Our crew is BEYOND excited to usher in the summer with our first Armour Up next Wednesday, June 1st! Thank you for being a part of this ministry and for supporting us with your encouragement, prayers and donations. What a blessing this community is to AU!
Please download the following letter to parents, which outlines our summer curriculum and important information for your children.
Our t-shirt hand out last Saturday morning was a HUGE success! We offered drive through service for the first time and the only complaints were that we didn’t serve donuts or coffee. Maybe next year, folks. If you were unable to pick up your shirt or you registered late, we will have a shirt for you on night one of AU. Donuts not included.
Thank you to our wonderful AU committee for volunteering and for making everything run so seamlessly. We could NOT do this without you.
Speaking of our AU committee, we have been hard at work planning, preparing and praying for your children.
Our #1 goal is to help your children grow their faith in God and have a personal relationship with Him. Thank you for trusting us with them for the summer!
As you can tell, it’s super safe.
Please mark your calendars for the very first AU next Wednesday, June 1st. The Elementary Division (3rd/4th graders) will meet from 5:15-6:15pm at the PCBC activities building on the corner of Pickwick/Villanova. The Middle School Division (5th/6th/7th graders) will meet from 6:30-7:30pm and the High School (& almost High School) Division (8th/9th graders) will meet from 7:45-8:45pm.
Just a reminder that your children will need to wear their Armour Up Undefeated T-shirts every Wednesday night. They received a name tag in their t-shirt bag, so please put that on as well. Again, if you did not pick up your child’s shirt, you will be able to grab it on June 1st at PCBC. (These shirts were included in your registration fee.)
We will also have AU swag available (Nike dri-fit shirts, Custom Colors tees, Nike drawstring sports bags, etc.) for purchase in the AU store on Wednesday nights (cash or credit cards accepted). The kids will be able to wear these shirts on Wednesday nights in place of their UNDEFEATED t-shirt if they wish. Most items are $30. And yes, those are Nike customized AU socks – our fastest moving item each year!!
Part of Armour Up’s mission statement is to ‘develop disciples for Christ’. This year we will introduce to you the AU CREW. This is a group of older boys (incoming 9th graders) who will be helping with our younger division. They have been and will continue to be trained and discipled themselves to know what it means to be followers of Christ. Our prayer is that they will be able to model how to live a Christ-centered life in the midst of a ME-centered society. Most have attended a weekly bible study all year long with Will Washington, and we are excited to watch them become leaders as they pursue the Lord. Please be on the lookout for these boys in these shirts this summer!!
Another part of our mission statement is to ‘demonstrate God’s love to others’. This summer, as in summers past, we are collecting school supplies for ARISE AFRICA for underprivileged children in Lusaka, Zambia.
Arise Africa is so incredibly grateful for our help and we are thrilled to partner with this Christian organization for another year. Two summers ago, we were able to deliver the school supplies in person and WOW was it an eye opener.
We also delivered extra Armour Up t-shirts, for which they were ecstatic to wear!
This year, we will be doing the same. Our crew is going over in August, Lord willing, to deliver even more supplies and more shirts. Please help us in showing God’s love to those in need by bringing any of the following on Wednesdays in June:
Pencils, Pens, Crayola Watercolor Paints, Scissors, Staplers, Paper Clips, Rubber Bands, Rulers, Markers, Sports Equipment &/or Children’s Bibles.
We have asked your child to include a personal note wishing the recipient a good school year or just a wonderful day if they desire. The African children would love to read a note signed with your child’s name and age or grade. It also helps us connect the children by making it more personal.
Thank you!!
Another partnership we are so proud of is one with Kershaws Challenge. Ellen & Clayton Kershaw, Highland Park natives, have established an amazing foundation to raise money for underprivileged children around the globe. Clayton is currently a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has used his platform to serve others in the name of Jesus Christ. We think that’s pretty awesome. For the past two Novembers, we have hosted a father/son baseball game called Challenge Up at Scotland Yard to raise money for Kershaws Challenge. Clayton is hands on and pitches (via a pitching machine) to each and every one of our boys. To date, we’ve raised close to $20,000. Armour Up feels so blessed to be an official “partner” of Kershaws Challenge, and we look forward to many more fun baseball games in the future. Click here for a write up on the Armour Up/Kershaws Challenge partnership. And Go DODGERS!!!
As we prepare for summer, please print out the following document which will outline what to expect for the first night of Armour Up.
Also, we suggest you print out the summer bible verse calendar and put it on a bulletin board, the inside of your pantry door, refrigerator or bathroom mirror as a reminder of our memory verses this summer. We are big believers in the power of the word of God, and our hope is that they will hide these words in their hearts!! (Or at least glance at them while fixing their hair or grabbing a snack. Whatever works.)
Summer Bible Verse Calendar 2016
We’ve covered a lot on this email and hope you’ve stayed with us to the end. I think you can tell that WE ARE PUMPED about June 1st and the summer in general!!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@armourupdallas.com. It is not too late to register for the summer, so please join us if you are not already on our roster!! We’d love to have you!
See you next Wednesday,
The AU TEAM
John 16:33