PROM 2011 is nearly here!

This Friday is the highlight of our FNL year! Yes, that's right, it's PROM time!

Tomorrow begins the three day process of setting up and getting everything perfect for the night of nights that is now just around the corner! Photo booths, giant Oscars, red carpets, awards, dancing, live music, classic memories...and did I mention dancing?

It promises to be an incredible way to cap off what has been an incredible year! God has done so much in and through us as we have fallen more and more in love with him as well as becoming as close knit a family as ever! So make sure that this Friday you have your finest outfit on, your dancing shoes at the ready and come with an appetite for one of the best nights of 2011!

And did I mention dancing?!

Sleepover? More like "Stay-awake-over"...

With the sleepover this Friday, here are a few of our top memories from some of these infamous nights gone by...

*Stalk the Lantern FAIL
-this was a moment when we realized that some things are just too complex for some people. We moved into the main hall at church, Steve Labrum held the torch and the entire room was blackened. The game was explained...the game failed. The game was explained again...the game failed. Someone else tried to explain it...the game failed even worse. All in all, we ended up laughing lots (mainly at our ineptitude) so it ranks as a top memory!
*Tyler's hogging of the pool table
-An early memory where Tyler played not one, not two but a million games of pool! He played so many games between the hours of midnight and 4am that he actually began sinking a few! And to top it all off, when he eventually got tired and fell asleep, it was on top of the pool table itself that he made his bed!
*The great escape! (attempt)
-The night the proverb "when gabe closes a door, we will open a window" was born. Need I say more?

It's late, and I'm saving my energy for Friday night (and morning) so I'm going to stop here. But one thing I'm sure of is that this list will have a few more new additions after this weekend!

The Rundown

With just two weeks to go till Prom 2011, FNL is heating up more and more! This week promises to be explosive as usual with the Battle of the Preachers and next week is the famous Sleepover, but more of those soon. Right now, here are photos from the last couple weeks. Enjoy!

Trip down memory lane

There's a very special place in my heart for FNL. It isn't just any youth group. It's amazing. I've been there for about a year and 5 months and it has been incredible. So incredible that me and my friend Steve have decided to put down all the incredible memories we have had at FNL that all can enjoy it and laugh along. Time for a trip down memory lane? I think so!

#1 There was this one time when Steven told me to tell Andre to take his shirt off during the Manliest-Man challenge (one of our many awesome game-shows) and I actually did, only to find out that I had made it very awkward for myself a week or so later, of course at the time I thought I was doing him a favour, Steven loved it, though it was hilarious.

#2 There was another time where we were discussing Matric marks and we found out that Jono only got one A in Matric. Well, Gabe called him a dunce, and that did it, we all started chanting "dunce, dunce, dunce"
and Jono started 'dunce-ing' (dancing).

#3 One of the very cool things we used to do is jump off the roof outside onto the jumping castle. Im pretty sure this was before we added in the side little room thing. We also jumped off the balcony inside, and we had awesome competitions to see who could perform the best jump.

#4 That friendly competition between IFABO-bear hunters and MOW...
which then cost Gabe the state of his car as those unruly boys trashed it!

#5 We had the most amazing videos for FNL's first camp... all of them were of cats being blown up, maybe that’s why I stayed??

#6 We can only remember those good old days when Tyler actually sent messages for FNL over mxit. He might say that it still happens... but it doesn’t.

#7 FNL Extreme Make-Over. The sight of Chris Lainis stepping out with his hair and make-up done wearing a dress!

#8 On our first Amazing Race, we can only look back and chuckle on the unfortunate events of the night including a very irritable police force, obviously with no interest in modeling, people jumping into pools with inappropriate attire, and that one kid that almost got run over by a car and wasn't phased at all!

#9 Dodgeball(Dargeball)! Where we shaved Jono's hair into an awesome mow-hawk, where Gabe and Andrew Darge wore ridiculous spandex.

#10 Alfonso and Laferga's funny clothes and accents. #FNLvideos

#11 After numerous sleepover's, we learnt the biggest lesson at the most recent one, "When Gabe closes a door, we will open a window (and use it like a door)"

#12 We have had some amazing encounter nights filled with God, laughs, weird people and super cool things happening.

#13 Our favourite cross-dressing talk-show host HAS to be Tracey Springer (Gabe's alter-ego), making his/her debut appearance at the FNL Valentines Vibe. Another highlight of the evening was the cupids arriving on the bike.

#14 Our numerous jols with bands such as To Our Divine, Cavalry Calls, Scarlet Hill and This Dying World, although no matter what, we always somehow end up moshing!

