CTF Ministry Update
A Story
“An old man was doing his daily walk along the beach one morning, when he spotted a young boy crouched by the water, scooping something up from the sand and throwing it into the sea.
The beach was normally empty at this time of day, and so the old man stopped to watch for a while.
He noticed that the boy kept on shuffling a little further down the beach, then repeating this same action again and again – stopping, scooping, throwing, moving.
“What are you doing there, boy?” the old man asked, walking closer.
“I’m saving these starfish that are stranded” replied the boy, “if they stay on the beach they will dry out and die, so I’m putting them back into the ocean so they can live.”
The old man was silent for a few seconds.
“Young man” he said, “on this stretch of beach alone, there must be more than one hundred stranded starfish. Around the next corner, there must be at least one thousand more. This goes on for miles and miles and miles – I’ve done this walk every day for 10 years, and it’s always the same. There must be millions of stranded starfish! I hate to say it, but you’ll never make a difference.”
The boy replied “well I just made a difference for that one”, and continued with his work.”
This past week in one of my meetings, my dear friend Ronnie Worsham told me this story to encourage me in my ministry. I wanted to pass it along to you in the hopes that it also encourages you! Life is hard. Jesus tells us that “in this world we will have trouble”. But right after that he tells us to “take heart!” Because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
Often in ministry it can be easy to get bogged down with thoughts similar to the ones that the old man expresses to the boy in this story. But the boy has the right idea here! God cares about every single human on this planet. He created them! This story is a reminder that loving and caring for one another is not a small thing. It matters a whole lot to God. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
“Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9). Love your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors well. Keep loving them even when it’s hard. Love them even if they’re not loving you back. Love them even if it doesn’t make sense. Even if it only makes a difference for one person. That’s who our Lord is, and that’s what He does. I hope this encourages you!
Let me tell you a little bit about what we’ve been up to at CTF!
Events!
Over the student’s Fall Break in October, we had an awesome event playing laser tag and whirlyball, which is basically a combination of bumper cars and basketball. It was a ton of fun.
Our Church had a fall retreat this past weekend at Lake Lavon. It was a refreshing weekend full of worship, learning, and relationship building. I love my church family!
Ministry
Our Wednesday Nights this semester have been going really well. We’ve been in a sermon series that we titled “There’s a Better Way”. The whole idea is that the world is constantly bombarding us with ideas and messages about what “the good life” is. Jesus says in John 10 that “the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but that He has come to offer us life to the full”. In this series, we’ve tackled topics that we feel teens are challenged with on a daily basis, and offered them the better way through Jesus. A few of our sermons have been There’s a Better Way than Anger and Resentment, There’s a Better Way to Have Fun (partying, drinking, etc), and There’s a Better Way to Speak (gossip, negativity, complacency, etc). At our songs and s'mores event last week we asked three older students to share how they’ve seen Jesus offer them a better way than the world. It was really neat to hear them talk about how following Jesus has pulled them out of a life of pain and heartache that they experienced in the world.
Prayer Requests
-Pray that our students would continue to grow in their love for Jesus, and their devotion to Him. Pray that God would protect them from the temptations and dangers of the world.
-Our Wednesday Nights. Continue to pray that our worship times and sermons would encourage and build up our ministry. That God would use these sermons and our JT Groups to show these teens that Jesus offers a better way than what the world is offering them.
-Pray for our adult youth leader volunteers. They are a crucial part of this ministry, and they have such a huge impact on our teens. Pray that God would bless them, strengthen them, and encourage them to continue serving these teens. Pray that our small group would be a time of spiritual growth and community building for our team.
-Pray for all the young men that I get to mentor and study the Bible with: Aiden, Cole, Kole, Hudson, Logan, Tucker, Connor C, Connor W, Jacob G, Jacob H, and Brady.
-Praise God that He’s opened the doors for me to get to study the Bible with the Wylie East Baseball and Football team! Pray that this would be a fruitful opportunity, and that God would use me to lead these young men to Jesus!
As always, your partnership and support are one of the greatest blessings of my life. Thank you for believing in me, praying for me, and supporting me. Please let me know if there are ways that I can be praying for you or serving you or your families!
“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
-Numbers 6:24-26
William Royal
william@ctfwylie.org
972-979-6722
“An old man was doing his daily walk along the beach one morning, when he spotted a young boy crouched by the water, scooping something up from the sand and throwing it into the sea.
The beach was normally empty at this time of day, and so the old man stopped to watch for a while.
He noticed that the boy kept on shuffling a little further down the beach, then repeating this same action again and again – stopping, scooping, throwing, moving.
“What are you doing there, boy?” the old man asked, walking closer.
“I’m saving these starfish that are stranded” replied the boy, “if they stay on the beach they will dry out and die, so I’m putting them back into the ocean so they can live.”
The old man was silent for a few seconds.
“Young man” he said, “on this stretch of beach alone, there must be more than one hundred stranded starfish. Around the next corner, there must be at least one thousand more. This goes on for miles and miles and miles – I’ve done this walk every day for 10 years, and it’s always the same. There must be millions of stranded starfish! I hate to say it, but you’ll never make a difference.”
