Students have asked for it so here it is- flood’s first ever 5k road race taking place January 19th, 2013 as part of our 6th annual BRING ON THE RAIN day of service weekend. Our BRING ON THE SNOW 5k event will be on a GREAT – mostly flat course – located near the Avenues in Forsyth (the perfect location for people in North Fulton and Forsyth county). We’re hoping for snow; so get registered, say a prayer, and come on out for a SNOWTASTIC time! This is the PERFECT event for families, students, and anyone else just looking to have a GREAT time!

Proceeds from the race will go to our vision of developing servant leaders among middle and high school students. Here at flood, we are student led where student leaders engage over 1,000 students from over 20 different schools each year to serve in their communities. All monies raised from the BRING ON THE SNOW 5k road race goes to support the ministry and all the local mission work students do each week in their schools and communities.

Registration is open at active.com and forms will be available the week of Thanksgiving. Any businesses that would like to be a sponsor/partner for this event can download a Flood sponsor flier form or contact Kimberly Scales @ 770-289-1834 or at kscales@floodstudentmissions.org.

Flood’s 6th annual BRING ON THE RAIN day of service will be held the following Monday and is the biggest day of serving students take part in each year. Students will spend Monday, January 21st serving flood’s many community partners across downtown, North Fulton, and Forsyth County. Students and families are encouraged to come out and serve together and make a difference in just one day! Registration will open November 1st.

We invite all adults and students to join us for our 4th Annual GET ON BOARD community celebration. This annual event showcases the amazing service of flood students in their schools and the community. Student leaders will personally share their testimonies of how serving has changed their lives and the lives of those around them.

In addition to hearing the hearts of students leaders, many other exciting things are scheduled to cast the vision of flood and share where God is leading this ministry.

Founding Director for Winshape Camps, Rick Johnson
Christian Recording Artist, John Waller
Student Showcases of service work in the community
GOT SOAKED & Chapter student service awards
Dessert Buffet
Rick Johnson is the founding director of Winshape Camps (a ministry sponsored by Chick-fil-A). Rick has invested in the lives of numerous staff, campers, Berry College students, and many more as he has dedicated his life to leading people in understanding their God given potential to impact the life of someone else . His passionate investment in others has created a legacy of serving and loving others that continues at Winshape Camps today.

Halle Schade (President of the CHEER Chapter of flood) wants every girl to experience Prom. This is her story of how the CHEER Chapter of flood is going to bring that reality to a few blessed girls.

“Prom is an exciting event for high-school students. Personally, I love all things prom! Girls love shopping for the perfect dress. They go from store to store. I was out shopping with friends and trying on dresses. When I started looking at the price tags on these dresses, I was shocked. Prom dresses are expensive to begin with but these prices made me cringe. Things are tight for most families right now. An expensive dress isn’t in the budget for a lot of girls. I am the president of CHEER Flood which is a chapter of Flood Student Missions. I spend as much time as I can serving my community. Sometimes we forget that there are people out there who are hurting and struggling to make ends meet. This is what inspired me for this project.

We all want to feel like Cinderella on our prom night! That’s why we spend hours shopping and trying on as many dresses as we can. There are girls who will skip prom because they can’t afford a dress. I want every girl to feel like Cinderella on her prom night. It’s a fun experience you can only have while you are in high school. I decided that I was going to try and give every girl her dream dress. With the help of my friends and community, I am collecting 50+ dresses to give to girls who can’t afford their own.

We will be hosting a Benefit Fashion Show on March 3rd from 7-9pm at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. We will be giving away the dresses to the girls who need them. We will also be auctioning off a few dresses. We will have live music, skits, and more! All of CHEER Flood has been working so hard since the beginning of the year to make this happen. I can’t thank everyone enough for all their help. This wouldn’t be happening if I didn’t have the support of my family, friends, and community. We are still collecting dresses! If you are interested in donating, please contact us! We have a Facebook page you can “like” called CHEER Flood’s Prom Dress Drive and Benefit Fashion Show. We have pictures of the dresses and updates about the show on our page.”

The biggest day of serving of the year is fastly approaching. flood’s BRING ON THE RAIN day of service will be on January 16th, 2012 (MLK Jr. Holiday) and over 100 students will spend a day serving in the community. This great day of serving came quickly this year after the Christmas break but there is still plenty of time to register.

GREAT projects are scheduled throughout the day and offer a variety of service opportunities. STREET REACH and going under the bridges with 7 Bridges to Recovery, serving lunch to women and children at The Garden, playing Bingo with the elderly, working at thrift stores and food pantries that benefit youth organizations and those living in poverty, sprucing up yards for those transitioning out of homelessness, fixing up homes of the elderly, and much more are offered. No matter what project, it is going to be a great day of serving!!

A kick-off rally is the night before at 7:00 @ The Alpharetta YMCA Teen Center for students to prepare their hearts for serving. A time of worship, prayer, and getting ready to make a difference in the community will take place in order to let God work through the hearts and hands of students. All middle and high school students are encouraged to come out for a great day of serving. Adults are greatly needed for drivers and Project Hosts.

