At CIY, we are committed to calling students to Kingdom work.  So far this summer, MOVE has held ten conferences and seen thousands of teens stand up and commit to becoming Kingdom Workers!  All students receive a card on the last day of the event that has a “Kingdom Worker Challenge” inside.  Throughout the year, these students will do remarkable things.  With the help that comes only from the Lord, they will accomplish tasks that they never thought they could do.  For example, last year we heard about students raising $5,000 for Active Water by organizing a 5k race.  There were also several students across the country that raised money to feed 500 families a Thanksgiving Dinner!

This summer we have seen some of the fruits of last year’s Kingdom Worker Challenges, through students that raised money to provide scholarships for other students and unchurched friends to come to Move.  Please pray for all the students attending MOVE this summer as they continue to stand up and commit to Kingdom work.  They can and will make a difference in the world.

If you are interested in learning more about CIY or Move, please visit www.ciy.com.

We’re in the middle of our third week out for Move!  I’m in Holland, Michigan for our second MI event.  We are blessed to have almost 2,000 students and youth leaders here!  God really is doing “Something Bigger!”

Today’s theme was based on Josiah.  The whole day has been dedicated to encouraging students to read the Word.  During tonight’s sermon, the speaker asked the audience what God’s Word has to say about different issues that teenagers often struggle with.  Students and leaders  stood up and answered him back!  And not just a few students, a lot of students! We had students shouting out scripture verses all over the auditorium!  What an amazing testimony to the Holy Spirit working in our teens!

This week we also have Move events in Colorado, Florida, and Tennessee.  It is amazing to think about the thousands of students across the country who are diving into God’s Word today.  Please pray for these students as they talk with their youth leaders about struggles they have right now.  Please pray that God’s Word will stand out and speak to each individual person and that they would be called to not only grow closer to God while at Move, but also when they get back home and back into their normal routines.

If you’re interested in providing support for Move, please click here.

Eryn

Hey Friends!

So, we are about 124 days away from our first MOVE event of 2011 and I am getting more and more excited as the days go by! Of course, we still have quite a bit left to do but any kind of anxiety that those things cause is quickly overshadowed by everything that a CIY summer brings about! This year’s theme is “Something Bigger” and I would be a fool not to believe that God is going to do just that! After reading about, hearing about, seeing, and even experiencing the KINGDOM WORK that is taking place all over, I totally believe that God has some BIG plans in store for 2011!

As we continue to gear up for MOVE there is an opportunity that I want to fill you guys in on.  I’m sure that some of you are in the process of fundraising for MOVE right now and you may even be looking for some creative ways to do that, let me throw out an idea… In the MOVE online store we have a couple of deals that people have been taking advantage of to help out with raising funds for MOVE 2011.  The first is a T-shirt pack-this consists of 20, 2009 MOVE T-shirts in assorted sizes for $40- that’s only $2 per shirt!  The second is a water bottle bundle-this consists of 10 Active Water, water bottles for $35.  The idea behind these deals is this: you can buy these items at a discounted price and then sell them at your church, school or anywhere else in order to raise money to come to MOVE-pretty simple huh?  Supplies are going quick, so stop by the MOVE online store (http://secure.ciy.com/store/s-4-move.aspx) to get your fundraising gear soon!

I hope that this semester is going great for everyone and I CANNOT wait to hang out with you guys at MOVE this coming summer!

Peace and Blessings!

Rachel

P.S. Don’t forget to stop by our facebook page to check out the new Dieter Luzadder video and be a part of our Valentine’s day contest! We want to hear your worst Valentine’s story in 40 words or less! You have until February 27 to post your story and the winner will be announced on February 28!

