Mark Foor - My Life....Going to the Xtreme!

2011-09-14T14:36:00.000-04:00

This is a new 4 week series will be starting this week at club at The Gathering Nest in Ickesburg, 7-8pm! Bring your friends!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Summer Camp 2011 Wrap-Up

2011-06-24T20:15:00.000-04:00

First of all, let me thank all of you that prayed over us while we were at Summer Camp. It was a wonderful week. I got to see one of my girls accept Christ, and another get a lot closer. It was a great week of drawing closer to God, and building relationships with our kids. God moved in a mighty way this week with everyone in attendance. The best part of the week was our "Night Chats." Every night after our evening session I met with my kids and discussed the day, the session, and what they were feeling. It was great to hear the questions they were coming up with and the answers also. It was just a wonderful week. Thanks to all my sponsors that made this week possible. God bless you all. You are making it possible for God to change the lives of the teens of West Perry!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Seniors 2011

2011-05-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

2011 brings the loss of some great kids to graduation. Jeannie Duncan, Megan Weaver, Josh Reisinger, Hunter Weaver, Kyle Myers, Logan Eppley, and Vanessa Jones are all graduating this year. Please join me in cover these students in prayer as they continue on to the next chapter of their lives.

I am working on our plans for 2011-2012. We are looking at what we have done that was effective, and what we can do better to reach more kids in the West Perry School District. Please pray for this ministry, for God to lead and direct our steps so we can reach every student in some way.

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support of this ministry.

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Summer Camp 2011

2011-03-14T14:50:00.002-04:00

For more information, click HERE!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Jim Thorpe Bike Ride

2011-03-14T14:48:00.000-04:00

For more information click HERE!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Ham and Cheese Sandwich Fundraiser

2011-03-14T14:44:00.001-04:00

Starting April 1st. we will be selling ham and cheese sandwiches as a fundraiser for students to go to our camps and various events. The sandwiches cost $3.50 each, and the student selling the sandwiches will make a $1 per sandwich. If you would like to sell the sandwiches, click on link below to download order form. If you would like to purchase sandwiches, contact me, and I will get your information. They will be delivered May 19th.

http://www.westperrycpym.com/Forms/hamandcheeseorder.pdf

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Haiti Mission Trip

2011-02-12T00:17:00.000-05:00

Well, the time has come....time for my two daughters and I to travel to Haiti for our missions trip with New Missions on the Leogane Plain in Haiti. We were supposed to go last year, but the earthquake happened. This trip is my third trip to Haiti. I am looking forward to this trip so much because my daughters will both be experiencing it with me for the first time. Also, we will be meeting our sponsor daughter for the first time. Words cannot express how much I am looking forward to what God is going to do in our lives through this trip. My first trip to Haiti changed my life forever, calling me to the fulltime missions field. I cannot wait to see what God will do in my children's lives. I know it is going to be a shock seeing Port au prince for the first time since the earthquake hit there. You just can't imagine that conditions there could get any worse. But they have. Most of the Haitians are living in tents...still. Only God knows why things like the earthquake happen in a place like Haiti, where conditions are already so bad. I am excited to see how God has moved in Haiti through the earthquake. Please, please keep my girls and I, and our whole team in your prayers as we go to serve our awesome God. There is a cholera outbreak there, sort of icing on the cake, so we are going to have to be more cautious than ever. That with the conditions, and the state of the people there, make it a very unstable area, but one where God must be evident! I pray that our team, and the work we will be doing there will help to show the people of Haiti God's love and hope. We will be feeding a lot of Haitians, as well as helping to rebuild the school on the mission, and whatever else they ask us to do. You might not be able to join us physically on this trip, but please join us spiritually by remembering to pray for us while we are there, every day! Prayer is such a powerful tool, and we all covet your prayers covering us while we are there. I look forward to returning and sharing with you all how God is changing the lives of the people of Haiti! Thank you for your support and prayers! God bless!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Going Green!

2011-01-13T13:27:00.000-05:00

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

PRAY FOR ELI.....

2010-11-08T21:48:00.000-05:00

Please pray for Eli Olson, a senior from Greenwood High School. He was in an auto accident tonight and was flown to Hershey. He sustained a brain injury and has bleeding on the brain. They have him sedated, and he and his family definitely need your prayers. Eli and I have had a special relationship. My first Xtreme Escape Weekend with CPYM, Eli was one of the kids in my small group. He didn't know much about Christianity at the time, and his eyes were opened that weekend. I will never forget the ride home, I was driving the van, and he sat in the first back seat, leaning up between the two front seats holding his bible in his lap, just firing one question after the other. For almost 5 hours he did this, the whole trip home. He has been a blessing in my life to see his hunger for God take him from a kid with a bunch of questions to a kid that is preaching at local churches. Kids like Eli are the reason why I am doing what I am doing. Please keep him in your prayers. I know God has a plan for our lives, and knows our days, and we have to accept his will. But I have to believe God has more for this awesome young man of God! Pray!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Been awhile......

