BRANCHES September 2014

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SOUTHWOOD lodge edition Chad Townsley (2010-Present) Chad is currently an Associate Pastor and Director of Youth Ministry at Southwood and lives in Huntsville with his wife Annaliese and children Lyla and Teller. Winnie Winford (2007-Present) Winnie is currently living in Huntsville where she works as the Assistant Director of Youth Ministry at Southwood. Ken Leggett (2001-2012) Ken is the Pastor of Missional Living at Christ Presbyterian in Franklin, Tennessee where he lives with his wife Jeanette and their three children Ayers, Addie Grace and Keller. Jake Patton (2000-2004, 2008-2012) Jake is now the Assistant Pastor at Downtown Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina where he lives with his wife Paige and their four children Lacy, Luke, Aubrey Claire and Brooke. Hayden Howell (2010-2012) After working in youth ministry in Memphis, Tennessee she now lives in Norfolk, Virginia as the Director of Youth Ministry and Director of Mercy and Justice Ministries. Emily Purnell Huensch (2004-2006) After working in youth ministry in Birmingham, Emily recently graduated Covenant Seminary in St. Louis where she lives with her husband and two children Sam and Rosemary. Adam Steverson (2006-2008) After graduating from Fuller Seminary in California, Adam now lives in Chicago with his wife Sarah where he is working in the field of insurance. Traci Taylor Jones (2002-2005) Traci now resides in Atlanta with her husband Judson where she is completing her education to become a physicians assistant. Jeremy McNeill (2009-2011) After graduating with his Master of Divinity from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, he is now ministering full-time in New Jersey with his wife Mary. Aaron Shaffer (2009-2011) After completing his degree in counseling from Reformed Seminary in Orlando, Florida Aaron has moved back to Huntsville where he is establishing his counseling practice. Kayla Stanfield (2007-2012) Kayla now works as a marketing director for a local business in Huntsville. She and her husband Robert continue to serve High-Life as adult leaders. Bill Harritt (2005-2009) After graduating from Covenant Seminary in St Louis, Bill is now a youth pastor at Church of the Good Shepherd in Durham, North Carolina where he lives with his wife Janet and their daughter Janet. 14 SEPTEMBER 2014 | SOUTHWOOD.ORG
y Chad Townsley Receiving the opportunity to do youth ministry in the Lodge has been and will be one of the greatest privileges and blessings of my ministry. When I consider (as you have read in this issue of BRANCHES) all the ways God has worked in and through this building, I am overwhelmed by His faithfulness and care of our students and families. It is my great hope that through all the incredible testimonies, endearing stories and witnesses to God’s orchestration of details which led to the construction of the Lodge, that we as a congregation would stand back and thank the Lord for all he has provided. However, as we celebrate ten years of ministry in the Lodge, to focus solely on a what God has done and not look forward to what he will do is both short-sighted and misses the original purpose of the Lodge. Through artwork, photos and even old nametags from High-Lifes gone by, memories are left by many of the people who have come through the building. The fingerprints that we anticipate now, however, are ones from those pictured above. For the Lodge to continue in its original purpose, we cannot look back without also looking forward. We look with great anticipation to see what other amazing things God might do in the Lodge through the covenant children currently in our midst. Rising up at Southwood is a large and energetic generation of students who desperately need the gospel. The Lodge must continue to be a place where students' lives can be changed. As a church and youth ministry we want the Lodge to continue to be a place where students feel welcome, connected and regularly fed by the living word of God. The only way this can be done is for you as a church to continue to pour into the ministry as you so faithfully have the past decade. Here are two ways in which you can primarily contribute to the work of God in the Lodge: 1. Pray for the students of Southwood and Huntsville. Many of my friends and ministry partners marvel at the scope, scale and impression the Lodge has had in Huntsville. It is their assumption and my tendency that we can lean upon the Lodge to attract and present students to the church and to Jesus. To state the obvious, if we don’t continue to offer the gospel first and primarily in this building, than students won’t be attracted to and impacted by what can actually transform their lives. We must never, ever forget that we will create our own Lodge-shaped white washed tomb unless we all fervently pray for the ministry and prioritize the proclamation of the Jesus in and through it. 2. Continue to support the work of Southwood in the Lodge. One of the indelible principles of youth ministry is that your impact is normally only as large as the health and scale of your volunteer base. The adult leaders who have ministered in the Lodge have made a lastly impact on hundreds of students. We need more and more adults to now step into these influential roles in the lives of students. Whether it is serving by cleaning the Lodge on a church workday, preparing food for High-Life or committing to be a small group leader for a bunch of rambunctious 9th graders, there are many opportunities - please consider how you might contribute. In conclusion, know that your generous giving to Southwood has and will continue to help support a work that exists, “across the street” and of which many of you see very little. It is my hope that this issue of BRANCHES as well as our 10th Anniversary Celebration will be an indicator of the steady and heaven-minded work that is being done at High-Life. Thank you, Southwood, for believing in youth ministry—now join me as we charge on toward ten more amazing years!
Page 1 and 2: BRANCHES Commemorative Edition: LOD
Page 3 and 4: PASTOR’S NOTE What's the Lodge go
Page 5 and 6: lodge edition SOUTHWOOD As one cons
Page 7 and 8: “I can’t believe you built this
Page 9 and 10: learned the importance of surroundi
Page 11 and 12: special edition SOUTHWOOD SEPTEMBER
Page 13: SOUTHWOOD Small Groups meet here th

BRANCHES September 2014

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