls to work with! We are now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 Panel so if you are an active Acteen we encourage you to apply!  Leaders if you have an outstanding girl you think would be a great addition to our panel encourage them to apply as well!

This year we are again taking up an offering to support our TN WMU Missionary House that will be built in Mt Juliet, TN.  Over the last couple of years girls and leaders attending Connection have contributed $1,895 to the house, put that with other gifts and we are around the $100,000 mark!  This year we are trying to push the envelop and raise some major dough!  I will be challenging the girls on Saturday to give together $2,000! Its a big task but I know they can do it! :)

A cant miss experience this year will be the human exploitation simulation, Trafficked!  This is seriously a like changing event, as you walk through the shoes of others, experiencing what has lead to entrapment and slavery for some and experience how some have found freedom through the actions of others and see how we can play a role in helping others find freedom!

Well if you are at Connection come by and say hello!  Check our fantastic exhibitors and ministry partners in the MEGAfair and run up and down the streets of Gatlinburg with GLEE! Thats the first thing Im going to do when I get there!!

To learn more about the weekend visit: Missions Get-Together/Connection
To learn more about Cindy Johnson visit: http://www.cindyjohnson.org
To learn more about Leigh Gray visit: http://www.speakingthrume.com/

Sometimes We Forget

Sometimes we forget: special dates, important facts, and even where we are going from time to time!  I was listening to the radio a few days ago and the DJs were talking about a recent study of the mind.  In the study the researchers found the part of the brain that holds short term memory is very small, so small that we can only hold 7 short term facts at a time!  This explains a lot!  I am sure for you as well!  It amazes me the things that can slip from my mind each day!  They went on to talk about how important it is to take those important “we must not forget” things and store them in our long term memory!  I got to thinking about all that is stored in my long term memory, the song lyrics, the memories, the Biblical truths I have learned throughout the years, the people I cherish!  So much I hope to hold on to for the rest of my life, and some well, that probably should have slipped out long ago! Who really needs to know the lyrics to Achy Breaky Heart!

It’s hard to believe but sometimes we even forget the purpose God has given each of us as Christians!  As we are reminded in Matthew 28: 19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”   Ingrained in every aspect of our lives should flow our desire to glorify the Lord through serving others! This is what we call missions!  This is what we should call life!  Each day we should wake up and think how I can share the love of Christ with the lost world today.  It’s a challenge.  Life happens every day, we don’t live in a place or time where we have the luxury to sit for hours and contemplate how we can change the world!  We must get up and at it and change the world in the process!  What we do have is the blessing of the Holy Spirit working among us, preparing the way for His children to be the mouth piece for the gospel.  Let’s train and encourage ourselves to look for places the Holy Spirit is working and jump right in!  It doesn’t have to be moving to Africa, it doesn’t have to be an outreach event that reaches 15,000; it just has to be following the commands of God to share our lives with others in a way that points to Him! 

Congratulations to Alyssa Hargrove from Culleoka, TN for being selected as a 2012 National Acteens Panelist!

5 Reasons Not to Miss Connection 2012!

Looking for a great opportunity for your teen girls, check out Connection this spring! Connection is a missions conference for girls in grades 7th through 12th held in Gatlinburg each year. Girls will experience a weekend of worship, fellowship, conferences and much more! The theme this year is Not Ashamed and girls will learn how to live their faith boldly, sharing the love of Christ with others! Still not convinced, here are 5 reasons your girls shouldn’t miss Connection 2012:

1. Fellowship! Not only will girls bond with the group they come with but will have many opportunities to meet girls from around the state. There is something amazing about fellowshipping and worshipping with hundreds of other girls that blossoms friendships!

2. Missions! This is the heartbeat of Connection. Ingrained in every aspect flows our desire to glorify the Lord through serving others!

3. Conferences! Girls have 7 opportunities to hear from missionaries as well as other missions leaders who will teach the girls how they can be more missional.

4. Other teens recommend it!

            “I always enjoy Connection and learning something new each time! It helps me to listen to what God is saying to me.”  Lydia Huggins, Junior, Erwin, TN


            “I always am encouraged by the older girls and women who lead the conferences. They're all so on fire for the Lord and that just makes me wanna be on fire too!” Alyssa Hargrove, Senior, Culleoka, TN


            “I loved Connection because of the worship, conferences, and learning about ministries like Sweet Sleep! Alison Ferguson, 8th grader, Bon Aqua, TN  

5. Fun, fun, fun! Although the missional worship, fellowship, and learning are the coolest part of Connection, the truth is it’s a lot of fun! Don’t believe us, check it out yourselves!!

“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…” 2 Timothy 1:8

Tell us what you have learned by participating in a mission trip?

by Brooke Cole
2011-2012 Acteens State Panelist

           Over the summer, I chose to serve as a summer missionary with the North American Mission Board. I was chosen to serve on the Maryland/Delaware State Traveling Team. Maryland was not my first choice for several reasons. I wanted to serve at a church near my home so that I could visit my parents and friends on the weekends. When I first found out that I was going to Maryland, I was a bit disappointed (in fact, I think I cried). Two months was a really long time to be gone, and I wasn’t even sure where Maryland was! I seriously considered not going on the trip. I was scared. After a lot of thought and prayer, I decided that God chose me for this trip for a reason and that I was going to trust Him every step of the way.