2010-11-04T23:37:00.001-04:00

It has been awhile since I wrote here. I apologize. So much has been going on. This week was an amazing week at club. We have been struggling to get more kids to attend with the new schedule and with fall sports. This week we had 12 at club! It was so awesome. So much fun, and such a good discussion! I am so amazed my God's faithfulness. Thank you so much for giving this opportunity to be used by God, and see his awesomeness first-hand!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

My First Banquet....

2010-09-27T15:47:00.000-04:00

I had my first fundraising banquet last evening. It was great. I want to thank all of you that attended, cooked, volunteered, had anything to do with it. I appreciate it so much. Only by your help and support can I keep this ministry running. Specifically I would like to thank some people, first of all, my wife and kids for putting up with my stress the past month or so, Shirey Little and Dave Hummel for helping me get through the process, John and Pat Horoschack for taking care of all the cooking and food, Brett Landis for making the cakes, my mom and Debbie Russell for baking pies, Al Knouse for being willing to speak, and Lenny Sizer for helping with all the grunt work, and Pastor Miriam Nicholson and Messiah Lutheran Church for allowing us to use their facilities. I love you all, thank you so much!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

First Tailgate of the year......

2010-09-13T15:19:00.000-04:00

What a great night we had at our first tailgate at WP home football. We had our biggest turnout ever. I got interviewed live by a radio station that was there. The owner of the station interviewed me and asked great questions like who we were, and what we were doing, and gave us a great plug over the air. The school photographer took photos of the kids hanging out with us! I recently had a banner made with West Perry Xtreme Club on it, just for tailgating. It was a great investment. There were a lot of adults that were walking by and stopped to ask about what we were doing. The response was awesome! I even got a couple donations. God has been doing some really awesome things lately with this ministry. Just in the past couple of weeks I have made contacts with several local pastors who want to help and support this ministry. I am so excited by what God is doing. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Mark

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

The start of a new school year.....

2010-08-25T01:04:00.002-04:00

Wow summer went fast! Tomorrow is the start of another school year, another year of youth ministry. I know, it is almost 1am, and I should be in bed, but I just finished updating the website. There are a lot of changes for this upcoming school year. At the advice of our director, I am changing from multiple clubs throughout the county, to one central Xtreme Club. The club is going to meet every Wednesday from 6-7:30pm in the West Perry Middle School cafeteria. With this change, I have also decided to continue ministry in the Blain and Shermans Dale locations. These meetings are going to be called "FOUNDATION" small groups. The goal of the Xtreme Club is to be focused on reaching out to the unchurched teen, sort of a Jesus Christ 101! The FOUNDATION small group is going to take the next step, dig a little deeper into God's Word. I am excited to see how God is going to work through these changes.

Also, I have been very busy working on my first solo fundraising banquet coming up in September. As I enter into this new year, with new ministries and ways of doing things, please keep me and this ministry in your prayers. This ministry has continued to grow. As it grows it requires more finances, more time, and definitely more prayer. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

2010-08-17T02:00:00.002-04:00

More events...

2010-08-11T13:44:00.002-04:00

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

IMPACT 2011

2010-08-06T00:27:00.000-04:00

IMPACT 2010 PAGE ON MY WEBSITE

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Drive-In Movie Night

2010-08-04T13:25:00.001-04:00

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Busy time......

2010-07-22T15:38:00.004-04:00

Wow, this summer is going so quickly! I was at Raystown Lake last weekend with some West Perry guys at Dave and Missi Reisinger's cabin. We had a great time. Thank you Reisinger's! This Monday we leave for Jim Thorpe for our annual bike ride. We will be doing 100 miles from Monday until Thursday! Please keep me in your prayers! LOL! When we get back, the following Monday, August 2nd we are taking kids to Knoebel's Grove Amusement Park for the day! We will be providing lunch and dinner for the kids. Anyone wanting to donate food for the trip, please contact me.

On top of all the activities we are doing, I am in the middle of planning for our first fundraising banquet. The banquet will be held Sunday, September 26, 2010 at the Messiah Lutheran Church at 6pm. I just finished addressing all the invitations. If you receive an invitation, please RSVP as soon as possible. The banquet hall there holds 150 people and we really want to fill all the seats, so your reply is very important.

I am also working on planning for the next school year, putting all my club material together, planning gym jams, and tailgating. There are going to be some big changes for my clubs this coming school year. Our director wants to see me run just one Xtreme Club. I am working with Mr. Danko, the principal of the WP Middle school to try to work out a day that we can hold it at the school. I am planning on still doing something in both the Blain and Shermans Dale locations, but it will be more of a small group/bible study. We will be doing tailgating at every home football game this year. And the Gym Jams will continue also. They are actually all scheduled already. I will be posting the schedule on the website shortly.

