Jillian Zavacky

I’ll be the first to admit that two years ago on the 2010 Sr. High Bike Trip, I was a mess. I was embarrassed that fifty-something teens were kicking my butt in bike-riding (and I was only six years older than some of them!) I remember dreading every morning that I woke up, knowing I was going to bike over twenty miles that day in  eighty-degree weather! I was spent, beat, tired, and just downright overwhelmed. Having to do ministry in a physical state like that is nearly impossible. It was a humbling experience, to say the least.

This year, however, I saw the Bike Trip through a new well-trained and in-shape lens. Fifty-some teens, ready and willing to bike over 175 miles across Florida in one week sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Well it sort of is. Adults and teens from our very own Reston Bible Church, along with several of their friends from school, got in line for a chance to achieve such a daunting task. What strength. What boldness. What bravery!

There is no avoiding the magnitude of God’s brilliance during a trip like this. Who else would orchestrate such a group teenagers of different shapes, sizes, athletic abilities, talents, spiritual maturity levels, and backgrounds, all united for a single purpose: to cross the finish line at Disney World?

But what was the point? What is the Bike Trip all about? You’re right to question our intentions behind taking a group of sixty teenagers and adults down to Florida for Spring Break. It sounds like a party. It sounds like a lot of work. But our purpose was not so small a thing – to allow our teens at RBC a chance to not only be challenged in their own walk with Christ, but to also have an opportunity to invite their unchurched friends to a Christian event in an nonthreatening, fun environment. Every day during our lunch stop, we’d have a short devotional as a biking group (of about eight people).

Each night we’d have a message brought to us by Bob Shull, our Sr. High Youth Pastor. Each day these students had an opportunity to learn something new about themselves. Each day they had a chance to discover and experience God in different ways. And each day we presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the group in a new way.

God has unique ways of working in our lives, and the Sr. High Bike Trip is always a unique opportunity to be a part of what He is doing in the lives of our teens. No matter how old we are or where we are in life, we have a responsibility to lead future generations toward the Kingdom of God by pointing them to Christ. We have a responsibility to help those younger than us grow in their relationships with God. The Sr. High Bike Trip is simply one way that we do this at Reston Bible Church.

We each truly experienced God in new ways and watched Him change and work in the lives of our teenagers. And on the last afternoon before we loaded the buses for home, at least a handful of students responded to God’s free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Five new brothers and sisters recognized their need for Jesus in their lives, and committed to pursuing a relationship with Him. And so we rejoice!

Like I said earlier, there is no avoiding the magnitude of God’s brilliance during a trip like this. Who else, but the Holy Spirit could do this work in these students lives?

We thank you for your prayers and support. They truly go beyond what we could ever give you credit for. We ask that you continue to pray for these new believers within our midst. Let us be able to lead them even further towards Truth and be led by the Holy Spirit as we continue to seek to make disciples.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

~ Isaiah 40:28-31

This past weekend, our middle and high school teens faced the topic of “Born Identity” at our annual youth Winter Retreat in Pennsylvania. Our friends from Potomac Baptist Church brought some teens and joined us this year as well. Throughout the weekend we wrestled with our identity, particularly addressing the importance for it to be rooted and grounded in Christ. Our speaker Mike Reed, an alumni of RBC’s youth group and former youth pastor at McLean Bible Church, brought the Word to us each morning and evening, and allowed us to discover more of who Jesus really is.

We challenged students to look at all the things in their life that they give a priority to, and identify one that they lean on – one that they really depend on to find their greatest identity. Many students said their identity is in success in school or sports, appearance, and relationships with others. All of these things can be good things, but as parents and Christian leaders, we have to constantly remind our students that what God says about them is more important then any pressure or affection this world has to offer, whether it is good or not.

Mike Reed made some relevant and practical points regarding the fact that most of us decide what we’re going to believe based on what we desire. We believe the things about God that make Him seem more attractive to us and to our friends and family instead of believing all of the things about Him that are true. We often see the affections of the world as so much better than what Christ has to offer. Who Christ says we are is rarely more attractive to us than the short-term satisfaction that the world gives. We think we need all of these other things that look more appealing than Christ’s forgiveness and grace. But Mike’s argument was that our deepest need is to be forgiven of our sin, and we cannot let anyone tell us otherwise!

I was encouraged this week to see many students responding to Mike’s messages and to the Lord’s speaking to their hearts. One student began to realize God’s sovereign purpose for her life, another realized parts of her life she had been holding back for months that she needed to let go of, others realized their need to trust the Lord with their life, and still others found a new passion to be bold with their faith at school. It is always unique to see the Lord working in so many lives in so many different ways, but the thing that most encourages me is this: watching the Lord use me in ways I never knew I could be used. I left the weekend singing the lyrics to the worship song “Our God” repeatedly to the Lord in my head. I was reminded of just how much “Our God is GREATER, our God is STRONGER. God, You are HIGHER than any other.” Our God really is GREATER than any other worldly affection.

Our final prayer is this: that the Truth our students heard this weekend would be liberating, and not enslaving. We pray that this Truth would echo over and over their open ears in the weeks to come. Lastly, we pray that our students would begin to live authentically, recognizing where they’re at with their personal identities, and seek to love and trust Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Pray with us for them.

(The video above served as a session intro to the 2012 Youth Winter Retreat, which dealt with the topic of identity. Here, you’ll see examples of where many students find their identities.)

It’s always a good time when students arrive to an event dressed up like gorillas, football players, Star Wars characters, cowboys, & ninjas. One of my favorite parts about my job has to be watching students participate in events wholeheartedly & not care what they look like to their peers in the process. That definitely happened one past Sunday night at the Sr. High Minute to Win It outreach event! Students poured into the youth building wearing all sorts of different outfits, all with the hopes to have a chance of playing the games & winning some prizes!

We couldn’t have expected the evening to have gone any smoother. We prayed that every student would bring at least one friend from their schools that doesn’t go to RBC, & while we knew our expectations were high, we didn’t expect to have a third of the students that attended be guests! It was such an encouragement to see our teens buy into the vision that bringing in outsiders was important… allowing their friends to be exposed to Christian influences was important… giving them an opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ was important. They got it!

As Erik Palmer hosted the show, we chose the students with the craziest outfits as the the participants in each game. We had students catching ping pong balls with lint rollers, dropping Mentos into soda bottles, making a building out of reams of paper, & even throwing ping pong balls into empty cups. There were so many talented kids who attempted such daunting tasks & many that went home with gift cards to Starbucks, Potbelly, & other assorted “favorites”. I’d say the night was a success.

While all of this is good & great, the REAL success was what resulted at the end. At least a dozen students that we know of made decisions for Christ, and nine of those recorded that they began a relationship with Him! What a reason to rejoice! While I enjoyed watching students attempt each game & embarrass themselves throughout the night, the real excitement came as I watched a dozen hands go up in response to accepting Christ’s gift to receive the salvation that He offers. My heart is filled with joy after events like these! To God be the glory!

A year ago around this time I was packing my car filled with everything I own and moving down to Reston, VA to begin my job at Reston Bible Church on North Shore Drive. My first weekend at my new job as Youth Associate consisted of being a leader during our youth Winter Retreat. I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know what I was doing yet! At the time, I didn’t think much about it being a new experience or an overwhelming one. I was simply humbled and honored to have this opportunity to serve God in ministry. One year later, here I am, recovering from the same Winter Retreat that was my first experience on staff here at Reston Bible. Last week as I began to prepare for this weekend, I took some time to reflect on this past year. More >