stand True Pro-life Outreach: End of Year / March for Life DC and Walk for Life West Coast Schedule

Stand True End of Year / March for Life DC and Walk for Life West Coast Schedule

Dear Stand True Family;

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and wish you a happy New Year. We want to thank you for all the support and prayer this year, it means so much to us and our work. This is your last chance to give an end of year donation to help Stand True educate, activate and equip this generation to end abortion.

We need your help TODAY! Please donate $25, $50, $100, $500 and help Stand True continue to educate, activate and equip this generation. If you can donate please do so at https://give.cornerstone.cc/Stand+True or on the donate button at standtrue.com

Donations can also be mailed to Stand True – PO Box 890 – Troy, OH 45373 or call 937-570-0671 to donate by phone.

March for Life East Coast January 21-23

On Thursday, January 21st, Stand True will be co-hosting a giant prayer vigil in front of the new Planned Parenthood mega center being built in Washington DC at 1225 4th St NE starting at 9:00 AM. This will take place as part of a large coalition of pro-life organizations and will end with a #ProtestPP event right afterwards.

Every Year Stand True hosts the official March for Life Youth Rally as part of the March for Life in Washington, DC. This year's event will be held on Thursday, January 21st 2-5 PM at the Renaissance Hotel, 9th St NW.

2016 March for Life Youth Rally Line Up

1:30 Doors open with praise band playing

2:00 Opening Prayer – Father Stephen Imbarrato

2:05 Welcome and opening remarks – Bryan Kemper and Jeanne Mancini

2:15 Politics and the Pro-life Movement – Billy Valentine, Tom McClusky and Father Frank Pavone

2:35 Regret and aftermath from Planned Parenthood Abortions – Testimonies Silent No More

2:55 Men’s voices in the pro-life movement Ryan Bomberger, Matt Lockett and Kevin Burke

3:15 Music by Abby McIntyre, Katie Burke and Jerod Lacey. Also Appearing, Shawn Welcome

3:30 Pro-life on Campus – Kristan Hawkins, RJ McVeigh and Beth Rahal

3:50 Key Note – David Bereit

4:10 Pro-life Activism Street, Online and Undercover – Eric Schiedler, Bryan Kemper and Lila Rose

4:30 Closing Prayer – Rev Pat Mahoney

More Info e-mail bkemper@standtrue.com

Stand True will also have booths at:

The March for Life Convention - Jan 21-22

Geaux Forth Rally - Jan 21

SFAL Conference East Coast- Jan 23

We are also excited to be cosponsoring the first annual West Coast Walk for Life Youth Rally with Students for Life of America

Date: Saturday, January 23, 2016
Location: St. Mary’s Cathedral 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA
Time: 5pm – 6:30pm Youth Rally, 7pm – 9pm Voiceless the Movie

Taylor Stearns, 2014 American Idol Hollywood Week Contestant, will welcome you into this pro-life party with awesome music! Then expect to be encouraged by pro-life leaders as we move to abolish abortion in our lifetime!

Speakers Include:
Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
Bryan Kemper, Stand True
Kristina Garza, The Vida Initiative
Eva Munson, West Coast Walk for Life
Missy Stone, Students for Life
Timmerie Millington, Life Choices
David Bereit, 40 Days for Life
My Saint My Hero

Thanks to Movie to Movement you can stay after the rally for a special screening of the not-yet-released movie, Voiceless. Be encouraged as one man puts it all on the line to stand for Life at an abortion clinic that moved in across the street from his building. Seating for the screening is limited so please be sure to RSVP to guarantee tickets for the screening.

RSVP Here: https://sfla.webconnex.com/2016WCYouthRally

Stand True will have booths at:

Walk for Life - Jan 23

Walk for Life Youth Rally Jan 23

SFLA Conference West Coast Jan 24

Stand True Pro-life Outreach’s mission is to Educate, Activate and Equip this generation to be the generation that will abolish abortion.

Last chance for an End of Year Donation:

We need your help TODAY! Please donate $25, $50, $100, $500 and help Stand True continue to educate, activate and equip this generation. If you can donate please do so at https://give.cornerstone.cc/Stand+True or on the donate button at standtrue.com

Donations can also be mailed to Stand True – PO Box 890 – Troy, OH 45373 or call 937-570-0671 to donate by phone.

bkemper@standtrue.com
http://www.facebook.com/iambryankemper
http://www.facebook.com/standtrueforlife
http://www.standtrue.com

Dealing With Your Differences: Make it Safe to Connect

By Scott Stanley

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Part of the Dealing With Your Differences Series

1. Dealing With Your Differences: Decide, Don't Slide
2. Dealing With Your Differences: Do Your Part
3. Dealing With Your Differences: Make it Safe to Connect

Series About:

