In this episode, members of Overflow Youth group share and recapture their experience on the Confirmation Retreat in January of 2024. The Confirmation Retreat is an overnight experience at St. Simmons Island where the youth have the opportunity to learn about the history of the Methodist denomination. 

In this episode Will Cobb, a Christian Ministry student, and Bill Adams discuss some ideas around defeating the enemy, how we choose to follow the Lord, and other such topics. We bounce between very practical and somewhat philosophical ideas, but always base our discussion in understanding what the Bible says on these topics.

In this episode, Will Adams, a graduate of the youth program at First Church DeLand comes back to share how the youth program has shaped and prepared him for college life. Will is a sophomore in college at Gordon College in Massachusetts studying physics/engineering.

Overflow Youth Group has been engaging in a sermon series called "Serving Challenge". The youth have been learning that serving is an important part of growing their faith and "kicking butt for the Kingdom". The youth were given 5 questions to chose from that relate to the "Serving Challenge" series. They take turns sharing their testimony, opinions, and challenges with serving like Jesus.

In this episode we are fortunate to hear from Bobby about God's provision, protection, and guidance in his life. Bobby is a client at DMTR (DeLand Mens Residential Treatment Program for substance abuse) who graduates in a few days and has been attending our church regularly since starting his program. We hope you all enjoy hearing from him as much as we did talking with this wonderful gentleman.

In this episode we visit with Pastor Mark Bitner, the Pastor here at First Church DeLand. We discuss his upcoming sermon series, "Grab an Oar", explore why God placed this topic on his heart, and what he hopes the church will discover during the series.

You can contact our church office to find out about opportunities to "grab an oar": phone 386-734-5113 or email  [email protected]

Bible verses mentioned:

* 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 -- one body, many members

* Exodus 18 -- Jethro, Moses's Father-in-law, and his discussion about spreading out the load among many people

* Matthew 10:5-15: Jesus sends out the 12 apostles (each grabbing an oar in their own way)

In this episode, we journey with Will Cobb on his mission trip to a Peruvian boys home. Will Cobb is a student finishing his Bachelors of Science in Christian Ministries this year, as serving as our custodian at First Church DeLand.

For more information about ministry opportunities you can:

* Contact our Pastor, Mark Bitner at [email protected] for information about missionary work our church helps support.

* https://cru.org (CRU) is a Christian Ministry organization that connects people with many short term missionary opportunities.

* https://ywam.org (YWAM) an organization focused on youth missionary work.

* https://abwe.org (ABWE) is another organization connecting folks with missionary opportunities.

In this episode, we have a conversation with Jessica Smotherman, our new Director of Christian Education. She is an interesting person that brings a unique perspective to our church and we're excited to introduce you all to her.

For those interested in volunteering you can reach Jessica at:

386-734-5113 extension 221

Email address: [email protected]

Hello and welcome to our first episode of The Family Reunion! In today's episode, we'll be hearing from Lucy Hudson, our Youth Pastor, about her philosophy for the 2023-2024 school year in our youth program. Additionally she will discuss some upcoming events and recently completed events.