Worship at CIY MOVE-IL1

MOVE has a long history of hosting events on Southern Illinois University’s campus in Carbondale, Illinois. This past summer, I had the opportunity to spend three weeks with SIU and the many students that attended. It was a fantastic experience where lives were changed and many memories were formed. SIU has a lot to offer. If you are looking for great food options like fresh fruit smoothies, Chick-fil-A sandwiches, Starbucks coffee, Dippin’ Dots ice cream and more then consider SIU. If you are looking for fun recreation options with an Olympic-size pool, rock climbing wall, badminton and racquetball courts then consider SIU. The unique auditorium and friendly campus staff creates an atmosphere that students love. The options are endless for groups that choose to attend MOVE in Carbondale, IL. You’ll be sure to end the week tired, full and excited for what the future holds.

We hope to see you at SIU in 2011!

Angela Zirkelbach
Program Coordinator

This past summer MOVE had it’s first week at the Winderemere Conferece Center, and what a great experience it was. This will quickly become one of my favorite locations because of the experience I had at MOVE 2010. It was an all around great time. Multiple food options each day, an ice cream parlor were probably among my favorites. The premiere attraction though was the wonderful Lake of the Ozarks. With a dozen inflatables on the water it’s hard to complain. Tired of playing on the BLOB then take a nice ride in one of their many kayaks or paddle boats. You could even bring your boat and park in one of their boat slips for the week.

It’s hard to complain about the lake life while at Windermere. The top notch facilities and great staff will make your week at MOVE 2011 your best yet.

Ben Platt
Program Coordinator

This past summer I was able to spend multiple weeks on the campus of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado for MOVE events. It was an incredible experience and Durango is definitely one of my favorite locations. Numerous times I was asked the question, “Why would a church enjoy bringing their students to Durango for that experience?” so here are a few reasons why you should bring your students to Fort Lewis for MOVE:
- The campus is great! When it comes to quality facilities, a campus where all the building are close to each other, and a secluded campus – Fort Lewis is the place to be. You can go rock climbing (for free) during recreation time, and their recreation facility is also incredible.
- There are some great extended recreation options. Many churches will either go rafting down the river in town (our staff did this one day – we went and got inner tubes and floated the river for a few hours), or they will go down to the city of Durango and hang out – it is one cool downtown.
- It is the perfect location to come a day early to get ready for the week. There probably were a quarter of the churches that arrived a day early to do different activities to get ready for the week. The Fort Lewis staff is amazing to work with and they love to have MOVE students on their campus!
Come and enjoy Fort Lewis College at MOVE 2011!

Chase Allcott

MOVE Director

Fort Lewis College is nestled directly next to the mountians

Water is scarce. For millions of people in Africa, clean water simply isn’t available to them. It may be below shallow ground cover, but they lack the technology to access it. Or it may be fresh spring fed water, but it’s owned by major corporations that bottle the water for a profit in other countries. The truth is: water is a luxury item most people simply cannot afford.
The average American individual uses 100-176 gallons of water per day, while the average African family uses about 5 gallons per day. (World resources Institute)
Our team made a commitment this summer to do something about the water crisis-not just talk about the water crisis. We started practically by changing the way we drink water at MOVE. We believe making better water choices here will help us make better water choices on a global scale. No one working with MOVE this summer, from the bands to the event staff, will drink bottled water. We believe that buying water bottles that you throw away are just as bad for you as they are for the environment. The truth is that sanitation regulations are stricter in tap water than in Aquafina. That means the water you buy at the convenience store for $2 could be dirtier than the stuff that comes out of your kitchen sink.
The switch is good for us and for the environment. Over the course of the summer, MOVE reduced waste by 3,500 empty plastic bottles. That’s a big step in solving this crisis. We’d like to invite you to join us in refusing to buy bottled water. It won’t change the world, but it’s a start.
The MOVE Team

Hello everyone!

What an amazing summer. After all of the boxes were unloaded, truck doors were closed, and the event staff had driven away; we were able to take a step back and look at the summer as a whole. God moved in miraculous ways.

20,340 people attended MOVE 2010, with over 2800 vocational decisions made throughout the summer. What a blessing! We praise God for what He did, and we remain thankful to Him to be used an instrument for His glory.

