Below is a Student Life Camp video blog from our Student Pastor, Wesley Odum.

As the Student Pastor at Compass Church, I have the privilege of challenging our students to give their lives to Jesus and pursue Him.  One of the most difficult things to show them is God’s faithfulness and why they should continually worship Him.

In our culture today, we all have to fight the desire of instant gratification and a “what have you done for me lately” mindset.  At times, students will tell me that God is not there for them.  Look around. We live in world of high speed internet; we can retrieve information at the touch of a finger, 5 minute dinners and a scrolling sports update on ESPN networks.

This has created a scary trend in my life as well.  At times, I battle feeling like worshipping God with my life because of a notion that He has failed me.  The fact that I somehow believe that God has failed me leads me to fail Him. It hinders me from offering the only thing that I have to give God, my worship. There is absolutely nothing else to offer or anything else He wants from me.

Why worship?

Psalm 103:1-5

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

I do not deserve anything else from God; He has rescued me from death and has given me hope. That’s enough! If He never did anything else for me, He has been more generous than I deserve.

So I encourage you to be reminded of the joy of your salvation and Worship Him.

Each semester I evaluate how The 706 student ministry is functioning and how we are lining up with what God has called us to do. This Sunday, I’m meeting for dinner with all of The 706 leaders to give a mid-semester “Report Card” of how we’ve carried out the vision that God has given us for The 706. Here’s an early peak at how things are going.

The 706 meets each Wednesday night at our Athens Campus from 6:30-8:30 with services beginning at 7:06.

Guest Blog by Wesley Odum, Student and Oconee Campus Pastor
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This coming Sunday night, August 30th at 6PM is our Partnership Class. It’s Strategic…It’s Huge…you should BE THERE…Here’s WHY.

If you have not noticed, God is doing some pretty incredible things at Compass. Over the past two weeks 66 people have jumped up to make a statement about their lives and have jumped in a horse trough to be baptized to proclaim their dedication to follow Jesus.

To be honest, God has positioned us as a church to advance The Gospel in Northeast Georgia in a powerful way. Each week He is faithful in sending us guests that are far from Him and entrusting that we will be ambassadors on His behalf.

I want to ask you as a church, “What are we going to do with what He has entrusted us?”

Today I want to encourage those of you who are not a part of what God is doing to BE BOLD and partner with us in this monumental effort. Due to what God has done, and is currently doing, we are planning on BOLDLY moving forward to ensure that we are prepared for what God is going to bring.

Here’s your part. We have strategically designed an environment for those of you who are ready to partner with us through volunteering. You know it is time for you to quit hearing about what God is doing and begin being a part of the story He is writing.

TODAY IS THE DAY.

GOD IS MOVING.

Don’t leave what God has given you sitting on the table. It could be that what He has given you to serve with will change the direction of someone’s life.

Are you ready to be a part?

If so, sign up to partner with us by attending our Partnership Class on August 30 at 6:00 by clicking here.

Recently At THE 706 (student ministry), we have been fighting culture. When we hear the word “CULTURE” we often think of how the “world” is influencing the decisions and choices students make. As 706 leaders we have had to fight a more influential culture than the “world,” we have had to swing hard at the culture of “religion.” During our current series on the Book of James, multiple students have stepped out of the culture of “religion” and into a living and active relationship with Jesus.

Key Principles God is pouring into our students:

1) God’s Word is a mirror. (James 1:22-25)
The Bible shows us who we really are and the things in our lives that must change. It’s up to us to respond.
We would not wake, look in the mirror to see a huge whitehead on our face and let it go; so why hear from God through His Word (mirror) and not respond? I believe we make following Jesus harder than it needs to be at times. Simply hear from God and respond.

2) Faith without action is dead. (James 2:14-19)
Have we really given our lives over to God if we are not living like it?

3) The tongue is a tool. (James 3)
With this tool we can speak truth into lives. We can praise God. We can rip lives apart. The way people in your life respond to God depends on how we use this tool.

Yes, we play videos games, have pizza and listen to loud music at THE 706. Don’t be fooled though, we are fighting culture.

Get your student there!

THE 706 meets Wednesdays from 7:06 – 8:30 at the Athens Campus.

Wesley