The Update

Earlier this year we announced that NSL would soon begin accepting online payments for youth trips and events. The feature is now active on our website. We have launched this feature to correspond with the sign-up for MEA, which also launched today.

We are using Google Checkout as our payment gateway due to their favorable rates for non-profit organizations. Google Checkout allows your to either set up an account for repeated visits or enter credit card information for one-time transactions.

By offering online payments we aim to:

• Bring added convenience to event registration
• Simplify the process of event payments
• Streamline processing by NSL staff
• Improve record-keeping abilities

You can read a bit more about the process here.

We strongly encourage you to give it a try when signing up for the MEA Retreats. Thanks!

The websites for the Junior High MEA Retreat and Senior High MEA Retreat are now online. You can find them on the NSL Website under Info & Events>Upcoming Events, or click “Visit the Page.” Here’s a quick description of each of the trips taking place MEA weekend (October 15-19).

Junior High MEA Retreat – October 15 & 16 [Visit the Page]

 

Take NSL:jh, (some of the craziest 7-9 graders we know) and put them together at a camp where they can enjoy some group challenges, chill time, devos, Prayer, Worship, and a high ropes course suspended in the trees, bake for 2 days. Do you smell what's cookin'? The Juinor High MEA Retreat!

 

Senior High MEA Retreat – October 17-19 [Visit the Page]

Jesus was a busy guy, crowds in the thousands following him around and wanting a bit of his time. He understands the stress that comes from too many people wanting too many things from you at once. The way he dealt with it was to go into the wilderness for prayer.
There is an important need in everyone's life to get away from the day-to-day things and recharge, relax, reconnect, and retreat. That is why we have the Senior High MEA Retreat each year, a chance to refresh and grow without the normal distractions of everyday life.

It's sign up time for SonShine, the massive Christian music festival in Willmar, MN. Multiple stages, multiple days, TONS of concerts. Head on over and see some of the bands that will be playing, and check out the departure times, packing list, cost, etc.

If you need proof that Jesus Rocks, this is it!

[click here to visit the SonShine page on the NSL website]

The NSL Junior High is heading back to Bemidji, MN for some crazy camp fun.

This summer, 7-9 graders will head north for a great week of camp complete with fun activities, sweet music, challenging speakers and a great time with a bunch of other junior high Jesus lovin' people. Join us!

[click here to see the website and sign up]

The web page is up for the Minneapolis Mission Trip [click here]. So you can sign up, get the skinny on the schedule, and print out a packing list.

While you're over there cruise around and check out the other website stuff like the forums, jukebox, NSLtv, or some of the other fun stuff going on over there.

This morning we talked about some of the different tools you can use to study the Bible online. Here's a recap and the links for those who wanted it.

eBible.com

This is the best for looking up Bible verses. It will highlight the passage amid the entire chapter and offers a clear and simple way to link to verses online. Best for "Hey, read this and tell me what you think." situations.

BibleGateway.com

This is the best for studying the Bible. It will offer commentary on whatever passage you are reading, as well as letting you search by keywords or topics in the Bible. It's the best for both "I wonder what the Bible says about ______." and "I want to know more about this verse" situations.

YouVersion.com

This is the best for collecting your thoughts and helping you connect parts of your story with the Bible. It will let you add links, pictures, videos, or thoughts to any part of the Bible that you are reading. You can even sign up to follow your friends and see when they add their own connections. This is great for going back and seeing what the Bible made you think of.

These are all great tools and I hope you'll make use of them. Using tools to understand the Bible better can lead to some really great realizations about God and how he relates to us.

Looking for some great tunes with an even greater message? Look no further than the NSL Jukebox. The latest addition to the online arsenal of Northwood Student Life.

The NSL Jukebox is a place for you find new music and listen to old favorites. Did you hear some great music in a youth leader’s car on a trip? Did you like something that was playing when you showed up on Sunday morning? Maybe it’ll be online. If it isn’t, just tell Luke you liked it and we’ll see if we can’t get it up and playing.
Here’s how it works.

· Follow this link.

· Log in:
username: students@northwoodcc.org
password: bemore

· Pick an album

· Hit play!

It’s that simple! Right now there's just a few albums (some Skillet and Day of Fire, plus pretty much every Switchfoot song). We’ll add music pretty regularly so watch to see what tunes we’ve found. This is a great way to find some great music that also shares the same message as NSL. “Jesus Rocks, He Loves Us, and He Wants Us To Be More.”

The first survey from the NSL Homepage has come to a close. The question was, "What is your favorite Winter Activity. The results are in:

Sledding - 44%
Hot Chocolate - 33%
Ski/Snowboard - 12%
Build Snowmen - 11%
Hockey - 0% (Sorry Shane!)

The new poll is up, the new question is "What's your favorite food group?"

To vote, head on over to the NSL Homepage at students.northwoodcc.org

Look Ma, I'm on TV!

Introducing the latest edition to the NSL website, NSL:tv!

Northwood Student Life has its own online TV channel, with on-demand videos of past events, movies we used in lessons, and things like promo vids, video archives, and a place for the videos YOU make called U Speak!

So head on over and check out NSL:tv!

We've got NSL Chat up and running again. After a brief time of some technical tom-foolery, it's up and waiting for you all again. So when you're checking out the calendar, watching NSL:tv, or reading many of the other things at the NSL Homepage, be sure and head over to UR Voice>Chat and see who else is online!

Another neat thing is that by clicking "Embed Chatroom" at the bottom of the Chatbox you can put the same HTML for the chatroom wherever you want. Chat from your MySpace with people on the NSL Page, let NSL visitors chat with people on your blog, or whatever else you can think of! Like this: