Here are some pictures from last week's Bible Study.

Don't miss our new Bible Study, Crazy Love, starting THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT at 6:30 in the Landing. This week will be an introduction to the study and when you will get your book, so try your best to be there. We will meet at Lynn and Ronnie Albright's the following Wednesday (9/8). Bring your book, Bible, bathing suit and a towel that night, because we will eat and go swimming after we do our study.

Don't miss this. Invite your friends. Be praying about this study and how God is going to change you through it.

Last weekend was a busy weekend for SMASH. We had the MK Fellowship dinner on Friday night and then hit up downtown Greenville for a Drive game on Saturday night. The Drive took on (and lost to, I might add) the Charleston Riverdogs. We, however, had a blast hanging out over in the right field section. We talked, laughed, ate, sang, got free drinks, bought Drive paraphernalia, laughed with and at the "clown", stopped traffic with a frog hand, celebrated Ronnie's birthday...all in all, I'd say it was a great night!!

After the game, we went to Mojo's for a late night dinner. Due to some "technical issues", we waited a little longer than we had planned but managed to get Ronnie (and the rest of the table) a free dessert for his birthday.


Parker, Sydney, and Amanda

Sarah and Rebecca

Josh, Monica, and Victor

Lynn and Ronnie with the Frog Hand

Rebecca and Lynn (Josh apparently trying to be a pirate)

Last Friday night was the first ever MK Fellowship dinner. The dinner was held in Hayes Ministry Center at North Greenville University. This ministry has been a burden on our hearts for several months and with the help of Randy Bradley and Dr. Allen McWhite, it has become a reality. The hope of the NGBA is to continue this ministry throughout the entire school year. Various churches in the association will host monthly meals and meetings for the MKs. We hope to get them involved in our local churches and give them opportunities to share their life experiences and testimonies at these churches.

This year, there are approximately 60 Missionary Kids (MKs) from around the world on campus at NGU. They represent families on the mission field in North America as well as the uttermost parts of earth. 30 of them were able to join us for dinner and a time of fellowship. We met one another, introduced them to some local churches and ministry opportunities, and heard from them about their family mission work as well as their future plans at NGU. The NGBA also provided some awesome dorm room gift bags for all of the students that came to the dinner.

Our church provided a delicious meal of Sloppy Joes and homemade desserts, as well as the servers for the dinner. We are so thankful to be a part of a fellowship that is so eager to help whenever we need them. It is a blessing to know that we can call on them at any time and they will meet our every need. Thanks to all of our SMASHers that gave up a Friday night to come and serve. It is also a blessing to see so many of you willing to sacrifice time and energy to serve others!!

Don't forget, look for these students on campus. Talk to them. Encourage them. Get to know them. Invite them to MFBC and our outings. Pray for them and their families. This is a HUGE ministry opportunity that the Lord has given us. We must be faithful to reach out and do what we can to serve.

*Pictures will come later. Sorry!

Last week several local youth groups met for a time of refreshing and renewal before the start of the new school year. The theme for the week was Ignite. The hope and prayer is that our youth would be ignited for Christ and would be a light to the world around them.

Brian asked SMASH to help serve dinner on the last night of the rally. We met at Poinsett Park for dinner, a time of worship, and a message from the NGU football coach, Jamey Chadwell. After serving the youth, we headed over to Mr. Salsa's for our own dinner.

NGU Head Football Coach, Jamey Chadwell

Getting Things Ready

This was a quote from our Bible Study last night. It is a very good reminder to have our eyes open to all of the ministry opportunities that the Lord places before us - big and small.

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." - John Wesley

The NGU Crusade begins this Sunday and will continue through Wednesday (Aug 15-18). The meetings will begin each night at 7 with Praise and Worship. This year's speakers will be Dr. Frank Cox, senior pastor of North Metro First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, GA,
Rev. Tim Whitsett of Hixton, TN, a former pastor called to full-time evangelism, and Rev. Clayton King, a Christian encourager and powerful motivator for the Gospel. All of the meetings will be held in Turner Chapel, so make sure to get there a little early so you can get a good spot. This is a great way to get the new school year started off on the right spiritual foot, to show the incoming Freshmen what NGU is all about, and hopefully bring some new believers to Jesus Christ for the first time in their lives.