I am very excited for the upcoming school year. Now that I have one full year under my belt, and have figured out a lot of things that go along with job, I am really looking forward to my second year. God has been so faithful. I continue to place my trust in him and his will for this ministry.

The one thing I really am going to need this year is more volunteers! As this ministry grows, not only does the financial need grow, but also the need for more volunteers. I am not Superman! As well as the Blain and Shermans Dale "Small Groups", I would like to start some in-home small groups, especially for the senior high kids. Something where we can dig deeper into the word and discuss some of the deeper issues that the senior high kids are dealing with.

So, please continue to cover this ministry in your prayers. God has an amazing plan for the West Perry school district, and I need all of your prayers and support to make it a success. Thank you again, and please keep checking the website for updates!

God Bless,
Mark

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Summer Camp 2010 Final...

2010-06-19T17:59:00.000-04:00

We all made it home safely, and had a wonderful week, thanks for your prayers and support. I apologize for not posting more while we were there, but we didn't finish our days until midnight, and I am not as young as I used to be! The theme was "Battlefield of the Mind", which we all had a battlefield to deal with this week, from day one! We showed up at the hotel, and had no bathrooms in our room, no air conditioning, heck, I had no curtains or lights. So right away satan was at work, trying to ruin our entire week. I have to admit, the first day there, I was allowing him to have his victory. Then God reminded me why we were there, and that Jesus didn't need air conditioning or curtains, or a bathroom in his room to reach people and change hearts and minds. I thank God for the victory we had over the entire week. Many teens accepted Christ into their lives for the first time, and many teens got rid of garbage in their lives that was keeping them from a close relationship with Christ. I just want to thank all of you once again for your prayers and support. I am so blessed to be in this position, and so blessed to have all of you supporting this ministry. Thank you again! God bless!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Amazing night....

2010-06-16T22:50:00.002-04:00

This morning in our leader meeting, we were sharing prayer requests, and the one leader was telling us about a boy in their club, who lost his mom several years ago. He didn't want to follow Christ because he said his mom wasn't a believer, and he didn't want to go to heaven if she wasn't there! My heart instantly broke for this boy, that I never met. I spent the day with this boy haunting my every thought. Tonight, we had a very powerful service in which a lot of teens responded and came forward for prayer. I found out which kid he was and sought him out to pray for him. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. The words that God gave me to speak blew my mind. It is so awesome to be used by God. Not only did I get to pray for this boy, but 6 or 7 of my boys came to me for prayer. The message tonight was about getting rid of the "garbage" in our lives. They all seemed ready to do that, it was like a dam broke. God is so awesome. Thank you to all of you parents and supporters that might be reading this. I am so blessed to be able to do what I do, and none of it would be possible without your prayers and support, and willingness to let your kids be a part of this ministry. Thank you!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Half way through our first whole day.........

2010-06-14T14:04:00.001-04:00

Today has been great so far. We got up early for "Storming the Beach", which was our campwide beach games! It was awesome, everyone got in the ocean, and had fun. We even had a bunch of dolphins come in close to check us out. We met at the tabernacle for lunch, and then had our afternoon session. Right now the kids are in their afternoon seminars, and I am taking advantage of the wireless internet at the tabernacle to update this blog, and upload photos to my facebook and website that is located at www.westperrycpym.com. Our theme this week is Battlefield of the Mind. Please pray over this event. Satan has already started the battle with the bad day we had yesterday, trying to get into our heads on the first day, trying to ruin the whole week. We're not going to let him have his victory! Please pray that God would touch the lives of the students in attendance and that they would learn more of the "TRUTH", and see the power that is in it. Thank you for your continued prayer!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

We made it....barely!

2010-06-14T00:59:00.004-04:00

So, Andy Harrison and I were driving the 18ft box truck down the Atlantic City Expressway, in heavy traffic, doing 70, only 20 minutes from Ocean City. All of a sudden I noticed we had a vibration starting! Next thing I know, "BOOM!" We blew out the drivers side front tire, and we were in the middle lane! It was all I could do to try to control it! We some how, well I know how, avoided hitting the car that was right beside us, and got it stopped in the grass median. After waiting 2 and half hours along the side of the highway, we finally were rescued by an awesome dude with a tire service! So we finally made it to Ocean City. We get to our hotel. There is no tv, no air conditioning, no lights, no blinds in our room. And the smoke detector is going off for no reason. Could it get any worse? Yes it could! I realized how selfish and self-centered my thinking was. Who cares about that stuff, we are here for one reason, and that is to teach these kids about how much Jesus loves them, and wants to have a relationship with them. We don't need air conditioning, or a bathroom in our room to do that! He saved us from a certain accident that couldve been really ugly. Instead of praising him for his goodness, all I could think about was the negative! Poor me! Learning still...stupid sheep! I will try to write more tomorrow. I am beat and there is no internet in this hotel, so I am doing this on my blackberry, and my thumbs are getting tired! I will post photos on facebook until I find an internet connection. Thank you for your prayers, they definitely paid off today! God bless!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Almost Summer Camp.....

