Mountain View Church of the Nazarene 26515 Ustick Rd. Wilder, ID 83676 July 2007     "The greatest way to teach about poverty is to experience poverty."   One of the most important lessons you can teach your teen is to care for the poor and needy. The problem is that many people view the poor in a much different light than God does. Deuteronomy 15:11 says, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." How do you teach this lesson to your teen? The greatest way to teach about poverty is to experience poverty. Most teens have seen poor people on the street or on a news program, however, most experience these scenes while in the air-conditioned car or on a comfortable sofa watching TV. Go and volunteer your time at a homeless shelter or go on the next short-term mission trip offered at your church, and TAKE your teen. Experiencing something like this with your teen will be life-changing for your whole family. Another way to teach your teen how to combat poverty on a local level is to make care packages of non-perishable food items and toiletries to give to the poor. This way you know you are meeting a need, and you know where your money is going. Teens also love to give to a specific need, name, and face. Organizations such as Compassion International (compassion.com) and World Vision (worldvision.com) allow your family to give support to a specific child. You learn a little about their family and what your money is doing to help this child with the daily necessities of life. While we are still on this earth, there will always be the poor. One of the best ways to teach your teen about the poor is to show them how to do something to help them. It teaches them to follow scripture as well as taking the focus off of themselves and putting it where it needs to be…on others. We must be proactive in creating a generation of givers. A Note From Pastor Jeff! Hello Parents!! I hope that you are making it through your summer months. School is out and your teens are home or working or hanging out with friends. This is a great time to plan some family time or just one on one time with your teenager. As many of you know, I have been producing this newsletter for you for more than a year now. However, I find that most of them get thrown away because no one picks them up from the church lobby display. So, starting from this issue I will be mailing them out to you. My goal is to keep you informed of what our ministry is doing, and give you a tool as a parent of teens. If you would like to see anything different in this newsletter, please let me know. If you would like to be taken off of my mailing list please email me at pastorjeff@mvcnaz.org. I would love to hear from you!! In Christ, Pastor Jeff Here are some thoughts on poverty throughout the world. How much influence do you think individuals in the U.S. have on: 64% - Poverty in the U.S. 48% - The war on terrorism 37% - The HIV/AIDS epidemic in other countries 28% - Poverty in other countries (compassion.com) Should more public funds go to helping the homeless? 81% - Yes 19% - No (teenink.com)

	Do you know what your teen thinks about helping the poor and needy? You might be very surprised to hear his/her answers on the importance of this social issue. 1. What is the first thing you think of when you think of a poor person? Why do you think that? 2. Have you ever helped a homeless person? If yes, what did you do? What was that person's response? If no, what is holding you back? 3. What responsibility do you think you have in helping the poor in the United States and around the world? Why do you think that? 4. What does God say about helping the poor? How do you think God wants us to give to the poor?		Pray that: 1. God will help your family find a tangible way to meet the needs of the poor here in the United States and around the world. 2. Your teen will have an aware and thankful heart for ALL the many blessings they have and are yet to receive from the Lord. 3. Your family will not see someone in need as worthless or unlovable, but will see them as valuable and lovable. 4. God will show your family that it is your responsibility to meet the needs of the poor. Verse of the month "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:9-10 Leviticus was written to the Jews to set God's people apart from the world. He spoke about many personal, social, and relational issues, and, of course, He focused on taking care of the poor. We are a blessed nation and people whom God continues to allow to reap a harvest of this land. We should remind our teens and our family of this every day. But as we harvest, God gives specific instructions that we are not to keep all of His blessings for ourselves. The Jews were to leave the very edges of their field. Why? So that the poor could come and pick the grain and gather the grapes themselves. As parents, pray that God will help your teen truly understand that it is much better to give than it is to receive.
