Student Testimony - Cassie

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She speaks with wisdom, (Proverbs 31:25-26)

My mom has always been an important figure in my life. As I am getting older, I  am learning to become a woman of God. I was lucky enough to have such an incredible role model for my life.

Being homeschooled, my mother has literally taught me almost everything I know, from Geometry to using a table saw. But as my mom, she has also taught me about the most important part of my life today: God. She has also  been an example of what it should be like to follow Him.

My mom is one of the strongest people I know. (I don't mean physically, but also, have you seen her arms??) She taught me the importance of dedication. Whenever something gets difficult, it doesn't mean you give up. It's a test of strength. My mom has shown me that hardships can be used as opportunities to grow and come out of it stronger than before.

One important role of women is selflessness. My mom's selflessness is evident in her life. She works tirelessly all day, from teaching to household projects to taking classes towards a master's degree. She does all these things to make a good home for our family, and I admire her for it. She expresses her love through her actions, and I hope to be able to show my love in the same way.

Although she isn't perfect, my mom has shown me what it's like to be a true woman of God. I couldn't ask Him for a better picture to model my life after.





Cassie is a sophomore student who is involved in SURGE Student Ministries. She has been involved in Dare2Serve trips and other service and ministry opportunities.

Fight Club - Real Men Help the Weak

True masculinity is shockingly distorted by our culture. Strength is seen as the power to dominate others. In our culture "real men" are portrayed as hitting hard and tough, insensitive, not showing emotion, surrounding  themselves with other strong and powerful people, and trampling upon the weak. This is a far cry from what real manhood is.

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all you do be done in love." (1 Corinthians 16:13)

Acting like men means showing love. The greatest picture of Biblical masculinity is Jesus Christ. He was tender and loving, meek and controlled, and yet furiously strong. What kind of strength enables a man to take a beating by a whip within an inch of death and then be crucified on a cross? All of this, and He could have blinked and had a legion of terrifying angels at His side and slaughtered all who opposed Him.

But He did not.

Why?

To redeem all that would call on His name. A sacrifice had to be made. The ransom had to be paid. And sin and death were about to be forever destroyed! That is a man. Doing what is right even when it hurts. Sacrificial love is the epitome of what it is to be a man. 

Why else would Paul command husbands to,

"...love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

It really is true that "greater love has no man than this: to lay his life down for his friends" (John 15:13).  C.S. Lewis described this sacrifice allegorically in a beautiful way when Aslan sacrifices himself on the Stone Table to the White Witch to save Edmund's life.


This is strength. The power to sacrifice.

Husbands are called to sacrificial love. Men are called to lay themselves down in strength to help the weak and vulnerable.

Men of God, who is weak in your life? Who is being bullied? Who is being trampled? Will be you be a man and stand with them? Will you stand for them?

In Exodus 22, God commanded that Israel should “not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry" (Exodus 22:20-26). The measure of a society is how it treats the most weak and vulnerable. Likewise, the measure of a man is how he treats those who are weaker than himself. Are the weak and vulnerable afraid of your shadow? This is not being a man.

A man defends the weak. Helps the hurting. Fights for the vulnerable. This is strength.

"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed." (Psalm 82:3)

Where are the men who will stand up and fight? Who will sacrifice their reputation or social status to stop bullying? Who will show honor to women? Who will stop the locker-room talk? Will you?

God is looking for warriors who are ready to fight. Men who will speak the truth in love and lay down their lives to defend the weak and vulnerable. As everyone's favorite superhero says,

"With great power, comes great responsibility." 

-Spiderman

Fight Club - Student Testimony #2

Being a Man

by Isaac Sparks

 “When I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11)

While I cannot say I am a man quite yet, I can say that I am moving closer to it. And who is the most important person is this journey to manhood? Of course, Jesus.

But if I had to pick a second, it would be my dad. He taught me to throw, catch, cook, drive, and most importantly, follow Jesus.

Isaac's dad, Rob

Not a very social man, he led by doing. He would get up, and still does, early in the morning to make breakfast for the family. At the time, it felt like torture because he got us up once it was done. But when you think about it, he not only wanted us to be happy, but he wanted to be with us. And if we got up before it was ready (rarely), he would stay in the kitchen to continue cooking until we were satisfied. Then, and only then, would he sit down with us.

He always sacrifices for the family, and is supportive of your preferences. Even though I don’t do everything my father did in high school, he’s still supportive of me. And he always encourages the spiritual growth he knows my brothers and I can achieve.