#15 We will never forget Jono with his long shaggy hair and trucker mustache. (He should totally get dreadlocks!)

#16 First we had our FNL dress to impress night which was a hit, this lead to our first FNL prom was a very special memory for us all, and won't be forgotten, for it's ridiculous awards, good food and fair amount of drama!

#17 When IFABO first started: "AHU-AHU'ing" (reference Steven)

#18 "Awe-sooooome" #DanielaYouLegendWeLoveYou

#19 Duran’s ponytail and beanie phase.

#20 Those times back in the day when all the background music we played was metal.

#21 You gotta love how our music is ALWAYS too loud for the people in the area!

#22 Once upon a time when we almost really had a D&D and it turned into one big game after the initial failures of Steven and Tyler

#23 When Andrew Darge actually came to FNL

#24 Chris Erwee's photo-phobia

#25 When eager and over-eager lost to tigger #LarisaYoureStillDuransFavourite

#26 We have learnt many important life skills from the man himself, Gabriel Phillips such as the way we deliver the punchline of a joke by pushing our heads forward on our necks or the swinging of the arms when it's awkward, and yes we know you all do it! Also the "Just Kidding... but seriously!" notorious in Gabe's preaches. Another thing we have picked up from the ginger-legend himself is vocab such as "jols" and "mates" or "spading" and of course "vibe" and "jig bols"

FNL has changed all of our lives. It's a family, a home. It has taught us how to party, how to dance, how to be okay with being a little bit crazy, how to be funny, and how to laugh. I can say that from me and Stevi, we are amped for the years to come as these last few have been insaaaaaane! :)

5 reasons we love Friday nights

5. Our Incredible Gameshows
-whether it's "Bible Quiz", the Manliest Man challenge, Extreme Makeover or our newly launched Temptation FNL, we are in no doubt that we have the best gameshows in the world...and Bashews are always amazing prizes!

4. Bashews
-Now that we've mentioned Bashews, that's all I can think of! The crowd of people every Friday that are searching high and low to find Tyler with the Bashew fridge key is getting larger and larger. Soon we'll need to get a bigger fridge!

3. Our Youth "hall"
-By day it's nothing but a neatly decorated coffee bar, but when Friday night rolls around it is transformed into a theatre of rock and roll! You may get a smokers cough, you may be temporarily blinded by our lights, you may even sustain an injury on our dance floor and yes, we know our stage is made out of benches... but we love it all!

2. Shock and awe
-Do you remember Tracey Springer? Do you remember when we broke the hole in the church's roof? Do you remember when we water-bombed Gabe when he arrived at youth camp? Do you remember when the power tripped and everyone just kept on worshiping? Every single one of these things prooves that we never quite know what's going to go down at FNL each week...but one thing is guaranteed, it will never be boring!

1. Our Family
-If you've been around any length of time, you will know that FNL is not just a youth group. We're a family that just gets tighter every week. It's an incredible privilege to be a part of a group of wild young people who have set their hearts on Jesus and his Kingdom and are determined to run into the big future he has for us...TOGETHER! Whether we are praying for each other, laughing at Tyler and Jono's expense, worshiping hard together or just hanging out, this family cannot be stopped!

FNL...the revolution's begun!

The Life and times of Jono Schoots

Every now and then comes along a person who just takes your breath away, with either their good looks, incredible humour or just all round effervesence. In Jono Schoots' case, it may just be the smell of his room that takes our breath away, but that is neither here nor there. Jono is a hero plain and simple, and that's why we sat down and got to the bottom of what makes him tick.

Q. First off, are those really girls jeans that you wear?
When you are as Manley as me, you have to do something to curb that excess testosterone. I wanna show other lesser men that they too can aspire to be like me...

In short, yes.

Q. Relationship status? Your facebook says “single”, but there are rumours that you once married a girl at youth?
All I am say to any single youth ladies out there is, if you want to accept Jesus, you may be called to take up your cross. All I ask for in a wife is someone who can clean well and gets over 50% for maths.

Q. In the same vein as the question above, what did you LOVE the most about your trip to Zimbabwe this year?
A couple of things, it was great seeing Chris go and visit that village where Jesus met Mary, Matha and raised Lazurus. Also I remember a museum where we saw the fighting between the Nazi's and the English and heard that old English war time saying: Keep calm and kirie on. Finally though, I remember the preachers message on relating to women: he said "As she(her) wills, I am."