2010-06-09T00:12:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe, Summer Camp is only 5 days away! All the planning, fundraising, hard work, is about to pay off! I am really looking forward to this years Summer Camp. We will be in Ocean City, NJ from Sunday, June 13 until Friday, June 18. I need your prayers. Please cover everyone attending with your prayers. We are trusting God to move in a mighty way this week. Also pray for traveling safety. Thank you for your prayers and support. Keep checking back, I will try to post updates and photos every day here on my blog. Thank you again for your prayers and support!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

The School Year is Drawing to and End....

2010-05-10T16:48:00.000-04:00

Wow, this school year is almost over! Where has time gone! With summer quickly approaching, I am busy planning events for the summertime. We will not be having Xtreme Clubs over the summer. Instead we will be planning fun events and activities to do. So make sure you keep checking the website for upcoming events! I am really looking forward to this summer!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Xtreme Club Big Spring Hike

2010-04-18T23:59:00.000-04:00

Today was our first Xtreme Club hike at Big Spring State Park outside of New Germantown. The weather was cold, but we made the most of it. We had a blast hiking to where they tried to put a railroad in and tunnel through the mountain. It was really cool, and amazing to think that they did it all by hand. While we were at the entrance to the tunnel Abe gave a little devotional thought. He spoke about how seeing the entrance of the tunnel reminded him of Christ's grave. It was great. We hiked back to a pavillion and grilled some dogs, and had a nice little picnic. It was a great day! Thank you to all who attended!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Gym Jams

2010-03-17T23:55:00.002-04:00

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

COFFEE HOUSE

2010-03-17T23:45:00.002-04:00

Make sure you come out for this event, it is going to be a great night of fun, food and fellowship! Bring a friend!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

IMPACT...saturday...

2010-03-07T00:48:00.000-05:00

What an amazing day. My seminar went so well. I actually enjoyed doing it! (don't tell my boss...lol!) Bob's messages both this morning and this evening were fantastic. And Mikeschair once again rocked the house! After session, they came back out and did a concert for the kids! They all loved it. At the end of Bob's talk, he did an altar call for the kids that wanted to accept Christ. He also did a second call to those who were willing to make a committment to going out into the world to spread God's word and make a difference. I had a bunch of my guys stand up for that. He then asked us to take those who stood someplace and pray for them. It was awesome! We just went out into the hall and sat in a circle and I prayed over them. I am so blessed to have this job! I thought that was great. I had no idea the night was just going to get better. We had our night chat, which I have all the boys meet in one room. We talked about what Bob spoke about, making a change and difference in our community and with those around us. I really felt that God was calling us to prayer. So we had a time of prayer where ever boy in the room prayed. After that, I felt that God was calling us to do more, dig a little deeper. So, we pulled the desk chair into the middle of the room, and I explained that this might not be comfortable to do, but.....I asked them if they had a specific personal prayer request to sit in the chair, tell us what it was and allow us as a group to lay hands on them and lift them up in prayer. All I can say is...God showed up in a real and mighty way. Almost every boy sat in the chair. I really feel like chains were broken, bonds were made and God touched many hearts through our prayer time. It was definitely one of those moments that years from now as I look back on my time in this ministry, it will stick out as one of "those moments" that you will never forget. It was awesome. Thank you to all of you that are covering this weekend in prayer and supporting this ministry. Weekends like this make all the hard work worthwhile. Thank you!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

IMPACT....friday evening....

2010-03-05T23:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I admit, I was worried, stressed, feeling
inadequate coming into this weekend. Most of it was due to the fact that I have to teach a seminar tomorrow to like 130 teens...in one room...all looking at me...looking for some wisdom...from me? That is what I was thinking coming into this weekend! Then, God showed me who was in control. If you look down this page at two posts ago, you will see that I used th verse Romans 12:2. I felt like God was really impressing this verse on me. So, as I was planning my seminar, I pretty much revolved everything around it. Now, here is the kicker....tell me we don't serve an awesome God...Bob Lenz gets up on stage tonight, and starts talking...he's starting to talk about changing our hearts....being transformed....now he's opening his bible....and he reads Romans 12:2!!!! He based his opening message around the verse. His whole message was basically an alley-oop (basketball term) or an awesome set (volleyball term), for me to slam home tomorrow with my seminar. I couldn't believe it. I was totally allowing satan to get into my head, rather than trusting what I knew in my heart. God is so awesome! You know he has a sense of humor...."oh you silly little human"....lol! I only thought I was in control, when in fact he had it in the bag! Why do we ever doubt him? It just makes no sense whatsoever, because He is always, always, always there for us, always! So anyway, that was pretty awesome!