"Back to school, Back to school..." Although this time means classes, homework, tests, projects and even some sleepless nights, it also means many of our friends will be returning and new friends will be made! Several of our SMASHers have been away for the summer working at internships, on mission trips, and spending time at home with their families, and we have missed them!
Freshmen arrive on campus at NGU this weekend followed by the rest of the students next week. Greenville Tech will also be starting classes soon, and Furman will follow in a few weeks. In addition to gaining new faces, we are sad (and excited) for the ones who will be away at different schools. We will miss you and hope to see you back as often as possible!
Back to school is a super fun time, so enjoy every minute of it. Meet new friends. Reunite with old friends. Invite them all to hang out with us. We are also VERY excited about many of the new opportunities that the Lord is opening for us this school year and can't wait to see everything He has in store for SMASH. Keep your eyes open for ministry opportunities. Keep your hearts and minds focused on Him. Look for that accountability partner that we have talked about so much this summer. And don't forget this passage from Hebrews 10, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

Our next Bible Study Crazy Love will begin Wednesday night, August 25th. We will be meeting at The Landing from 6:30-7:30. Below is a description about the study. Hope to see everyone there!

"God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working at a list of do's and don'ts - it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love you will never be the same!
Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe—the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor—loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not, we all know something's wrong.
Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts-it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same.
Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything." -Lifeway website

In July, 11 from our group were able to spend a week in Pikeville, Kentucky with Youth on Mission doing reconstructive work on some local homes. Our team was given the task of putting a new shingle roof on a house, tearing up the entire front porch, replacing it, and custom building a new set of steps for the front porch. This task was said to take about two weeks. Thanks to the hard work of our team and the strength of the Lord, they were able to finish this project in 2 days!! This allowed them time to help another group finish the roof they were working on at another home. Without the help of SMASH, it is very likely that this project would not have been finished within the week.

For several weeks before our team left, we did a study on Wednesday nights entitled Get Uncomfortable. (see info @ http://www.lifeway.com/product/005035540/) This study reminded us that ministry is not always easy or comfortable; however, faith in Christ and concern for the poor go hand-in-hand. Several on our team had little or no experience with roofing or major construction work. Throughout the week our team worked in extreme heat as well as the pouring rain. Despite these facts, each team member remained faithful to the task and was not deterred by the conditions around them. We are so proud to have a group that is so dedicated to the work of the Lord and ministering to those in need.





Josh Cannon, our main contractor on the trip writes...

"Having the opportunity to go on another mission trip to Kentucky with our church was awesome. Getting to go on a mission trip with SMASH was even better. I went to Pikeville, Kentucky with eight college age kids and two other adults to do a construction project for Ms. Roberts. I had no idea what I was getting into with these guys and believe you me I didn’t regret one minute of it. With the Lord’s help we all took a two week project and knocked it out in two days. To God be the glory. This allowed us to help another team out from Mississippi on another roof project. God showed out again and allowed us to finish a metal roof up for another lady in need. I’ve never been around a group this age that worked so hard with no complaints, knowing why they were doing what they were doing, and why they were there. I consider it a joy, honor, and privilege to have the opportunity to do mission work with such a great group like SMASH."

About a year and a half ago the College and Career class at Marietta First Baptist Church (MFBC) received a make over. A new name was created to give this ministry a purpose. Although we love hanging out and having fun, it was decided that we needed to begin focusing on those around us and how we could reach out to them. We adopted 1 Timothy 4:12 as our theme verse and named ourselves SMASH – Students Ministering and Serving Him. Since that time, we have grown not only in number but also in our relationships with Christ. We have participated in many ministries both locally and in other states like feeding the homeless in downtown Greenville, assisting the ministries at Iglesia Bautista Buenas Nuevas, doing construction work on homes in Pikeville, Kentucky and so much more. We are very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us during this school year. We are hoping that this blog will be a source of information of what is going on within our group as well as a testimony to the work of Christ in and through us.