Q. What were your Top 3 moments of camp this year?
-Worship and how all the youth mates just dominated, worshiped hard and prayed for each other
-Baptisms! How stoked and full of faith everyone was
-My awesome devotion group. You guys rock!

Q. You were once quoted as saying that afternoon naps are a vital part of a teenagers life. Now in your twenties, do you still hold such a stance?
-Medical doctors the world over have noted that a lack of afternoon naps lead to terrible things like productivity, and grumpiness. This condition has a medical name:" Gung-gungitiss". I would encourage everyone to eat lots of junk food, never exercise, and nap regularly. This will lead to a pleasant personality and will stand you in good stead for the future (Fat and happy).

Q. You are the host of Bible Quiz. Tell us how you prepare for it each week.
To truly fool the contestants on bible quiz, one must believe that a real bible quiz is taking place. I stand in front of a mirror often during the week, and always on the night, and slap myself repeatedly saying: "ITS REAL! ITS REAL! THE BIBLE QUIZ IS REAL!" Until i am totally convinced. This is the true source of my deception.

Q. What are your dreams for FNL youth?
I dream of an insane family where everyone loves God together, where everyone looks after each other. Where we are crazy and full of love in our worship, where we talk about real stuff in our lives with each other. Where we pray for each other, prophecy to each other, give scriptures to each other and love God together. I am super excited because i see that this is already happening and i want to see more of it!

The party keeps on rolling...

Last night proved even more that FNL youth is the place to be on a Friday night! With a packed hall and hearts full of faith we cracked open the evening with passionate, energetic and pulsating worship as the roof itself seemed like it was about to come off! But as we launched into song number two for the night, the unthinkable happened...the power tripped! With all instruments cut out immediately, the voices of the people were not to be drowned out. Nothing can halt the praises of His people once they've caught sight of his majesty!

With our hearts on fire and expectant, Gabe preached briefly on the story of Moses and the people of Israel and how their story is really our story. The three points he brought out of it were:

1. God takes us out of Egypt (justification)

2. God takes Egypt out of us (sanctification)

3. God pours heaven into us (adoption)

After a time of response (where several people gave their lives to Jesus!), we closed the meeting and opened the dance floor! FNL favourites "To Our Divine" got us moving and grooving to their electronic beats, and a cheer went up from the FNL faithful when they launched into "Disco dancing" which is somehow a regular on our Friday and Sunday playlists. After the Fishoek duo put down their electrics, "Scarlett Hill", all the way from Durban, took to the stage. Ending their Cape Town tour where they have been launching their EP, they quite literally blew the crowd away as the volume levels rose along with the vibe and strange dance moves. When we finally decided to call it a night, everyone was highly satisfied and thoroughly sweated out!

A quick thanks to Chris Lainis, Andre Ferreire, AJ Fukuchi and Duran Barnett who ran around like mad men in order to get the power and sound all up and running after our earlier outage!

The party refuses to stop as we are moving up the gears and loving every minute of what God is building here at FNL!

FNL: We bring the party!

Encounters!

Just crawlng into bed after an amazing night of God breaking into the lives of many teenagers at Friday Night Live.

We had the incredible privilege of having Greg and Judy Scott (a hugely prophetic couple in the life of our city and church) join us as we worshiped our King in typical youth fashion...sold out, loud, wild and unashamed...before ministering through prophetic ords, laying on of hands, the infilling of the Spirit and declaring the truth of God over the lives of those wh were there. It was messy, wild but oh so beautiful as we continue to see brick by brick the broken walls being rebuilt.

A broken and fatherless generation are becoming the revival generation!

We can't look back, we can't slow down, everythings changing, we're taking ground!

"The Truth" by Jay Matthews

Below is the speech that won Jay Matthews the ward for Best Prepared Speech at Parklands College Public Speaking competition!

The Truth.

[***JULIET]
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So truth would, were it not truth call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which it owes
Without that title. ***

If Shakespeare would pardon my liberty taken.
What is a rose and what makes it rose? Despite different perceptions meanings and connotations it remains a rose. This I propose as an analogy for truth.
The question being asked today by many is, “What is the truth and what makes it true?” Now I don’t have these answers in black and white, I cannot simplify it enough for that. I am not here to give you an answer to the meaning of life, but I can tell you about truth. Truth in relation to us, what does it mean? In short, all the truth I can communicate on truth.

Henry David Thoreau said: “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth” I do believe that we, as humanity, are truth-seekers. This is why we explore, this is why we go into space, this is why we cannot always accept what we are told, why we have to prove to ourselves. It’s the reason why we get so excited on Christmas morning.