	Did you know... * 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world); 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. (globalissues.org) * According to the Federal Register, the official poverty rate in the U.S. has increased for four consecutive years, from a 26-year low of 11.3% in 2000 to 12.7% in 2004. This means that 37 million people were below the official poverty thresholds in 2004. (wikipedia.com) * 20% of the population in the developed nations consume 86% of the world’s goods. (globalissues.org) * Nearly 13 million children in the United States—18% of all children—live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level—$20,650 a year for a family of four. (nccp.org)

	This page is designed to inform and educate parents and is not meant to endorse any product, music, or movie. Our prayer is that you will make informed decisions on what your student listens to, wears, and sees!
	Underoath, a six member post-hardcore/Screamo band, formed in 1998. Their music was much heavier in its beginning. Frequent member changes continued till the group became solid in 2004 and released “They’re Only Chasing Safety” which sold about 350,000 copies. In 2006 "Define the Great Line" released to Gold Album status selling 500,000 units and debuting on Billboard 200 at #2 (the highest debut for a Christian album since 1997). Touring continued and they released 777 DVD in December of 2007 chronicling videos and tour footage. Underoath confirmed their being on the Warped Tour 2007 this July. (underoath777.com/wikipedia.org) trends The hot trend for celebrities right now is designing clothes. Look and see how teens answered this question: What celebrity designer is your favorite? 38% - Gwen Stefani for L.A.M.B. 26% - Kate Moss for Top Shop 22% - Lily Allen for New Look 14% - Madonna for H&M (fashionclub.com)		musicspotlight Albums: "Lies of the Liars" - 5/2007 "Berth" - 2/2007 "In Love and Death" - 9/2004 Background: This quartet is from the quiet, peaceful town of Orem, Utah. Despite their very rough past including homelessness, poverty, and drug addiction, the guys continued to form The Used. After only playing about twenty shows, the group was signed to Reprise Records who produced their debut album in 2002. "The Used thrives on friction." This can be seen in their personalities and how the members interact with each other and it can be seen in their music as well. The group has been a part of such shows as Ozzfest, Vans Warped tour, and Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour. The Used's genre of music is Emo (emotional hardcore punk/rock), but is also classified as a fusion of Screamo and post-hardcore according to their own website. (sonicnet.com and theused.net) What parents should know: The Used's most recent album, like some from its past, contains a parental advisory. It contains numerous foul language. The album has a very negative and dark feel which matches their image. What the group has to say: Guitarist Quinn Allman says he puts his faith in music and says, "God is just a concept, but music is tangible." Q: What does the Bible say about faith and how does it differ from Allman's quote?
	filmwatch Want your teens watching these movies this summer? TITLE RATING RED FLAGS GENRE STARRING Transformers PG-13 For sequences of intense violence and action Action/adventure, Science fiction Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Rachel Taylor I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry PG-13 For crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language, and drug references Comedy Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Ving Rhames I Know Who Killed Me R For grisly violence including torture and disturbing gory images, and for sexuality, nudity, and language Thriller Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough, Brian Geraghty Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Sunday School & Worship 2   3   4 Happy 4th of July! No Youth Group 5   6   7   8 Sunday School & Worship 9 NYC 10 NYC 11 Youth Group 7-8:30pm 12 NYC 13 NYC 14 NYC 15 Sunday School & Worship 16 NYC 17 NYC 18 Youth Group 7-8:30pm 19   20   21   22 Sunday School & Worship 23   24   25 Youth Group 7-8:30pm 26   27   28   29 Sunday School & Worship 30 JH Camp @ Trinity Pines 31 JH Camp @ Trinity Pines         * Youth Group is every Wedesday Night at 7pm. Don't miss out! * Every Sunday Morning we have Sunday School from 9:30-10:30, then worship from 10:30-12noon. * Jr. High Camp-- this is our annual District summer camp at Trinity Pines in Cascade. Students must be signed up ahead of time. Be asking your students for more information. Registration forms are availabe in the church office. * NYC-- Nazarene Youth Conference!! During the dates above two of our students and myself will be in St. Louis, along with thousand of other students and youth workers. Please pray for us during this time. * LAGOON - our annual Lagoon trip will be coming up in August (17-19) please pre-registar your students by the 1st of August.