Laurelville 2018

“What. A. Weekend!” was the refrain around the office after each Laurelville Mud Weekend this year. For 55 years, we have faithfully invited youth leaders and their students to Laurelville Christian Retreat Center for the best weekend ever. This year, we welcomed 1,532 students and leaders over the course of 4 weekends.

Our seasonal camp-staff spent time before and at camp training together, growing together, and learning what it means to be part of a staff family as we carry out the work that God has called us to.

It’s hard to know how much mud (or how much laundry detergent) it takes to pull off a Laurelville Mud Weekend. And while all of the mud football we play and the dancing we do at camp are important pieces of Laurelville, the most significant part of camp is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with kids. Every weekend we witnessed students enter into brand new relationships with Jesus, and every Sunday afternoon, we celebrated our new brothers and sisters in Christ.

3 Tips for Going Back To School

It's late August, which means you can't go one day without being reminded that a new school year is quickly approaching. Commercials, junk mail, even Instagram ads are all out in full force letting you know that it's officially "Back to School" season. All of the sales and ads are focused on helping you prepare physically for a new school year - maybe you need new notebooks, pencils, and you definitely need a fresh pair of shoes. But it's easy to forget to prepare spiritually for a new school year. 

Summer gives us an excellent opportunity to be distraction free. There's no homework or classes, and you have plenty of time to hang out with your friends and hopefully even go to summer camp. If you came to Surf City this summer, we hope you had a ton of fun and got closer to Jesus at the same time. After camp, it's typical to feel like you're "on fire" for God and really excited about what you learned. But if we're not prepared spiritually, it's easy to lose that excitement once we start the new school year. Here are a few of our favorite ways to keep that summer camp feeling going all year round.

1. Start a devotional plan. "Devotional plan" can sound intense. Here's our advice: start small and figure out what works best for you. Can't commit to doing a devotional every day? Start with a few days a week and go from there. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you have a free study hall in the middle of the day? Find a time that works for you! Our favorite free Bible app, YouVersion has hundreds of quick devotionals that you can do whenever you have time. The most important thing is to be reading with some consistency.
2. Make smart friendships. There's a saying, "You are the average of the five people you most associate with." Take a look at who you hang out with the most. Are they people you want to be like? Find people you want to be like and surround yourself with them. Be intentional about the friends you spend most of your time with. Good friends will help you through tough times. 
3. Get involved in your youth group. Your church's youth group is likely full of students just like you who are figuring life out and want to be more like Jesus. It's hard to think of an event throughout the year that is closer to summer camp than your weekly youth group. Your youth leaders are there each week to hang out with you. Connect with them, and they'll support you throughout the school year!
4. Bonus. Sign up for Laurelville! Did you know that we run a fall retreat called Laurelville that is just as fun as Surf City but crammed into one nonstop weekend?

The Pittsburgh Kids Network

The Pittsburgh Kids Network (PKN) has always been the backbone of The Pittsburgh Kids Foundation. PKN is a Network of support, understanding, encouragement, and training. Once a month, we gather youth leaders from all over the Pittsburgh area and encourage them to engage with their peers who are also on the frontlines of ministry.  Monthly PKN Meetings provide a much-needed opportunity to connect with other leaders, share prayer requests, worship the Lord and be free of the everyday demands and expectations of youth ministry. Youth leaders also have the opportunity to meet on a smaller scale in PKN Groups in their own geographical area of Pittsburgh. There they can share ideas, concerns, and support with one another, as well as collaborate on upcoming events.

We sat down with a few of the youth leaders in the Network and asked them how it's impacted their lives and their ministries. Check it out.

PKN meetings are open to all youth leaders and resume on September 7, 2018! For more information on upcoming Network events, join the PKN Facebook Group.