Picture it with childlike imagination: For weeks you’ve seen beautifully wrapped boxes and shapes, that one with your name on, the one with the golden ribbon. It is now time to open the presents… you run to the tree and there you see it. Your desire to open it wells up…

And you know what even if you could guess whats inside? It just wouldn’t be the same without the wrapping. Why? Because we get excited about the discovering and uncovering of truth!

Truth can bring about a peace within ourselves …
–So he does love me!-,

where the lack of truth can bring about anxiety…
–Do I look okay, does this make me look fat, what will they think-,

but fear lies in between. We have a fear of not knowing the truth…
– what if I have AIDS?-

,the fear of knowing the truth…
– this growth is cancerous.-

The truth will set you free. We seek truth because essentially it leads to freedom! History is rich with fights for freedom. William Wilberforce fought for freedom from slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equal rights! We know the freedom fighters! Them that fought against oppression, against racism, against social injustice.
We can get to that place where we cannot go further without truth and will fight for it! Thomas Jefferson said: “For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead…” Truth is a journey, its one of those things where you have to sort through the rubble to find it.

When you search for truth it is too easy to produce your own ‘truth’. It has been said that just like beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, truth lies in the perception of the believer. I want to challenge this by quoting a great man, Albert Einstein “Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the Gods.”

who are we to judge and define truth for as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, ”Truth is the property of no individual but is the treasure of all men.” Truth is something relevant to all men. How can it be truth if it varies? If something is not completely right, it’s not right, its wrong.

Truth is one of those transcendent things that exist beyond us, yet affects us greatly. Rich Mullans has sung: ”I did not make it, but its making me.” It isn’t a state of being, a human concept or an emotion. It is a constant, an absolute, an unwritten law of the universe that we attempt to grasp. It is THE accurate description, it is the real deal. Not your side, not my side, not even the trees side, it stands on its own.

“Everything we hear is opinion not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” said the roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. How can we say that the truth is anything but utterly objective, if it is not, it is not truth? Subjective truth is an opinion, a perception. We are somewhat incapable of being entirely objective. We all form our own perceptions of reality, which we like to refer to as truth. We then place our belief on our perceptions, OUR “truths.”


We confuse honesty with truth. we’ve all heard the “do you SWEAR to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God?” When it is only honesty we can promise.

What’s the difference you say? Our honest perception can be honest truth or honest deception.

Truth needs no defense, “It is self-sustained” (As said by Mohandas Gandhi).
Yet we still strive to defend it because we live on it, and when someone attacks OUR “truth” they attack us. What we perceive as an attack on truth is merely a shaking of our perceptions on which we build our ideas and beliefs.

We find comfort in this idea of truth, and because we can so easily be convinced that our ideas are the truth, we can follow the so-called truth wholeheartedly. Yes this DOES happen. For example, the Europeans that colonized America, Africa and all those other countries. They converted the people whom they believed to be savages, their truth was that they were superior to all others and this, caused pain and turmoil. The plain and simple truth in these happenings is that they were so convinced that what they perceived to be true was true, that they based their lives on their perceptions.


We attach ourselves to what we see as truth, it becomes our security and our protection, that’s why we are devastated as we plan to trap Santa Claus, only to find our dads with an armful of gifts tiptoeing down the passage, or when we peek with one eye to see the tooth fairy, and there’s your mother, hand down your shoe trying to find that silly tooth… We discover that we have been told a myth, a fairytale.


I cannot answer many questions or simplify truth. Even if I had an answer, the funny thing about truth is that sometimes these things have to be discovered through individual revelation. The deeper questions asked that need answering. we have to sometimes validate it FOR ourselves. No matter how many times I tell you my monkey can blow bubbles with hula-hoops, you find it hard to believe it without the proof. This is why with truth, you sometimes have to do your own searching. It ensures that you are less likely to lose your revelation of the truth… because you know it first-hand.

Not being known does not stop the truth from being true.

Bishop Thomas Wilson once said: ”Truth provokes those whom it does not convert.”
Unfortunately or fortunately, truth eliminates the unknown, and there’s a way to search.
You have to be honest with yourself to find truth. Albert Einstein said that the pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives. We need not fear failure for it is a device by which using wisdom we acquire truth. There are three basic steps to attain truth:

1.Have an open heart and a willing mind, yet keep to conviction when intuition kicks up.
2.Let go fear, it creates walls and blockings. it stops you from achieving your full potential
3.The most important one though… FAITH! Place your faith in the truth itself and your ability to find it, not what is said or known to be truth, have faith that it will reveal itself as you search.