My dad shows me what our Heavenly Father looks like. While he’s always guiding you, he also pays attention to helping you, and actually delights in pleasing you, just as a dad here on Earth does. He may not be perfect (who is?), but he’s perfect for me. Why? Because this is the person who is showing me what it means to become a man.

Isaac Sparks is a sophomore in SURGE Student Ministries attending Clear Fork High School. He has been very involved in SURGE Dare2Serve trips going both to Haiti and Kidzone. He is regularly involved in our student worship band on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Fight Club - Declare War on Lust and Pornography

A warrior does not let an enemy sleep in his tent. A warrior does not go into battle without his armor. The enemy of our souls is waging war on us as men, seeking to kill, steal, and destroy us. One of the primary battlefields of our time is the area of lust and pornography. The digital frontier has brought this spiritual warfare into our homes and lives in an insidious way incomparable to any past generation. How are we fighting this battle when...

•  71% of teens have done something to hide what they do online from their parents (this includes clearing browser history, minimizing a browser when in view, deleting inappropriate videos, lying about behavior, using a phone instead of a computer, blocking parents with social media privacy settings, using private browsing, disabling parental controls, or having e-mail or social media accounts unknown to parents).
• 32% of teens admit to intentionally accessing nude or pornographic content online. Of these, 43% do so on a weekly basis. Only 12% of parents knew their teens were accessing pornography.
• 35% of boys (Ages 13-14) said they had viewed pornographic videos “too many times to count.”
• 93% of boys and 62% of girls were exposed to pornography before age 18.
• 64% of parents do not use online parental controls or filtering software.
• 30% of 17-year-olds have received a sext.
• 38% of 13-18-year-olds said they had created a sext. 

See the full 37-page report put out by Covenant Eyes here. 

We are kidding ourselves if we think that pornography and digital explicit media is not infiltrating the lives of our teens, even our Christian teens. This indeed is every young man's battle and many of our young women struggle with this as well. With the advent of mobile smartphones and tablets the problem has become all the more epidemic. One report from 2006 (ten years ago!) found that 1 in 5 searches on Google from mobile devices were for pornography (Read the full report here). 

To be a man who is a follower of Jesus means arming oneself against and armoring oneself for the coming attacks in this battle. 

Are you ready to fight? 

Paul wrote, almost prophetically to our present day, regarding God's will in this area of personal holiness in his letter to the church in Thessalonica,

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)

Every man needs to know how to control his own body, his own mind, and his own eyes. Have you developed a personal battle plan against lust, impurity, and pornography? Where are the places, who are the people that cause you to stumble? Are there contacts you need to delete? Devices you need to destroy or get rid of? Jesus teaches the principle of Radical Amputation in fighting with lust (Matthew 5:29-30). "If you eye causes you to stumble, cut it out!" Don't halfheartedly go to war with this struggle, it will kill you, destroy your perspective of women, give false expectations of a future wife, and consume your life. What do you need to get rid of to win this fight for your heart and mind? 

Stop offending God with this secret sin and bring it into the open. Have you confessed this sin or struggle to a brother (James 5:16)? You cannot fight this fight alone! God has called you to holiness. But what He has called you to do, He will enable you to do (1 Thessalonians 5:24)! Don't lose heart, bring this sin into the light and let God deal with it. You are not alone, no temptation has overtaken you that is new or not common to man (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

If you are struggling with lust, impurity and pornography find someone who loves you, who you can trust, and tell them. Develop a plan to cut off and limit access. Invite regular and consistent accountability. Most importantly, cultivate a stronger desire for God. Behavior modification will only take you so far, you have to replace your desire for sin with a stronger desire for God. As C.S. Lewis writes,

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (C.S. Lewis in Weight of Glory)

You were made to find ultimate meaning and satisfaction in God (Psalm 16:11). Have you run to the one for whom you were made? Have you confessed your sin to the Father, received the forgiveness that comes through the Son, Jesus, and then committed to dependence on the Spirit to fill you with His fruit of self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)?

Begin the journey of a fighter today. 

Join the war, be a warrior. 

Young man, this is your calling, these are your orders. 

FIGHT!  

Steps to Freedom
Confession (personal and in community with others)
Fostering a greater desire for God through spiritual disciplines
Radical Amputation & Appropriate Boundaries

Helpful Resources
At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry by Steve Gallagher

Every Young Man's Battle by Fred Stoeker and Steve Arterburn

Sex is Not the Problem, Lust is by Joshua Harris

The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

Parents, cutting off access to explicit content for your teens is hugely important. We have created a resource for you help you explore different Filtering Software options. You can access this HERE. 