The first evening has gone really well. We left Newport at 5pm, stopped at McDonalds on Front Street in Harrisburg for dinner and arrived at the hotel just before 7pm. Session ran from 9pm until about 10:45pm. We went back to our rooms and did our "chat groups." I had all the boys. We had a really good discussion. I am really looking forward to tomorrow to see how God is going to blow my mind again!

Please keep praying for this weekend. I will be posting all the photos on my website at www.westperrycpym.com.

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

IMPACT

2010-03-04T23:46:00.000-05:00

Here it is, the night before IMPACT! I am so excited for this weekend to get here. I am looking forward to seeing God move in a mighty way this weekend. I know it is going to be a powerful weekend due to all the attacks satan has been throwing at me. Please cover us all with prayer this weekend. There are going to be over a thousand kids attending. I will try to post updates to this blog throughout the weekend. Thank you for your prayers and support of this ministry.

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

February Prayer Requests...

2010-02-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

Let me start off with a verse, in Romans 12:2 it says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." This is a verse that keeps popping up in devotions and in my prayers. I feel that it is what God is calling me to stress to the kids. Transformation. Just accepting Christ into your life is not enough. We all need to transformed by the renewing of our minds. The way we think, the things we accept, the friends we keep, all need to be checked! I tell the kids all the time that the most important thing to accepting God's forgiveness is the part that comes after that. Repentance. We need to turn from our sin, 180 degrees and walk away from it. Transforming our mind and our actions. I love movies. I used to go to almost every movie that came out no matter what the rating was. Now, by seeking a deeper walk with Christ, getting into His Word, and transforming my mind, I cannot watch rated R movies. It is not acceptable to me anymore. Transformation. I used to have friends that weren't Christians that I spent a lot of time with. I don't see those friends anymore. They were dragging me down. I want to be lifted up not dragged down. I feel this is the message the God is really calling us to get across to the teens. The transformation, repentance, turning from our sin and changing the way we think about those things that drag us down. So please join me in prayer over this ministry that God's word would come through me and the things we present to the kids. I feel that there is a great move of God beginning through this ministry. I need your prayers more than ever.

We are also preparing for Impact the beginning of March. Please keep the staff of CPYM, the speaker, the band, and all the kids attending in your prayers. I pray that hearts and minds would be open to God at this event, and lives would be changed, renewed, transformed.

Also, we are in the planning stages for Summer Camp in June. Again please pray that God's will for this event would be crystal clear to those of us planning the event.

I have Gym Jam this Friday, please cover that in prayer, as well as all of my clubs.

Thank you to all my "Prayer Warriors." I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

Mark

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

What's happening with Xtreme Club?

2010-02-23T00:59:00.001-05:00

Well, there is a lot going on! This past Sunday we took a bus and van load of kids from Perry County to Tussey Mountain Ski Slope to go tubing. It was a great day of fun. We had a blast! On the way home we made the State College Pizza Hut happy, well at least surprised, when we all pulled in. They gave us a special of any large pizza with any toppings for $10! We all ate way too much! It is always great when we can team up with Shirey and his clubs from Newport and Greenwood. We even had some kids from Ryan and Lavern's clubs in Lewistown meet us there.

I am also busy with preparations and plans for Impact which is coming up the beginning of next month, and Summer Camp in June. Impact is going to be great. We are having Bob Lenz as our speaker for the weekend and Mikeschair as our band. The kids are really excited. So far I have 25 signed up to attend. As for summer camp, we are doing something new this year. Each club is raising money through sponsors to cover the expense of the hotel for the week. By doing this, we are able to offer the first 135 students that sign up, a week at the beach for only $135. That price is $100 less than last years trip! One of the biggest problems we have in this ministry is coming up with "scholarship" money for kids that need help. By lowering the price, it will really help more students be able to afford to attend this awesome camp. If you would like to donate to sponsor a teen, or just help out, email me or call me.

I am also collecting our orders and money this week for our Krispy Kreme Donut fundraiser we have been running the past couple of weeks. This fundraiser is a great way for the teens to help themselves raise money for Summer Camp and other events we do.

I had our New Bloomfield Xtreme Club tonight. It was our fourth week of Gospel Journey Maui. This curriculum has been wonderful. The kids seem to really enjoy it, and we have had some great discussion about some deep questions that everyone has to face about the "religions" man has created and what God really desires for us in our lives.

Gym Jam is this Friday at the Blain Elementary school. Make sure you come out for this great event, and bring a friend! Hope to see you there!