Of truth, there is too much to be said, too much to be thought of, but it is an amazing thing, in the words of Mark Twain: “It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” .

Self-awareness says that there is a quest for this idea called truth inside every one of us. But then why am I here? I want to pose a very controversial statement. What if… Just a what if… What if the absolute truth exists? I believe that man cannot find his own truth, but man must find truth on his own. And I am here to encourage you to seek after it. If it does not exist, then nothing is lost. But if it does, you have the world to gain
Thank you.

Last night at FNL we launched our very first Dodgeball tournament. Tension filled the air and emotions were running high as the competitors came from far and wide to claim the glory for their own! The excitement was so palpable that we began the night by shaving half of Jono Schoots' hair off, just to show how wild we are! FNL, we bring the party!

But after all the onstage fanfare was out the way, the action on the court began! Team after team dodged, ducked, dived, dipped and dodged their way through the elimination rounds, until there were only two teams remaining. Team Dargeball, ably captained by the teams name-sake, Andrew Darge came face to face with the up to then unbeatable "Please Don't Hit us in The Knutters" team...a bunch of crazed misfits from Melkbos Private School and the like. The final was so intense, so dramatic, so brutal, so full of drama of every kind, words just cannot do justice. But as the last man of the Knutters was felled by a Dylan Theron outswinger, Team Dargeball were left alone on the centre court, arms aloft with strains of "we are the champions" by Queen echoing through the stands!

It was a night that no one there will forget easily...except for all who felt the fury of Team Dargeball!

Cape Town United

A week ago friday, FNL hit the road and joined in with over 1000 other teenagers from all across Cape Town at Hillsong Church at an event that is fast becoming a highlight on the calendar called Cape Town United. The vision of these evenings is to create moments where the youth of our city come together in unity to worship passionately and to be encouraged to turn the tide in our various communities, all under the one common denominator of Jesus Christ. Things of denomination, theological differences and histories have been put aside as Jesus and Jesus alone is the banner that we believe we have been called to lift high over our city.

And last week, the vision became a reality as the building was quite literally almost burnt to the ground with raw passion as teen after teen lifted their hands and hearts in allegiance and adoration to the King! People were saved, dreams were birthed and a generation that has long been written off is slowly being roused from it's sleepy state!

A glimpse into what God has instore for his entire church!

"AWAKE MY SOUL, AWAKE MY SOUL AND SING!"

Baptisms...

Yesterday at the girls lifegroup (6 to 7:30pm every Wednesday) we had the absolute privilege of baptising two girls! It was an exciting day seeing all that God is doing in these girls lives! In this regard, we will be doing another baptism session very very soon, so if you have not yet been baptised, here are a few reasons why it's a great thing to do:

1. Jesus did it (Matthew.3:13-17)
-Jesus did it, it must be good enough for us then!

2. The bible says we must (Matthew.28:19)


What is baptism?

-Baptism essentially is a symbolic act of what God has done on the inside.
-It's a chance to show all your friends and family the decision you've made in your heart
-It represents what Jesus did (going under the water=death/ coming up= resurrection)
-As you go under the water you are saying "I am dead to myself" and when you come up you are saying "I'm alive to Jesus"

When we baptise people, it's also a great time for people to pray for you and prophesy over you. Everyone always leaves baptisms feeling really encouraged!

What do you need to do:

1. Make sure you have given your heart to Jesus (baptism follows repentance)
2. Ask your parents if they're ok with it and if they want to be there to share in the great moment with you
3. Chat to your lifegroup leader (or me) and we will organise the date

Simple. But oh so amazing!

A year on...

FNL youth is on the interweb baby!

This is our first blog and there's no stopping us now! The internet today, Tableview tomorrow, and we take on the world the day after that! Next week Friday is our Valentines Vibe...a night of Love, laughs and living large! It's going to be a party and we are sure to dance the night away, so bring a spare pair of calf muscles as your first pair will get really tired quickly! Just a heads up!

But seriously, we're going to have a night to remember...and it will also be the night we mark our one year anniversary of being known as FNL! Can you believe it!?! Time flies when you're having fun hey! If you've been a part of this incredible family of ours for any length of time over the last year then i want to say come and celebrate our birthday in style with us next week. If you haven't linked yourself in yet, let me tell you that we're a group of young people (except for Duran...he's old) who love God, who love our community, who love each other and who love dancing! It's a family like no other. So let me encourage you to make FNL your home too. You won't regret it!

Anyway, that's enough for now. Keep an eye out for all the latest news, updates, photos and bigjols that this blog will provide!

Gabe