Communication and Conflict

The Genesis phrase "naked and not ashamed" conveys the deepest desire of the heart: to be loved and accepted for who one is, warts and all. "Safe" refers to how you talk to one another and the emotional tone you cultivate when together.
One of the clearest findings in research on marriage is that the ways couples handle conflict are strongly related to how they will do in the future. Because conflicts are a common and expected part of relationships, many couples think that it's their differences that cause the greatest problems in their marriage. Strong differences in backgrounds and viewpoints do make conflicts more likely. But more than 30 years of research tell us that success in marriage is about how partners handle the differences they have, and not just the nature of the differences they have. Differences can be part of what draws two people together and also part of what makes it difficult for them to get along once they are together. Some differences can be especially tricky to handle well. Whatever your differences, the part you have the most control over is how you keep your marriage emotionally safe.
In addition to the three keys, here are two ground rules that can help you enact the three keys when it comes to protecting your marriage from conflict.
Ground rule 1: When conflict is escalating, we will call a "time out" and either try to continue to talk more constructively or agree to talk later, after things have calmed down.

This one simple rule can protect relationships. Why? Because, as Solomon wrote, "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back" (Proverbs 29:11). Scripture clearly teaches that escalating and venting at one another are foolish and harmful. Furthermore, research on marital health, mental health and physiological health simply does not support the idea that "letting it all hang out" is healthy. In fact, careless venting is deadly for your relationship.
Ground rule 2: We will make time for the blessings of marriage: fun, friendship, physical connection and spiritual connection. We will agree to protect these times from conflict and the need to deal with issues.
You can't be focusing on issues all the time and have a really happy and connected marriage. You need nurturing and safe times for relaxing — having fun, talking as friends, making love — times in which conflict and problems are always off-limits.
There are two points embedded in this ground rule. First, set aside time for these positive activities together. You have to do this very intentionally. For most couples, letting this slide means you will have fewer positive experiences in your marriage. Second, when you are alone together for the purpose of enjoying your relationship, agree never to use that time to bring up issues. And if an issue does come up, agree to table it for a later time. Schedule a special meeting to focus on an important issue later, but don't let problems intrude on the times you've set aside to enjoy one another.
Excerpted from A Lasting Promise: The Christian Guide to Fighting for Your Marriage by Scott Stanley, Daniel Trathen, Savanna McCain and Milt Bryan, Copyright © 2014 by Christian PREP, Inc. Used with permission from the publisher, Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

From Focus on the Family website at FocusOnTheFamily.com. ©2014 by Christian PREP, Inc. Used with permission from the publisher, Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

Spread the Word: Bring Your Bible to School

By TF Edwords

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Article About:

Spiritual Growth for Kids

Brytney admits that she was pretty nervous about the whole thing. What would her fellow students say? How would they treat her? More important, what would the teachers do?
After all, Brytney is the kind of student who pushes herself academically; the kind of student who doesn't want any C's — much less any disciplinary issues. Would bringing her Bible to school make a positive impact, or would it only lead to trouble?
The 14-year-old from Oregon first learned about Bring Your Bible to School Day when a youth leader at church showed her an event flyer. Brytney was concerned about the potential consequences of participating, but she was also excited. Her youth leader told Brytney she had every right to carry her Bible, and the teenager took a picture of the announcement with her phone.
The day of the event, during her fourth-period class, Brytney and her fellow students finished their work early, which meant they had some free time. Brytney got out her Bible and started reading. That's when a teacher took notice.
"What is that?" he asked.
"It's my Bible."
"You are not allowed to have that at school. . . . It's talking about God."
"Actually," said Brytney, "it's Bring Your Bible to School Day."
That's when she pulled out her phone and showed the teacher her photo of the flyer. Apparently it did the trick.
The teacher went on his way, and Brytney kept on reading.
Bring Your Bible to School Day gave Brytney the opportunity to exercise her religious rights and the courage to express her faith at her public school.

One boy

The first Bring Your Bible to School Day took place Oct. 16, 2014. The annual nationwide event, sponsored by Focus on the Family, encourages students to take their Bibles to school as a way to celebrate their religious freedom and share God's hope and love with their peers.
When Carson's parents showed him the email from Focus on the Family, the 10-year-old from Indiana got right to work. First, Carson and his younger brother, Sam, handed out cards at school to promote the event. Then they made special "Bring Your Bible" T-shirts to wear that day. Their efforts paid off when about 10 kids at Carson's school decided to join in.
"One boy didn't have a Bible," says the boys' mother, Cara, "so Carson gave him one, and he shared another with a friend who has been reading it during free reading every day since then."

Carson says his classmate was eager to have a Bible but didn't have the money to get one for himself. For Carson, the answer was easy.
"When I first told him I was going to give him a Bible, he was excited and happy because he really wanted to participate in the event."