Fight Club - Student Testimony

How My Father Brought Me to Manhood 

By Alex Seher

            Looking back on my childhood, I can now see just how much of an impact my father, Dr. Seher, has made in my life. As early as I can remember, he has always been trying to spend quality time with me. Whether it was throwing a football back and forth or him helping me with my daily chores, he always had a strong presence in my life. He accomplished this not only through quality time, but also through strong discipline. 

            I am grateful for many things that my father has done for me. The one thing that I appreciate the most, however, was his willingness to discipline me. In the Seher household there are sets of rules that you follow. If you stepped out of line, you got spanked. This taught me from a young age to respect those in charge of me and honor those who are older than myself. After every time that I was punished, my father would sit down with me and we would talk through what I did wrong and how he loves me. Later in life, I read in Proverbs Chapter 13:24; "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." When I was old enough to comprehend what this verse meant, I had much more respect for my dad than ever before. 

         

 Mark Seher is also one of our High
School Small Group Leaders

   My father also taught me discipline not just in my physical life, but in my spiritual life as well. This area of development is critical and my dad realized it right from the start. When I was young, he told me to read the Bible daily. I ignored this piece of information for a long time because I did not see the value in it. Over time, I saw how my dad was constantly in the scriptures and it inspired me to do the same. His actions have always spoken Louder than his words. I could see how much he loved the Lord through his actions every day. He treated mom with a high respect and loved all of us kids equally. His actions motivated me to get into the Word everyday. 

I owe everything to my father for making the sacrifices necessary to prepare me for life. Even though he did not want to at times, he was not afraid to punish me when necessary. I am very grateful for this because the number of parents who discipline their children properly is growing lower everyday. His actions spoke louder than his words. I could see how the Word of God affected his lifestyle and it encouraged me to want to live in the same manner. He realized that if he wanted me to behave a certain way when I grew older, he was going to have to act that way ALL THE TIME. That meant always loving, respecting, and honoring others. I can remember every time my father behaved in a certain way that he claimed not to support. These memories stick out in my memory constantly. It reinforces in my mind how important it is to practice what you preach because someday my kids will be watching my every move, and children do not forget. 

            Thank you, dad, for being the model that has taught me to live a righteous life. You have done a marvelous job leading the Seher family and I thank you for the blessing that you have been in my life. 

Alex Seher is currently a freshman at Indiana Wesleyan University. He was a faithful student in SURGE Student Ministries where he served on worship and ministry team, went on mission trips to Haiti, NYC, Cleveland, Pennsylvania and more. He also served as an intern with SURGE in the summer of 2016. 

5 Reasons We Do Short-Term Mission Trips

SURGE Student Ministries has a reputation for its mission trips. Over the last ten years Berean Baptist Church in Mansfield, Ohio has sent hundreds of students and leaders to Haiti, Cleveland, Cincinnati, New York City, Chicago, Pennsylvania, and more as well as local missions projects varying from a one-day activity to an entire week! Just last year SURGE sent out over 100 students and leaders on short-term mission trips to Haiti, NYC, Mansfield, and Cleveland. We have done and will continue to do mission trips for several reasons.

1. Strengthened Relationships

Shared memories, exciting stories, long flights and bus rides, close sleeping quarters, all of these are the building blocks of great relationships. When our pastors, small group leaders, and students are around each other 24/7 for a week or more, wonderful and lasting relationships commonly result. I would go so far as saying that mission trips have the potential to be the most effective relationship builder in student ministry. Students who go on mission trips are more likely to serve again, show-up for normal events, and feel connected to our student ministry and its leaders.

2. Intensive Instruction
On all of our trips we have daily team meetings where we do praise and worship, testimonies from the day, and a book discussion (student's have required reading leading up to and during the trip). This paired with pre-trip meetings, mandatory daily time alone with the Lord, impromptu discussions, and the Holy Spirit's working allows our mission trips to be highly instructional.

As followers of Jesus we are transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). Our trips are not successful if students have not learned something. They learn from these intentional and structured times but very often their learning is, even more powerfully, experiential. They learn how to share the good news of Jesus by leading a Bible lesson to children or sharing their testimony in a church. They learn about poverty and cultural differences by witnessing it first-hand. They learn about trusting in Jesus for strength when they are weak, tired and frustrated. All of this in the context of community and relationships makes our mission trips one of the most instructional aspects of our student ministry.

