The winning chariot team, the Freshmen! Pictured in no particular order: Jordyn Bamford, Madison Curtin, Colton Gage, Timothy Hennings, Wyatt Jenkins-Baker, Kacey Jones, Miranda Mast, Jordan Middleton, Melissa Olsen, Jake Pannell, Rachel Rayburn, Forrest Ream, Kelia Smoot, Jenny Steel, Emily Moody, Phillip Moore, Melissa Harrell, Robert Harrell.

The Oasis youth group hosted a Disciple Now weekend Sept. 30 - Oct. 2. Disciple Now is like having a youth retreat in your own hometown where youth are divided into small groups and stay in host homes around the city. This year our theme was Body, Mind and Soul. Day in and day out we are all challenged by the information that the world throws at us. Sometimes it can be hard to decipher what is worth listening to: the commercials and advertisements telling us what to buy and how we should look and feel about ourselves. Do we listen to those messages or the truth of God’s word which has nothing to do with how we look on the outside?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 

We were led in worship by 39 Thoughts, a band from Lubbock, that was featured at Rock the Desert in August. The members of the band are seniors in high school and three of the band members were also small group leaders for the youth. They helped us finish up the weekend by leading worship in the   contemporary service on Sunday morning. 

Ms. Shannon Cutts, from Houston, came to speak with the girls about self-esteem, confidence and outward appearance. Ben Hardman, from Kentucky, came to speak with the guys on what it means to be a “Man of God.”  

Saturday, we took a little break and had some fun.  For several weeks our weekly small groups have been working on building real, working chariots. There were five chariots we spent the morning decorating. After lunch and another small group session, we headed out to Beal Park. It was there that the chariots were put to the test.  Each team had several challenges to overcome (some messier than others) including a large hill to tackle. It was the freshman team that came out victorious!  There were other prizes for best decorated, best team spirit, perseverance and chariot design.