Two sisters

Camdyn and Brighton, two young sisters from Maryland, learned about Bring Your Bible to School Day when their father received the same email announcement. It turns out that Oct. 16 was also the day for class photos at their elementary school.
"It was picture day," Brighton says, "and before we knew it, it was Bring Your Bible to School Day."
The girls were busy picking out their clothes, Camdyn says, "then when we found out about [the event], we really didn't care what we wore. We wanted to get our Bibles ready."
The girls were confident, but the family was new to their school and their parents started to worry. How would a Bible-toting first- and third-grader fit in with their peers? In the end, their father said, it was the girls who modeled bold faith to their parents.
"I thought it was a good way to show people what I believe in — that I'm a Christian," Camdyn says. "We really don't talk about it at public school, so I thought it was really cool."

One girl

After her fourth-period class, Brytney brought her Bible to lunch. As usual, she sat down to eat with her friends.
"Do you guys want to hear my favorite verse?" she asked.
When her classmates said yes, Brytney ended up reading the entire chapter of John 14. Out loud.
"When I looked up, they were all just jaw-dropped."
This year's Bring Your Bible to School Day takes place Thursday, Oct. 8. Carson, for one, wants to have even more classmates bring their Bibles.
"We have to speak up and know the rights we have," he says. "The more people who spread the word about God, the better it is."
Learn more about Bring Your Bible to School Day by visiting BringYourBible.org.

Rend Collective—”Free as a Bird”

Free Youth Lesson Package: “Jesus Wants All, Not Some”

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Jesus didn’t want half-hearted fans; Jesus was after all-in faith.

Free Youth Lesson Package

From this lesson, “Jesus didn’t want half-hearted fans; Jesus was after all-in faith. Jesus could tell what was holding people back from being all-in—and he directly challenged them on it..”
This lesson package includes:

• Teaching Slide without title
• Teaching Slide with title
• Teaching Outline – Word Doc
• Teaching Outline – PDF

Get Download Now

Resource provided by YouthMinistry.com

How to Lead a Small Group Sex Talk

By Brian Berry

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It can be embarrassing, hard or cheesy. But talking about sex with your students is essential. Here are some ways to break the ice.

If you’ve ever tried to have a discussion with high school students about sexuality then you probably have discovered a few things to be true:
1. First, teens care about the subject of sexuality as a default. You don’t need to convince anyone that this is a worthy thing to discuss.
2. Second, they also are bombarded with images, ideas, thoughts and ideologies from all angles— parents/friends/media/religion/etc. They even have a perceived “right or wrong answer” they expect to get in church or from people in positions of authority around them—which has a collective tone-deaf effect on them that is both easy and popular to ignore as irrelevant and ideologically unappealing.
3. Last, knowing what they want to do and actually doing it are two radically different things. This is why simply having students sign a purity covenant or put on a ring rarely changes a student’s decisions, in my experience. They must have a much higher “get it factor” than a ceremony can provide in order to truly own their decisions and say yes and no on purpose.
So, knowing all that, here’s what we did tonight to get our students inside the real issues when it comes to dating, and not just give us a head nod or “Sunday School Answer.”
After a battle of the sexes trivia game just for fun, we split all the guys in one room and all the girls in another. Then we had them sit in their normal small groups around the room (a couple of adult leaders and eight students or so). Then we pulled three students (one from each of small group) and put them in chairs up front for a random panel discussion. If you are instead going to do this with just one small group, you could do this same panel by selecting one or two people to respond first.
Then, I read the panel a series of “it could happen” scenarios and asked their responses before we invited the individual small groups to spend a few  minutes kicking it around. It was so good and really got them talking. I loved the interaction and to see students verbally process their thinking on sexuality with authenticity and even vulnerability.
If you want to have a similar discussion with your own small group, here are some “it could happen” situations I wrote and a few questions to follow. Hope they’re helpful to you.
IT COULD HAPPEN 1: You want to date, but it seems so complicated. You’ve been talking with your friends and you all agree there are all these pressures on you all over the place. Truthfully, you’re not sure which ones to give into and which ones to fight.
• QUESTIONS: What pressures do you feel are on you as a (man/woman) in America today? What are some healthy and not-so-healthy expectations we have placed on the sexes?
IT COULD HAPPEN 2: Your friend just went on a date and loved it. In fact, they told you that they think they have “fallen in love.”
• QUESTIONS: What do you think they mean, and do you think someone can “fall in love”? Argue both for and against the truth of this idea in our culture.
IT COULD HAPPEN 3: You want to date. You’ve found someone who you like and who your friends approve of. But your parents have told you that you’re not allowed to date until you’re 16. Your friends think that’s lame and so do you.
• QUESTIONS: Should age be a factor in dating and to what degree? Besides age, what else would you say should determine if you date or not? When is it good to be single on purpose?
IT COULD HAPPEN 4: You’ve been dating for over a year and you’re headed to your senior prom. You’ll both be looking sweet and love will surely be in the air. Both of you are committed to each other and you’ve even talked about someday maybe getting married. However, you also know the night will pose lots of opportunities to push some of your boundaries.
• QUESTIONS: How will you decide what you do or don’t do on this date? What will guide your choices: both in terms of peer pressure and your sexuality? How far would you say is too far and how will you decide?
IT COULD HAPPEN 5: You’ve been dating for two years. You think you want to get married. You’ve both already “lost your virginity.”
• QUESTION: Should you live together to see if you want to spend the rest of your lives together before you officially get married? How would you make this decision?
IT COULD HAPPEN 6: You and your date have been going out for a while now. But all your friends keep saying that you fight too much. You think they’re being over-reactive and that you guys are fine together. Sure, you fight from time to time, but who doesn’t? Your friends insist that you’re not seeing things clearly and that you’re being manipulated. They tell you that you should break up.
• QUESTION: What are some things that would cause you to break up with a date? What are some reasons that dating couples stay in a dating relationship too long and are afraid to break up, even when they should? Whose advice would you seek if you were trying to decide if your friends were right or wrong in their advice?
IT COULD HAPPEN 7: You just got baptized. You want to follow Jesus and you’re involved in youth group a lot. You’ve been friends for a while with someone who has recently showed interest in dating you, but they don’t share your same beliefs about God and life. You like them and the interest in dating is mutual.
• QUESTION: Is it OK to date someone whose faith is different from yours, and how do you decide what you need to mutually agree on and what you can simply agree to disagree about?

