My name is Holly Garrett. I am the high school youth pastor here at Ginghamsburg. I just finished my fourth school year here, and I'm excited because this is my first graduating class of students who have known me all four years as their high school leader. It's a good thing and great to see them graduating! God is doing great things in the lives of students and I've been thinking a lot about this whole idea of graduating, since we're coming up on so many graduations.

To graduate - what does that really mean? Webster's Dictionary says "to graduate is to pass from one stage of experience, proficiency or prestige to a higher one." In thinking about my life, what are some things I've graduated from and haven't graduated from? There are definitely things I didn't graduate from and some things I did. One thing I didn't graduate from was swimming lessons. I remember way back in the day my parents put me in swimming lessons. I was maybe 11 years old. And the second day - the second day! - they had us jump off the diving board. I thought I was going to drown. I thought my life was over. After that, I just did horribly on all the tests and I ended up failing at swimming class. I never went back. Even now if I'm in the wave pool and the waves start getting higher, I get back to shore! So I didn't graduate from swimming lessons.

Something else I didn't graduate from was Changing Diapers 101. No, I have not had a lot of experience with changing diapers. But it seems like every time I try to change a baby's diaper, and I think it's all in place and it's all there, I step back - and it unravels. So this is not good. I have not graduated from changing diapers and for those of you who have, I salute you. It is a skill I have not mastered yet.

There were some things I did graduate from, thank goodness! I graduated from high school. I was a Wayne High School graduate. Any Warriors in the house? Woo-hoo! I see you! I then went to college. I graduated from Bowling Green State University in northern Ohio, with a degree in broadcast journalism. My goal was to be a reporter for ESPN.

After that, a huge thing for me that I really was thankful for was that I made it through my twenty-fifth year. You hear all your life that there's a hill at 40, well something happened to me on the morning of my twenty-fifth birthday. I woke up and I had a crick in my back! And I thought: "I'm old!" It was the first time I had ever had a crick in my back and I thought, "This is old age!" And, I also started drinking coffee at the age of 25. So I was thankful to make it past my twenty-fifth year.

At the age of 28, I ran my first full marathon . . . 26.2 miles! It was the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the longest four hours and 46 minutes of my life. I have never been so thankful to see a finish line. It was my first marathon and my last marathon. But, now, I can join the small percent of the population that can say I did one of those! So I'm thankful that that is done and I graduated from that.

A couple months after my marathon, I graduated from Cincinnati Bible Seminary with a Master's degree in ministry with an emphasis in urban and international ministry. So it felt good to graduate from some things. It feels good to move on and go to newer, higher levels. So I'm thankful that I did graduate from some things in my life. Life is all about growing and moving to new levels and new places. God is all about moving us to new levels in our relationship with him. He wants us to graduate in our faith and do great things for his kingdom. God wants us, like Nehemiah, to be part of building his kingdom and furthering his purpose on the earth. God's purpose and plan for each of us is greater than we can ever, ever imagine.

I want to share with you a little bit about what I've learned over the past four years of building on the wall - this part of the wall at Ginghamsburg to which God has called me. The blessings have been great. The key verse that I have become very familiar with over the past four years is the challenge that Jesus gave his disciples found in the Luke 9:23-24. Let's look at that together. "Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.'"

Let's pray. Father God, we thank You so much for the opportunity to come into Your presence and to hear from You. God, we ask that You fill us with Your word. Spirit, I pray that You direct us and let us take from here the challenge that You have for each of us. We pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

When I was first asked to take the high school position, here at Ginghamsburg, back in 2003, I was stunned! I had just finished seminary, but I had studied missions and Bible - not youth ministry. When God said youth ministry, I said, "God, do you realize that when I was in student ministry as a student, I wasn't even involved that much? And you want me to be a leader in student ministry? What are you thinking? I wanted to go out into the world - that's what I've studied for and Ginghamsburg is ten minutes from Huber Heights where I grew up. Surely you can't be calling me here to do this!" I grew up in a church that had 300 people. Ginghamsburg is a mega-church and I didn't know how to attend or work at a mega-church. I was afraid; and this is where I heard God say, "Holly, this is where I want you to go. This is what I want you to do. Have courage. Do not be afraid." Have you ever had God tell you to do something, to go somewhere or speak to someone on his behalf? And you thought, "Surely, you cannot be talking to me. I'm not ready, I'm not able, I don't know how to do it." Has anyone been there? That was me. I did not know how to do what he was calling me to do and he said, "Have courage!" I heard that challenge again that Jesus gave his disciples in Luke, "If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me." I wanted to do my part, I wanted to be a disciple, I wanted to graduate to the next level, but I was afraid.