Mark

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

CPYM Staff Retreat

2010-02-16T15:47:00.001-05:00

I just got back from our CPYM staff retreat. We went to Camp Eder in Gettysburg. It was a great 3 days of fellowship with all the CPYM staff. We did do some fun stuff like touring the Harley Davidson plant in York. But, most of our time was spent talking about how we do our jobs, and how we can improve upon what we do. We had a great discussion this morning on what our goals should be for our ministries. So many times ministries like this get so caught up on the "altar call!" In other words, we grade our effectiveness on how many kids respond to the altar call at our events. But in reality, so many of those kids are responding out of emotion, not really taking the commitment seriously. We talked about how important repentance is. It was a great discussion. It might change the way we do things. It is so important that we realize we can only make Jesus Christ known and real to them. It is up to them and the movement of the Holy Spirit to really make changes in their lives. We also talked about how important follow-up is to do with the kids that do make a decision to change their lives and follow Christ. It was a great weekend. Really charged the batteries, and got me fired up to do more and better to reach teens for Christ! I am so blessed to have the job I have. Thank you to all my supporters!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Xtreme Club Bowling

2010-02-13T00:25:00.001-05:00

So, the kids wanted to do another bowling night at Perry County Lanes. Last time we had like 10 or 11 kids. I called a week or so ago to reserve 4 lanes. We showed up tonight, and there were 23 kids there. I was blown away. We had such a great time, just hanging out, having fun, and of course acting a little crazy! This is the "Xtreme Club!" We bowled from 7:30pm until 10:30pm, then went across the street to MaMa's Pizza. Abe Reisinger graciously bought all the kids pizza. It was a great night. Had kids turn out that I have never had a club before! I want to personally thank the adults that came out to help "control" things. My wife Melissa, Abe, Denny & Tammy Rahn, and Angie Hockenberry. Thanks so much for your help.

It was also cool, because we showed up at the bowling alley, and there were a bunch of West Perry kids that I know from school there, just hanging out. They were surprised to see a lot of kids they know come in as a group, and wondered what we were doing. So, it was a great opportunity to talk to a couple of them about what we were doing. It's so cool when God serves up a great "alley-oop" for ya to slam home! It was just a very cool night! Thanks to all of you who support this ministry, making it possible for me to do what I do!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Loysville Youth Detention Center....

2010-01-30T15:22:00.001-05:00

Today I got up early to help some of my friends from Rock Solid Youth Group run a 3 on 3 basketball tournament at the Loysville Youth Detention Center, which is a place where they send kids too young to go to prison. It is always an awesome time when we get to go in there and do things for the boys. So many, so young, in so much trouble, not knowing where to turn. You look at them playing a fun game of basketball with so much anger and rage, it tears your heart out. I pray that somehow, some way, us being there every so often, showing them that someone cares about them, and telling them that Jesus loves them, will make a difference in their lives. I just thank God for giving us the opportunity to go and minister to these boys, and get to know them a little bit. What a blessing!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Gym Jam

2010-01-29T23:37:00.003-05:00

We had Gym Jam tonight at Blain Elementary School. We had 30 some kids there, a lot of younger kids. We missed a lot of the older kids because there was a home basketball game. But it was a great night anyway! Tammy Rahn shared a great message at "half-time"! Thanks Tam for sharing your heart! I always love this event, to see all the kids come together and just have fun. It is good for a old man like me! Keeps me young! Although tonight I was suffering from a bad back, they got the best of me!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Awesome Day!

2010-01-27T23:19:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day! I was asked by the students running the FCS club (Fellowship of Christian Students) at West Perry High School, to speak at their club meeting today. It was so cool to get the opportunity to go into a public school and talk about God. I basically gave my testimony, and talked about how God has worked in my life. I encouraged them to reach my age with a "Godly testimony" and not a "worldly testimony" as mine was. I enjoyed it, even though for some reason, I got really nervous when I started speaking. I was sweating like crazy. But I had their attention. It was just great. God is good. I also talked about how we were created with a "God-shaped hole in our heart, and how we try to fill that hole with everything, but nothing fits but God. I then told them how Jesus died on the cross to save us. No matter what, He will love them and forgive them if they give their lives to Him, and turn from their sin.

Then, tonight, we had our youth group. It was our first night of our 6 week yearly event called "Cross Color Jam." We separate the kids into 4 teams, red, yellow, green and blue. It is basically a 6 week competition to see who can get the most points by wearing their team colors, bringing friends, winning games, etc. At the end of the 6 weeks, the team with the most points gets a paid trip to the Lewistown YMCA for a fun night of games and swimming. It was great because half of the kids there were from West Perry! Go GREEN! Our theme this year is "Super Heroes." I don't know how many kids were there, but it had to be over 100. Our biggest opening night ever. Last year we had close over 200 kids by the last week! So, we have a really good start. It is so awesome to see churches and kids from all over Perry County come together to not only have fun, but learn about God and draw closer to Him. God is good! Praise Him!