3. Sacrificial Living Required
We do not want our mission trips to be easy. We call our Short-Term Mission Trips "Dare2Serve Trips" (D2S Trips) for a reason. "Dare" implies it will require courage; there is a risk; it will not be easy. "Serve" declares that the nature of the trip is that it is not about the student. The goal of the trip is that students put others before themselves. Trips are not comfortable. We rarely stay in hotels. We do not feed students expensive meals and portions are often limited. We do not sleep a lot. Showers are sometimes cold. Roommates sometimes snore. And we always work hard.

Why? In the short amount of time that we have on a D2S Trip we want students to realize that following Jesus is not always easy. Serving others is not always fun. A Christian's life is to reflect a dying to oneself (Matthew 16:24). A call to die. To lose your life for the sake of Jesus (Matthew 16:25). If students can find joy and strength in serving Jesus in difficult circumstances they will be ready to embrace the everyday following of Jesus that their lives will require. Students ought to come back more inclined to serve sacrificially in their home, school, community and church.

4. The Church is bigger than Berean
D2S trips expose students to people who follow Jesus who look, live, and worship differently than they do. By the time they graduate we want our students to have a global perspective of Christ's Church. We prioritize partnering with local churches wherever we go. We are not doing humanitarian aid or social work unless it is directly tied to a church that is making much of Jesus in that local community. Students get a picture of heaven where God's desire is to gather worshipers from "every tribe, tongue, and nation" (Revelation 7:9). Our prayer is that some students take this call of global gospel expansion personally and make the task of their life to take the gospel to those who have not heard (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

5. Catalyst for Lifestyle Change
Mission Trips are often described as "spiritual highs." This is both a positive and negative of short-term mission work. The trip in and of itself is not the goal or purpose for our D2S trips. Our desire is that God uses these short intensive times of service to be a catalyst for life change. Mission Trips need to include life-action points and follow-up. What will you do differently next week when you are back home? How will your priorities or lifestyle change? One of the most effective things we do to enable effective follow-up is including our small group leaders and parents on our D2S Trips. This provides accountability for authenticity both on the trip and after the trip. Like everything we do as SURGE Student Ministries our hope and prayer is that God uses the programs we utilize to bring about lasting change in the lives and hearts of the students he has called us to shepherd.

2017 Dare2Serve Trips are now open for applications. Are you ready?

Interested in being part of one of our 2017 D2S Trips? See trip information and apply online here!

Winter Retreat 2017 - A Mighty Fortress

Few things capture the imagination like a castle. Castles amaze us for their immensity, their beauty, and their history. Many great movies or stories have massive castles to protect or strongholds to conquer. They leave us in awe, whether it be from a Disney movie like Tangled or Beauty and the Beast (or just the title sequence for that matter) to the Lord of the Rings!



They are a memorial to a bygone era. Interestingly, they were necessary because of the lack of security or order in society. Castles represented the reign of terror of some cruel dictators on the one side, or the power, security, and dominion of a benevolent sovereign on the other. Interestingly, the Word of God reveals as our LORD as a fortress, strong tower, refuge and rock!

"My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent people you save me." (2 Samuel 22:3)

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." (Psalm 9:9)

"Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge." (Psalm 16:1)

"For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe." (Psalm 61:3)

"Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress." (Psalm 71:3)

These are just a few of the many verses that declare the spiritual reality that God is the ONLY TRUE REFUGE. For this reason, this year for our SURGE High School Winter Retreat our theme was "A Mighty Fortress."

We looked at three elements of this fortress terminology in our teaching sessions. The first was that God is the only secure and true refuge. Nothing else provides true security. We compared this idea to Jesus' parable about the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27). This man was compared to someone who heard the words of Jesus and did them. To find your refuge in God is to know His words, trust His words, and obey his Words.

The second session explored the counter-fortresses that the enemy sets up against us seeking to put us in bondage. Students and leaders were exhorted to "demolish strongholds" in their life and flee the enemy of their soul who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; John 10:10).

Lastly, students were challenged to not just hide in God's refuge but to act out our identity as soldiers of the One True King. We explored the nature of spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6 and we were challenged to stand strong by putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). We are not serfs or slaves behind the walls, we called to spiritual warfare behind the parapets!

Are you finding your refuge in The Mighty Fortress?