The boy replied “well I just made a difference for that one”, and continued with his work.”
This past week in one of my meetings, my dear friend Ronnie Worsham told me this story to encourage me in my ministry. I wanted to pass it along to you in the hopes that it also encourages you! Life is hard. Jesus tells us that “in this world we will have trouble”. But right after that he tells us to “take heart!” Because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
Often in ministry it can be easy to get bogged down with thoughts similar to the ones that the old man expresses to the boy in this story. But the boy has the right idea here! God cares about every single human on this planet. He created them! This story is a reminder that loving and caring for one another is not a small thing. It matters a whole lot to God. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
“Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9). Love your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors well. Keep loving them even when it’s hard. Love them even if they’re not loving you back. Love them even if it doesn’t make sense. Even if it only makes a difference for one person. That’s who our Lord is, and that’s what He does. I hope this encourages you!
Let me tell you a little bit about what we’ve been up to at CTF!
Events!
Over the last two months we've had a few really fun events! In September, we did an 80's themed event at Thunderbird roller rink which was an absolute blast!
 |
| A few of our girls at the roller rink! |
Over the student’s Fall Break in October, we had an awesome event playing laser tag and whirlyball, which is basically a combination of bumper cars and basketball. It was a ton of fun.
Last week, we had our 6th annual Songs and S’mores event! This is one of our students’ favorite events each year. We had our gathering outside in the parking lot, sang worship songs, had a few of our students share their takeaways from our sermon series, and roasted some s’mores around the fire. It was a really good night!
 |
| Songs and S'mores! |
Our Church had a fall retreat this past weekend at Lake Lavon. It was a refreshing weekend full of worship, learning, and relationship building. I love my church family!
 |
| Fall Church Retreat |
Ministry
Our Wednesday Nights this semester have been going really well. We’ve been in a sermon series that we titled “There’s a Better Way”. The whole idea is that the world is constantly bombarding us with ideas and messages about what “the good life” is. Jesus says in John 10 that “the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but that He has come to offer us life to the full”. In this series, we’ve tackled topics that we feel teens are challenged with on a daily basis, and offered them the better way through Jesus. A few of our sermons have been There’s a Better Way than Anger and Resentment, There’s a Better Way to Have Fun (partying, drinking, etc), and There’s a Better Way to Speak (gossip, negativity, complacency, etc). At our songs and s'mores event last week we asked three older students to share how they’ve seen Jesus offer them a better way than the world. It was really neat to hear them talk about how following Jesus has pulled them out of a life of pain and heartache that they experienced in the world.
 |
| Matt and I got to talk to our teens about dating and relationships |
 |
| We had a panel of our Youth Leaders discuss "A better way to have fun" |
We had our first Student Committee meeting this week! Our StuCo is made up of Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors who want to take ownership of this ministry and use their time here to lead and serve. We meet once a month before CTF on Wednesday nights to talk about our CTF nights and events, look ahead and plan, and work on leadership and spiritual development. We’ve got a great group of leaders on our Student Committee this year!
All of my personal discipling ministry is continuing on as well. Right now I get one on one time with anywhere from eight to ten students a week. We meet up, study the Bible, and talk about life together. It’s easily my favorite (and sometimes the most difficult) part of my job. I also get to help lead a Bible study with the Wylie Prep football team, and next week I’m starting a Bible study on campus at Wylie East with the football and baseball teams! Please be praying for that!
All of my personal discipling ministry is continuing on as well. Right now I get one on one time with anywhere from eight to ten students a week. We meet up, study the Bible, and talk about life together. It’s easily my favorite (and sometimes the most difficult) part of my job. I also get to help lead a Bible study with the Wylie Prep football team, and next week I’m starting a Bible study on campus at Wylie East with the football and baseball teams! Please be praying for that!
 |
| Wylie Prep football Bible study! |
Prayer Requests
-Pray that our students would continue to grow in their love for Jesus, and their devotion to Him. Pray that God would protect them from the temptations and dangers of the world.
-Our Wednesday Nights. Continue to pray that our worship times and sermons would encourage and build up our ministry. That God would use these sermons and our JT Groups to show these teens that Jesus offers a better way than what the world is offering them.
-Pray for our adult youth leader volunteers. They are a crucial part of this ministry, and they have such a huge impact on our teens. Pray that God would bless them, strengthen them, and encourage them to continue serving these teens. Pray that our small group would be a time of spiritual growth and community building for our team.
-Pray for all the young men that I get to mentor and study the Bible with: Aiden, Cole, Kole, Hudson, Logan, Tucker, Connor C, Connor W, Jacob G, Jacob H, and Brady.
-Praise God that He’s opened the doors for me to get to study the Bible with the Wylie East Baseball and Football team! Pray that this would be a fruitful opportunity, and that God would use me to lead these young men to Jesus!
As always, your partnership and support are one of the greatest blessings of my life. Thank you for believing in me, praying for me, and supporting me. Please let me know if there are ways that I can be praying for you or serving you or your families!
“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
-Numbers 6:24-26
William Royal
william@ctfwylie.org
972-979-6722
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