To see photos of Cross Color Jam week 1, click HERE.

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Upcoming Events

2010-01-25T14:59:00.002-05:00

Go to www.westperrycpym.com for more info!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

What we're starting at our clubs...

2010-01-20T22:50:00.007-05:00

Ok, so we're starting a new series in my clubs, something I am really excited about. It is called "Gospel Journey Maui." It is a 9 week program that uses a reality type show to tackle difficult religious questions.

Relational, relevant and edgy, the new GOSPEL Journey^® Maui spiritual reality series is all about real questions and real conversations. Seven young strangers with diverse spiritual worldviews and a Preacher/Wannabe-Surfer named Greg Stier hung out for an entire week in Maui. Together, they went surfing and snorkeling, rode a zipline, watched the sun rise over Haleakala, hiked Molokai, toured a leper colony, and had intense, spiritual conversations.
Gospel Journey Maui Promo Video
Each day, Greg introduced a new question, triggering intense spiritual dialogue and a tidal wave of emotions. "Is there a higher power? What is the purpose of life? What happens when we die?" Ultimately it boiled down to this: Can everyone be right? The GOSPEL Journey Maui reality series and curriculum will transform your youth group into a reality series. Your teens will be challenged to understand their own beliefs and to engage their friends in intentional and 'dangerous' spiritual conversations.

Make sure to ask your teen about what they are talking about at

Xtreme Club!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Emotional Day.....

2010-01-16T01:39:00.000-05:00

Well, today was a tough day. Found out that our trip to Haiti in 3 weeks has been cancelled. It is heartbreaking. Even though I figured it would be, due to the conditions there, I was still hoping that some way, some how, we would be able to go. It is almost 1:30am Saturday morning. I think I have been up this late every night since the earthquake, just watching the news coverage. Tonight I think I finally hit the "I can't watch anymore" wall! The suffering, the loss of life due to no help, the politics, the exploitation of the tragedy, the treatment of the dead bodies, it all sickens me, as does Pat Robertson's comments. Don't get me started. What can I say, this has been one of the most emotionally draining weeks I can remember.

Ok, enough negative, how about some positive news from today.....Blain Gym Jam! We had a great turnout tonight at Gym Jam. I didn't get an exact count, but there had to be almost 40 kids there tonight. It was great! Thanks to a donor, I was able to buy balls for Gym Jam earlier this week, and the kids put them to good use tonight. At our halftime break, I felt led to share about the 5th Commandment, honor your parents. It was just a really cool night. I love my kids! Thank you to all my supporters for making it possible to do these things with the kids through this ministry.

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

2010-01-14T12:34:00.002-05:00

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

2010-01-13T15:54:00.003-05:00

Please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers during this difficult time. You cannot imagine how bad conditions there are with out being there during a "normal" time. This is so bad. I pray for the people of Haiti and the misssionaries there at New Missions. We are scheduled to go there in just 3 weeks. I pray we will be able to. If you would like to help out by making a financial donation, please go to www.newmissions.org.

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Xtreme Escape Weekend - Sunday

2010-01-10T19:39:00.000-05:00

Sorry I couldn't post yesterday, the internet was down at the place we were staying, so I will update you now! We had a wonderful weekend! Saturday morning we had a great morning session. Ryan continued the theme of "The Walk", by talking about God and Adam's walk through the garden. He talked about how God established the rules with Adam. Following session we had free time in the afternoon. The kids had the opportunity to go to the Sports Dome and go to the arcade, play mini-golf, laser tag, or eat ice cream. They also had games back at Family First. It was a great afternoon. The evening session was my turn to speak. I talked about Adam and Eve's walk to the tree, and the creation of sin, and it's impact on all of us. I also spoke about how Jesus Christ has already won the victory over our sin, and all they have to do is accept Him into their hearts. We did an altar call, and the response was great. Session was to be over at 9:30pm, but kids were still in the meeting room praying and being counseled until 11:00pm. It was awesome to see God move. Kids were crying with each other, praying with each other, it was awesome. Today we got up and ate breakfast then had session. Abe wrapped up the whole weekend. It was such a good weekend. I will write more about it later, I just fell asleep while typing this....LOL! Check out the website for photos!

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Xtreme Escape Weekend - Friday

2010-01-09T02:27:00.003-05:00

Well, we made it to Erie safely, despite the snow covered roads. As soon as we arrived the kids unloaded their stuff changed into their trunks and bathing suits,

and we were off to Splash Lagoon. It was awesome to see the kids having such a great time bonding with other kids.