5 Myths About Youth Pastors

By Josh Evans

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Some are funny, some less so. But here are some popular misconceptions about youth leaders.

I have been a full-time youth pastor for seven years. I have also been a youth intern for three years before that. One thing that I have noticed is that youth pastors get a lot of the jokes. Some of them are pretty hilarious, but the majority of them are false. Here are the five greatest myths about youth pastors:
1. Youth pastors are on vacation when at camp and mission trips. I cannot tell you how many times I have actually taken a real vacation and heard jokes, “Weren’t you just on vacation at camp with the kids?” Look, any time teens are present on your trip, it is NOT vacation. I would love for the ones who joke with youth pastors to make camp and mission trips their vacation for one year, and see if they have the same ideas that it is a true vacation. No, basically, you are working all day every day while at camp or on a mission trip. Church members, lay off this joke, because it is a myth.
2. Youth pastors are lazy. I would be rich if I had a dime for every time I heard, “You have nothing to do, you are just a youth pastor.” Now, I am sure there are some youth pastors out there who give the rest of youth pastors a bad name by being lazy, but the majority of youth pastors I know are not lazy. In fact, they usually work as many or more hours as any other staff member at the church they work at. Youth pastors have required office hours like the other pastors, but most of the ministry that takes place in youth ministry involves evenings or weekends. Also, youth pastors usually get called into other ministries in the church to serve, because many actually think that youth pastors have all of the time in the world. Youth pastors tend to wear so many hats other than youth ministry in the church. Youth pastors also have to give up many weekends for their ministry, so let’s lay off calling them lazy. Let’s commend them for their hard work.
3. Youth pastors are not smart. I am sure you have heard this one: “You couldn’t get a real job so you became a youth pastor.” Really? Youth ministry is an art, and it takes creativity. Many of the youth pastors that I know are really smart, and this myth is a knock to the kind of intelligence it takes to pull off youth ministry.
4. All youth pastors do is play games. Yes, youth pastors play more games and do more “fun” stuff like mission trips, camps, amusement parks, baseball games and more, but what people seem to never notice is the difficult moments of youth ministry. People never seem to notice the discipline that takes place in youth ministry or the difficult conversations that happen in youth ministry. How about the difficult sermons that need to take place? How about the long all-nighters? Look, all-nighters may seem like all fun and games, but as a married man with two kids, I think I could think of some better things to do with my family than staying up all night, but youth ministry demands this. Youth ministry is so much more than the fun and games that people summarize youth ministry up with.
5. Youth ministry is not a real job. This one got me the most. I heard it all of the time, and many of the myths already mentioned kind of go along with this one. Look, youth ministry is arguably the most important position in the church because you are shaping the future leaders of the church you work in. Youth pastor, what you do is important, and sometimes this myth can make youth pastors feel less important!
So, let’s stop already with these myths, church members.
And to the youth pastors reading this: Stay in it, and do not allow these myths (jokes) to get you down. You are doing a great job, and what you are doing is important! Hats off to you for your hard work!