As some of you may know, MOVE did something new this summer: the MOVE Record Board. Groups and events were battling it out for first place in every category. Here are the MOVE teams favorites:
1. Most people to draw a sharpie mustache on their face: 417 people (IL1)
2. Largest electric slide while in the cafeteria: 352 people (MI2)
3. Largest human pyramid: 39 people (OR)
4. Biggest wad of used chewing gum: 11 1/2 inches in diameter (MI3)
5. Largest collection of mohawks: 31 people (TN5)

Finally we wanted to give everyone a heads up that our 2011 dates and locations will be released VERY soon! Keep checking up on our website (www.ciy.com/move) for information about our MOVE events that we hope to see you at next year.

Sincerely,
MOVE Team

Two MOVE events have already happened (IN and TN1), four MOVE events are going on as I write this (CO/NV/MI1/TN2), and there are 15 more MOVE events to go.

I sit in my chair back at the MOVE headquarters (also known as Christ In Youth Inc.) and I think about how it takes an entire year to plan just a few months of the MOVE tour.  There is always a feeling of…”Is this going to work?” right before we leave.  From registration policies, all the way to lighting rigs and projectors, there is always some dust to brush off and things to get ready to go for the summer.  Yet God always, let me say that again for impact, He always comes through despite how much or how little we have prepared.

This summer is already off to an awesome start. We have been blessed with a very capable summer staff.  We have been blessed by youth ministers having patience with us during crazy registration days.  We have been blessed to partner with Active:Water, an organization that is trying to tackle the world’s water crisis.  We are simply blessed.  God continues to move behind the scenes, He continues to  grant us grace.  That’s what is awesome about our God:  that His love is unconditional, it knows no bounds.  We can read about this and be encouraged in 1 Timothy.  Paul experienced this firsthand in the early part of his life.  His story reminds us that no matter how far off base we’ve gotten with God, His love is sufficient.  No matter how big of a sinner you think you are, God’s grace can reach the worst.  No matter how well you plan a MOVE event, people will see God is way bigger and way better than any week at MOVE.

Dust is always going to accumulate.  We just need to remember that Christ can wash us clean.  He can shake the dust off, he can make us new.

This past weekend a group of us participated in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon (See picture).  What was even cooler is that we all raised money for Active Water.  Some of you may not know what Active Water is all about, so let me give you a quick synopsis:  it’s a nonprofit organization that uses the athletic lifestyle and grassroots campaigns to bring clean water and sanitation projects to needed communities throughout the globe. 

This year, MOVE is mobilizing students to take part in the global water crisis.  A portion of our offering collected in 2010 will go to drill five new wells in poverty-stricken communities in Zambia.  Together, we won’t just give water to the people of Zambia, we will also give them hope. 

So the question we had to ask ourselves as a staff was this:  If we are going to challenge students to help raise awareness for this cause, shouldn’t we do the same…? 

The answer was glaring our staff in the face:  We couldn’t just sit back in our offices and challenge students to go make a difference; we wanted to participate alongside them.  Then, believe it or not, more and more of the Christ In Youth Staff joined on.  One of MOVE’s program administrators (Eric Epperson) decided to run a full marathon.  Two other MOVE staffers decided to run the half marathon.  By the time the race came about, we had multiple relay teams and 5K walkers and racers. 

The humbling part about the entire race was a group of people coming together for one cause.  Everybody has been there…whether it’s on a sports team, planning committee, church function, etc.  Yet this crew that ran in this race wasn’t getting together for kicks and giggles.  Christ had brought us together to help impact His Kingdom through running.  That was all.  We all need to come together for one cause, and that’s God’s Kingdom. 

Thank you for your prayers and support.  Thank you for reading this short summary of a weekend that will hopefully impact people around the globe long after this post is lost in cyberspace.  If Christ is compelling you to help, one way to do that is to support Christ In Youth.  Any support is welcome, and any support is appreciated.