Farewell To the Youth Group: From Josh

       To my Youth Group: Guys, it has been great getting to know each and everyone one of you!  You do not know the impact that you guys have had on my life and the encouragement you have given me in growing in the Lord and building relationships with people. It has been a great ride and I am glad to have been a part of it. Even though I am leaving, God will bring others into your lives to build you up in Christ and the Lord. Remember, God says in Romans 8:28 “ All things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His will.” I will keep all of you guys in my prayers and please keep me in yours. You guys are all great friends and I will miss you guys very much. I will never forget this youth group who helped me to follow the Lord and love Him with all my heart. I would especially like to thank Pastor Marc for being a great leader and youth pastor.

                                                                                                 You’re Friend,

                                                                                                  Joshua White

Quote of the Month

Well Sunday night all the teens went over to Pastor Marc's house. We played some games then did some eating. Near the end of the night we took prayer requests then P. Marc had two people pray then he was going to close in prayer. 

Well as soon as Josh said amen Mr. Delaine forgot about the other people that were going to pray,said really loud for all to hear,,, "Lets play Red Rover". 

Well we were able to finish praying although it was tough for P. Marc to continue without laughing. 

Sorry we didn't play red rover...

My Story - By Josh White

As some of you know, I have lived and grown up in Orting Community Baptist Church since I was a little child. My father, also known as Pastor Bob, was the first youth pastor of the church and I have been involved in Sunday School, the Awana program, and church and youth group activities in this church from my early life. I have grown very close to this church and have many friends here. I have seen this church go from my dad as a youth pastor to the present day youth pastor and close friend, Pastor Marc Greenacre. I have been privileged to be a part of such a great group of teenagers in the OCBC Youth Group. Throughout my life here in Washington, I have been able to learn how to play the piano which I have been able to serve the Lord with. I have also been encouraged in the Lord and mentored by wonderful people to serve the Lord. I have grown in my relationship and love for the Lord and God has given me extraordinary friends with whom I have been able to build and cultivate relationships. God has given me a role in leadership in encouraging others in the youth group that has been a blessing. At the close of this last year and the beginning of this present year, God called my family to California to be used by Him to glorify His name. At first, I felt that life was going to be much harder and that I would feel a lot of pain. Indeed I will feel pain of losing friends and family, but following God, I know, is the best thing for my life and others. I cannot work against God and even though I will miss friends, God knows the big picture of my life. God has worked in my life and changed me in ways I could not change myself. He has given me a love for Him and a love for my church family here in Orting.

Teen Testimony

  Hi my name is Isaiah Marron. At this time last year, I was with my family in Israel.  We spent a truly life-changing month there.  We were able to avoid some of the constraints of most tour travel by going primarily just as a family as opposed to going with a tour guide;  this gave us much more freedom on such a long awaited (for many years) trip to such an important place.  We traveled all over Israel and some in Jordan and even set foot in Egypt for a couple of hours!  The Sea of Galilee was amazing and it was especially fun to swim there.  We went to Caesarea on the Coast, where Paul was imprisoned.  We went to Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born.  Due to common violent acts of terrorism by Islamic jihadists, part of this town is surrounded by a 20 ft high wall to restrict terrorists from coming in to the rest of Israel.  In fact, the atmosphere is very tense there and there are even still frequent terrorist attacks on public places.  The Jews are and always have been hated and throughout their history, many attempts have been made to exterminate them; thus they have and show a strong thankful patriotism and love for their country – stronger than most Americans, I might add.

We went on Mt. Carmel and Tel Megiddo and through the Valley of Har Megiddo (Armageddon), where History’s most important battles have and are yet to be fought!  We also went many other amazing places such as the Mt. of Olives and the most important piece of ground in the world: the Temple Mount.  For me, however, the favorite and most meaningful place was the Garden Tomb, which may be the very place where Jesus rose from the dead.  Even if it isn’t the place, it was a very godly place; different from most of the other Christian sites in that it was much more accurate and realistic.  It was a very peaceful place, and most importantly, the atmosphere there was much more biblically truthful – including the way it was presented.  I and my whole family had a great time in Israel and if you want to hear more, just leave a comment on this post. Thanks

Teen Testimony

My name is Silas Young; I am 15 years old. I have grown up in a Christian home ever since I was adopted when I was 2 months old. That is another interesting story. 49 families were interested in adopting me, but God had a plan for my life. And I was adopted into a great Christian family with great parents. We started going to the Orting Community Baptist Church in November of 1998. Later, December 28, during the morning church service, I realized that I was a sinner and needed Jesus. That afternoon my mom and dad prayed with me and I have been one of God’s children ever since. When I was 11 years old, I made my public stand for Jesus in the waters of baptism. God has blessed me in so many ways; I encourage you if you are not a Christian that you would go to the main page and click on the picture of the lighthouse. There you will find what the good news about what Jesus did for you and me.

Teen Testimony

Hi,
I'm Emily Ulsh. I have attended Orting Community Baptist Church ever since I was born. Right now I would like to tell you my salvation testimony. When I was six years old I attended Vacation Bible School at OCBC. When Pastor Bob asked if anyone wanted to come forward to be saved, I raised my hand. I prayed with Mrs. Grosz and, as a six year old child, I believed I was saved. The year I turned 12, Pastor Gore was preaching on current events and reading from the book of Revelation. When he began talking about the rapture and how the unsaved people would be left behind to go through the tribulation and right then I began to wonder if I would go to heaven or be left behind. It bothered me so badly that I spoke to my Mom about it and asked her if I should be afraid of the rapture. She told me if I was scared, maybe when I was six I didn't fully understand what it meant to be saved. She went over verses in Romans and I bowed my head that night and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. From that night on, I have never doubted where I would be going when I die. God has taken care of many of the fears I had about the rapture and the tribulation.
 
Psalm 34:4 says:
"I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all of my fears."
And that is exactly what the Lord did for me that night.      

Teen Testimony

This weekend I went with my dad to Lakeview Cristian Camp for a men's retreat. Pastor Marc's dad was the speaker for the weekend and did a great job of teaching us how to be steadfast, consistant and couragous men in evil days. The text he used was from Daniel and spoke to me greatly. Another great thing at the retreat was the good Christian fellowship. Mr. Olson did a gret job preparing the food we ate; it was very good. The only bad thing about the whole trip was that we were late getting to breakfast. That is partly because I stayed up till 2:30am playing ping pong with Mr. Force and Skylar McCune. Even with that we still had a good time.