            When the morning came for me to leave, we packed up the car with my two duffel bags that I would be surviving with for two months. Saying good-bye to my parents was no easy task, but I managed. Then I waited all alone for my flight. I was going into uncharted territory, trusting people I had never even met and going places I had never been. I’m a country girl and I was about to enter a very big city. I was the first of my teammates to land in Baltimore. When we had all met one another, I kept thinking that it was going to be a very long summer. Imagine four young women who had never even met spending every moment of their lives together for the next two months. It was a daunting thought. But we survived. We became a family. God has a reason for everything, even if you don’t see the big picture. It is not always easy to put your trust in Him, but I promise, it’s worth it!

Tell us what makes Acteens different from other things in your life church?

by Miko Bloom
  2011-2012 Acteens State Panelists

Acteens is one of the few Youth activites at my church.  Acteens is a place where girls work on projects and take lead of other mission projects.  Acteens is so different because how many places do you know of where teenage girls are put in charge of putting projects together?  Not very many.  When most people see a group of girls working together they usually think they are causing trouble, but at Acteens they are just trying to make the place we live a better place.  Acteens is so differnt in so many ways. Girls working with other girls to build friendships, worship, and service for others. These things can really make a change in our souroundings and the people we encounter everyday.

Tell us what you have learned on Acteens Activator’s Trip

by Alyssa Hargrove

2011-2012 Acteens State Panelists

Last summer I had the opportunity to go to Naples, Italy on a mission trip, along with 59 other people from Tennessee, to share the gospel to the people there. That mission trip really opened my eyes to many different things and changed my heart forever.

Naples is a very large and packed city with four million people in the city. Only a small percentage is Christians, while most people are Catholic. Most of the people are Catholic because of their ancestors, not necessarily because they want to be. It’s just as if that’s the common thing to be there. The families there are so close that when one becomes a Christian they almost get disowned from their families. Unlike us, where most people would be excited for us. This really opened my eyes because I’m very close to my family. I would be sad to think my own family would disown me for making the best decision of my life.

When in Italy my only fear was the language barrier. I knew very little Italian. I almost felt weak. How can God use me to witness to these people? God really did prove me wrong! Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we understood one another in some way! And even if we never understood each other, I know the Italians saw Jesus’ love through us.

I learned that God can use me! I just have to be willing to let Him use me.

Connection 2012

We are well on our way planning for Connection 2012!  I look forward to what God will do in each girls life that attends!  If you have never been before this is the year to start!  Leigh Gray will share with us from her heart during Bible Study and Cindy Johnson will lead us in song!  They are both fantastic women of God that will have tranformational things to say! 

Conferences this year are coming together and back by popular demand are leaders like Sarah Valley, who will be taking on a new role as a conference leader, and Jeff and Rachel Henry, and the fabulous Shingletons!  We are expecting great missionary speakers to share with us their experiences from around the world!

Again this year we have the great opportunity to be a part of offering at Connection for the TN WMU to build a missionary house.  Missionary houses are used by career missionaries that are state side in the US! 

Now that you are convinced you have to be there, here is a link to register!!  (or you can just read more information that will help convince you)

Connection Registration and Information

Pictures from last year:

What the TN WMU Acteens Scholarship 2011-2012 Recepient...

 ...has to say about how this scholarship impacted her new college career:

For every high school senior the main priority is figuring out where you want to go to college. Luckily for me, I had known that I wanted to go to Union University for years and I felt that was where Christ wanted me to go, as well! So, after I received my acceptance letter my main priority changed to figuring a way financially for me to attend Union. I am very fortunate enough to have parents that have always been there to support me and help me as much as they can. Yet, I didn’t want my family to have to pay for my entire college education. So in order for me to financially afford college I turned to scholarships! I filled out one scholarship after another and I prayed every night that those scholarships would be enough! Then a day or two after returning from Connection in Gatlinburg, I was starting to contemplate on whether I should find a cheaper college because I wasn’t sure if the scholarships I had received were going to be enough. But then I got a call from my Acteens leaders and she said, “Sara! You got the Acteens Scholarship!” “Thank you, God!” was all I could say after that phone call. Luckily, after I received the Acteens scholarship several more came filing in. God had answered my prayers; He just wanted me to be patient.

Once September rolled around, I was thankful to say that I was a freshman at Union University. Union is a fantastic college and I encourage people all the time to come here. Union has so many opportunities for college students and there are so many charming people. Two of which are my roommates, Rachel Hudspeth (who I met through being a panelist) and Paige Eubanks. These two young ladies are two of the nicest, funniest, polite, and Christ-like people I have ever had the chance to meet. They have truly helped make my first semester an awesome one.  I feel that God has a reason for me to attend Union, and that would be for me to gain a closer relationship with Him. Since I am a Biology (Pre-Med) major, I would love to one day go into medical missions and I feel that Union is a great place for me to learn how to do that. I am so thankfully that God allowed me to find a way to go to Union and hopefully He will find ways for many other high school students to attend, as well.

Sara Gatlin, 2011-2012 TN WMU Acteens Scholarship Recepient