Part of BRING ON THE RAIN day of service 2012 is a unique collaboration between the YMCA of Atlanta and various youth organizations. The “Fat Boy Chronicles” Movie Viewing is a family discussion starter based on the true story of a boy who was bullied because of his weight. 4:30 – 6:30 – Studio Movie Grill – Tickets are free and open to Middle school, High school, college students, and families. Students must register @ ymcaatlteens@gmail.com

Students and adults can register to serve at http://floodstudentmissions.org/students/bring-on-the-rain/. Deadline for registration is Friday, January 13th!! There is a $20 registration fee to cover the costs of project supplies and each student to receive a BRING ON THE RAIN t-shirt. The registration fee is due at the kick-off rally where all students will receive their shirts and project details. We look forward to seeing students and adults out serving BRINGING THE RAIN down all over Atlanta.

During the month of December, flood was all over the community serving and living out the true meaning of Christmas- JESUS! Families and students served together all month and new students got a taste of what flood is all about- LOVING ON OTHERS! It was an extremely blessed month as flood students got their hearts touched as they touched the heart of someone else.

– Chattahoochee HS collected socks, wrapped them with ribbon, and put Christmas greetings on them.

– South Forsyth HS collected gifts for children in Forsyth County.

– Former flood students now in college helped stuff and mail out 1,000 flood Christmas cards.

– Two trips to the Garden serving meals to 100 women and children living at the long term shelter.

– Students from South Forsyth , Lambert, West Forsyth, and Buckhead Church went out on the streets and under the bridges loving on the homeless.

– Chestnut Ridge Nursing Home was blessed with Christmas songs with flood students representing South Forsyth, Forsyth Central, and North Forsyth.

– 100 plus cookies were decorated by children in the Safehouse Mentoring Program with help from some creative and loving flood students.

– 70 plus students and adults passed out oranges, gloves, blankets, scarves, and socks to the homeless on Christmas Eve. We were able to pray, visit, sing, and just have a good time with our many homeless friends living in Downtown Atlanta.

flood’s first ever Christmas tree took shape over the Thanksgiving Break as a few creative students came together to decorate the tree. James D’Elena, Chapter Coordinator for Chattahoochee HS, works at the ROAM coffee shop in Alpharetta and had the idea of putting up a tree that represented a local ministry. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that flood would be the perfect ministry.

The tree is all blue and silver and full of pictures showing flood students serving in the community and school. Pictures are the best way to relay the heart of this ministry to those who don’t have any idea of what flood is all about. Bins below the tree are for collecting toiletry items, socks, gloves, and scarves that will be distributed to the homeless on Christmas Eve at our STREET REACH project. The tree is also filled with our SERVE NOW student cards for those to take and get more information on how they can get involved with flood (we love adults).

We want to thank ROAM for allowing flood the opportunity to raise awareness about what our AMAZING students are doing in the community as well as collect items for our STREET REACH project. Anyone looking for a great place to connect and meet with their business partners, bible study, or just with a friend, check out ROAM. Make sure you bring socks, gloves, scarves, and toiletry items when you come!

The first annual flood week proved to be full of life lessons as chapters brought a greater awareness of flood and it’s mission to the community and their schools. Student chapter leaders were challenged in lessons of communication, planning, time management, delegation of duties, marketing, and the power of prayer. As always though, God uses everything for good and these lessons can be used as learning tools for future leadership opportunities. All in all, the entire week was AMAZING! One lady was actually rescued off the streets by two of our Milton Chapter Leaders at Safehouse Outreach and taken to 7 Bridges to Recovery (both our community partners)! All week, new students emerged as they witnessed first hand what the heart of flood is all about – “It isn’t a logo or a name of an organization or club. It’s a movement that allows God’s love to transform your (a student’s) heart by serving EVERYONE in your life – even those that it seems just to hard to serve.”

Hear what students are saying about flood week…..

“During flood week, I loved seeing students not only willing to serve downtown at projects, but also excited about serving our own school! Teacher appreciation went really well, but I think my favorite thing was helping the janitors after school. Lots of students showed up and they were so grateful to have our help! We ended up spending a lot of time cleaning trash up from around the portables, which really made a noticeable difference. Flood week also built a better sense of community among our chapter, especially with some new younger students.”

“Helping the Custodians after school was probably the best because we got to do something that we and alot of people usually ignore. None of us think about how much they do for us and now were alot more aware.”

“I LOVED the STORM!! Seriously it was so awesome. God was glorified and that’s all that matters. His presence was there as the truth was spoken in boldness and excitement built for what God is going to do in and through us!”

” The Night of prayer on Monday was INCREDIBLE! We definitely need to do that way more often God is so good!”
The CHEER homeschool chapter who visited at a nursing home passing out stuff animals and did yard work for a family in need (and all in the same day!)

“Words can’t express how incredible this weekend was. I am so thankful for everyone who came out to serve with us!! Thank you thank you thank you!! We made a real difference in those people’s lives. I love all of y’all so much!! Thank you for staying the extra time and working hard!”