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.

The most exciting time of the year for flood is here- the start of the school year! So much has already happened in the month of August that is Super Crazy GOD Good!!! 43 student leaders spent the first weekend of August at Berry College getting their hearts and minds set on Jesus as they prepared to lead their school chapters. When they returned and started setting up their teams, it ended up that over 100 student leaders were established to lead 14 school chapters this year!

Student leaders have been setting up tables at open houses, club fairs, and reaching out via social media and personal invites! They have all been overwhelmed at the response and excitement from students. However, just like they experienced at the leadership retreat, when you ask the Holy Spirit to move, he delivers! Starting last weekend with Meals by Grace and this weekend with Street Reach and The Garden, new students will get the opportunity to experience the love of Jesus through serving others!

Lambert High School had their first meeting and here is the first hand report of what God did through and in this chapter! Check out in the picture above left, how many students were camped out in the hall to hear about flood! “God brought the masses today! An incredible 192 students showed up to our first meeting of the year with even more students who didn’t get a chance to sign in! I cannot believe the amazing impact flood is going to have at Lambert this year! Between free breakfast, a devotional, games, and holding hands in prayer, this meeting could not have been anymore powerful. All of the Lambert leaders did an amazing job of accommodating this crowd while remaining true vessels of the Holy Spirit. Go Jesus Go!” Caroline Brown, President of Lambert Flood Chapter.

Centennial High School is one of the new chapters this year and definitely stood out at their club fair! (Pictured left).

Existing Chapters for the 2012-2013 school year: South Forsyth, Lambert, Chattahoochee, CHEER homeschool group, Milton, Roswell, and Legacy Academy

New Chapters for the 2012-2013 school year: West Forsyth, North Forsyth, Northview, Johns Creek, Centennial, Mt. Pisgah, and Kings Academy.

Students, are you bored yet? Parents, looking for something productive for your child to do this summer?

Then come on out and serve with flood at our SERVE NOW summer projects on selected days each month. We have a line up of some GREAT ways to spend your days giving back to others in the community and connecting with AMAZING students from other schools! We have even incorporated some “hang-out” time after some of the projects.

Register on the SERVE NOW page on the website!

June 20th- 7 Bridges to Recovery- A Day in the Streets

June 27th- Chestnut Ridge Nursing Home Ice Cream/Bingo Party and Hike up Sawnee Mountain

July 8th and 22nd: The Garden

July 11th: TBD

July15: Meals By Grace

July 21st: Street Reach and lunch @ The Varsity

July 25th: Homestretch

One of the best kept secrets in flood are our adult volunteers, especially our Chapter Coordinators. Each school chapter has an amazing adult you pours into our student leadrs as they encourage and help support them in their own leader and spiritual development as well as encourageing them in their outreach to other students and the community. All of the school chapters have a leadership team made up of a teacher sponsor, student leaders, and this crucial role of a Chapter Coordinator. Their role has become more and more important as flood truly becomes more and more of a student led ministry. They have multiple responsibilities from picking up supplies for a meeting, to helping students learn how to delegate and work as a team, to praying for them, to being someone they can confide in about things weighing heavy on their hearts.

We recently had a volunteer go to several chapter meetings and a service project who was blown away with our Chapter Coordinators. “You all have some of the nicest people in your ministry!” Yes, we do and we are so thankful and blessed

James D’elena, Chapter Coordinator for the Chattahoochee chapter is one of the amazing adults who support flood students. He has spent countless hours, praying, shopping, and leading student leaders at Hooch.

1. Leadership is taking turns leading devotionals every Tuesday (even when there isn’t a chapter meeting)

2. Challenges the leader team with “Operation Hailstorm” (he is ex- marine, can you tell?) that gives them missions to get them out of their comfort zone- sitting with someone at lunch you wouldn’t normall sit with, get up in front of class and talk about flood, etc.

3. Dyed his mohawk blue in honor of flood.

4. Was the driving force of getting the flood Christmas tree at ROAM Atlanta that collected many toiletry items, gloves, scarves, and coats for our Christmas Eve Outreach project.

5. Serves as Project Host (another adult volunteer role) with Street Reach, 7 Bridges, and more!

One of the student leaders had this to say about James during flood week back in November, “Tuesday was prayer morning! We met up at our usual spot and had a prayer morning. James, our chapter coordinator, took that one over! He’s just so passionate about Christ and his love for Christ is just unbelievable. He should get an award or something.. like seriously,” student on Chattahoochee leadership team.

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.

Trunk or Treat @ The Garden has become a flood favorite. Students head out to decorate cars and come dressed in costumes in order to pass out candy to the children living in this shelter.

The Chattahoochee chapter put together 150 goody bags at their chapter meeting last week to be handed out during the Trunk or Treat. Students from South Forsyth HS, Legacy Academy, Milton HS, and Taylor Road MS passed out the bags and then got to visit with the children and their mothers afterwards for a great time of fellowship.

The Holidays are a great way for students and families to get out serving in the community. Over the next 2 months, flood will offer projects serving Operation Christmas Child, ACT Together Ministries, Safehouse Outreach, 7 Bridges, Chestnut Ridge Nursing Home, and STREET REACH. Check out the SERVE NOW calendar on the website to start serving TODAY!

Our first ever FLOOD WEEK (November 7 -12) is the idea of flood student leaders to bring a greater awareness of flood and its mission to the school chapters and the community. The week will be full of many ways students and families can learn more about flood, get out and serve, and spend time in prayer for students in the community.

The week kicks off with a Night of Prayer on Monday the 7th for students to have an opportunity to receive prayer and be commissioned in their service by a foot washing led by the Prayer Team. On Tuesday the 8th, a GET ON BOARD reception will be held for families in the Milton area to learn more about flood and how they can get involved. On Saturday the 12th, two projects with STREET REACH and Safehouse Outreach are available for students to SERVE NOW with our amazing community partners. Each school chapter will have projects and activities in their schools and communities all week long where they will be increasing student awareness of flood and reaching out to serve their school and immediate community.

The highlight of the week is the STORM concert event on Friday night the 11th. The night will consist of a video highlighting ” A Day in the Life of flood,” guest speakers from our community partners, testimonies from our student leaders, and music by The Jordan Mitchell Band and Diicypulz! Tickets are $10 and will be available through the school chapters, student leaders, the flood office, and a limited number at the door. flood merchandise and band merchandise will be available as well.

We are so excited about this week and pray that God will do amazing works in the hearts of the students who take part at the school and community level. If you have always wanted to learn more about flood and how you can serve in the community- this week is for you! To get more information contact flood at kscales@floodstudentmissions.org, 770-289-1834, or ask students on the Chapter Leadership Teams.

Marina Han (student leader at Chattahoochee HS and a project leader for Street Reach) received the “Building Better Communities” award at My Giving Point’s 1st annual “SPARKS” ceremony this past week.  Marina posted a project with My GivingPoint that highlighted flood’s homeless outreach with Safehouse, 7 Bridges to Recovery, and