They had so much fun. We were there until around 5:30pm, then came back to Family First for dinner at 6:00pm. Following our dinner, we had our first session from 7-9:00pm. It was really great. The theme this year is "The Walk." Our first night we learned about the "walk" God took to create the world we live in and around us. Mitch was the speaker and did a great job incorporating a Louie Gigglio video on the vastness of God's creation. The kids were broken into small groups and learned about the creation story in Genesis. Following Mitch's talk, and small group time, we had a wonderful time of worship led by Shawn Hoffmaster. It was so great to see kids with their arms raised praising the God of creation.

You could feel the presence of God fall on the room. After session, we ordered pizza for the kids, and then headed over to the sports complex for our "Late Nighter!" We had football, soccer, volleyball, dodgeball, basketball, volleyball, all going at once. It was so much fun. We got back to Family First around 2:15am.Needless to say, it was fun, but an old man like me is feeling it. I probably won't be able to move in the morning. I know the kids are going to sleep good tonight, including me. Tomorrow we continue "The Walk", learning about God's walk with Adam through the garden in the morning session, and I am speaking in the evening about Adam and Eve's "walk" to the tree.

Please be in prayer for tomorrow evenings session.

I am in charge of doing the altar call, and I really don't know how I am going to do it yet. Still waiting on God. I just don't want it to be about numbers. I want it to be genuine, and real to the kids. Not about emotion, but about changing lives. I pray that God will move in a mighty way tomorrow. Please join me in praying for a strong, real movement of God. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support of this weekend and our ministry. I am so blessed..........

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

Ready for Xtreme Escape Weekend!!

2010-01-07T14:18:00.002-05:00

Well, here it is, the day before Xtreme Escape Weekend! I am excited and nervous at the same time. Excited that this is the first event that I have a good group of kids going. Stressed because I have to speak Saturday night and do the altar call. I know, I know, let go and let God! Easier said than done. LOL! Anyway, please be in prayer over this weekend. Pray for safe travel for everyone, it is calling for snow. Someone told me Eerie has like 3 or 4 feet of snow already. Pray for safety for the kids. This camp is very active, a lot of sports. So pray for no accidents, no broken bones. Also pray for all the people speaking this weekend, that their ears and hearts would be open to the movement of God. And that He would move through them to reach the hearts and minds of all the kids in attendance this weekend. Pray especially for the one's that do come forward Saturday night. Pray that it would be real to them, and not just an emotional response. Pray that lives will be changed this weekend. Thank you all for your prayer covering, and your continued support of this ministry.

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am!" Phillipians 4:13

What's going on.......

2009-12-19T00:16:00.009-05:00

Wow, ok, so there is a lot going on in West Perry CPYM right now! Tonight we had our Blain Christmas Gym Jam! We had so much fun! We had 23 kids turnout for a great night of fun and games. I want to give special thanks to Shirley Foor, Patience Hill, Debbie Russell, Dory Frownfelter, and Tammy Rahn for baking homemade Christmas cookies for the kids tonight! The kids loved them, and were so happy to have them. Thanks ladies!

For those of you who don't know what a "Gym Jam" is, it is something I started in Blain as an outreach to the kids there. We rent the Blain Elementary School Gym, and open it to the kids. We play organized games such as dodgeball, kickball, basketball, etc. We have a halftime where either myself or Abe Reisinger share a short devotion or lesson for the night. We have had over 50 kids attend at one time! It is an awesome opportunity to build relationships with the kids and share the word of God with them.

So thank you all for your continued prayer and support of this ministry. If it wasn't for the people who support this ministry financially and through prayer, none of this would happen. I am so blessed by the amount of support I have received so far.

I also would like to share some prayer requests. I want to lift up all the kids who might not get a Christmas present this holiday, especially the one's that don't know Christ. I just pray that they will receive the one and only true Christmas gift, that never runs out, never needs batteries, never needs watered, it just needs accepted! Also, hopefully I will be blogging before this, but Xtreme Escape Weekend is coming up January 8-10 in Erie, PA. Just pray that God would be preparing the hearts of the kids signed up to go. And pray for the the speakers for the weekend. (I am one of them) That God would speak through them to reach the kids that attend. We also need prayer for safe travel to and from Erie.

Thanks again for making this ministry possible! May God richly bless you this holiday season!

September 17, 2008

2008-09-17T17:31:00.001-04:00

Well, I am in the process of raising support so I can start my new job as a youth worker with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ministries. I received the call from God to do this and I know he is going to provide for my family and I, but it is just going a lot slower that "I" would like. I am trying prayerfully to not get frustrated and trust His timing! I am so excited to get started. I have gained approval to enter both school districts I will be working in, and am just waiting for all my clearances to come back. We are going to have so much going on, I cannot wait to get the ball rolling! So keep praying for me, and check back, I will be blogging let you know how things are going!

Gonna try this....

2008-09-17T17:31:00.000-04:00

Ok, I don't know much about how this works, but I, Mark Foor am going to try blogging! We will see how it goes.....stay tuned!