When I started working at Ginghamsburg, God had some help he sent my way. Aren't you thankful that God helps us when we need it? I have an identical twin sister. Her name is Noel and she was hired here at Ginghamsburg a year earlier than me and so we were shocked again to be in the same place this close to home where we grew up. In college, my sister felt this call to foreign missions. We never expected to live in the same country again after college. That God brought us to the same country, the same city, the same church - we were amazed! This is what is so great about my sister, Noel. If you know my sister, you love her. She is that kind of a person. And what was great is I look like her, so people just naturally liked me, too. Little kids were so cute because they would run up to me when they'd see me walking down the hall and they'd get this big smile on their face and their face would light up and they'd run down the hall and grab my leg and hug me. I'd think, "Little person, I don't know who you are, but you're so cute!" I didn't have the heart to tell them that I was Holly, not Noel. Then I would go into the nursery sometimes and these little babies would look at me and smile and I thought, "You think I'm Noel, don't you?" It was so funny!

My sister also had an experience from having a twin working in the same place, but it was a little different. My students like to play jokes and my sister got a lot of the jokes that were intended for me. I'll never forget one time a big group of my senior guys saw her walking across the parking lot and thought it was me. They ran to her, picked her up and started running with her through the parking lot. She was screaming, "Let me go! I'm not Holly!" And they were like, "What are you talking about?" It was so funny! I really do think I got the great end of the deal.

What was so great about my sister being here was that she was very much a tangible support for me. She was there for me all the time. If I got stressed, I'd dial her extension "Hey, Noel! I'm stressed!" And she'd say, "Meet me in the parking lot and we'll walk it off."  So we took laps around the parking lot. She was there on every big event that I had. She helped me set up, she prayed all the way through, she helped me tear down - she was there for me. We became involved in a cell group here at church and I felt really supported. I thought, "Well, maybe I can do this." Two years after I had been here, God was ready to graduate my sister to a new level and he was ready to graduate me to a new level. God opened for my sister what he had been preparing her for her whole life. He said, "Noel, where I'm calling you to live and be and work for me is the Czech Republic." I felt my heart drop; the Czech Republic is on the other side of the world! And in one very quick year - it happened so quickly - she applied, trained, packed and left. Someone that I'd seen every day all of my life, this visible tangible friend, left. I'll never forget at the airport when we said good-bye. This was January 6, 2006, and it was one of those moments when you know that after that point, things would never be the same. I knew I had to let her go so she could experience her God dream. But God was also telling me, "You have to let her go so you can experience your God dream." It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, I let her go. I kept hearing the verse, "Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me." This best friend I'd had all my life, this constant support, God needed her in the Czech Republic; and, God needed me here. It was about letting go in trust.

What is it today that has become your security? What are you holding on to more than you're holding on to God? Is it a relationship? Is it a graduating senior? Is it a job? Is it your past? What is holding you back from going to the next level? God is saying, "Release it to me. For you to go to the next level, for you to graduate, you've got to let it go. Lift it to me. Lift that person to me. Lift that job to me. Lift that dream to me - and trust that I'm going to take care of you and whatever it is, know that I am your security, your foundation. I go with you to the end." I needed to let go because I needed to graduate. I needed to move to the next level. God wanted to be the one that was closest to me and I had to let go. God wants to challenge each of you. Whatever you're holding onto more than him, he wants you to release it to him.

My sister went off to the Czech Republic and I came back to Ginghamsburg and I felt very alone. Ginghamsburg looked very different to me and my life looked very different to me. My tangible support, this amazing girl who had been my best friend all my life was gone. And I was afraid; I didn't know how to do things. I don't know how I made it through last school year. I missed her. And so I went into the summer and God said to me, "Holly, the next school year I want to take student ministry to a new level. And I want you to lead it. To go into this school year short staffed, you're going to have to take a bigger lead than you ever have." I said, "God, I'm not ready. I can't do this. I feel alone." God said, "Holly, you are ready. You can do this. You can build a legacy." And God is saying to each of you, "You're ready to graduate." God is ready to move you to a new level. He wants to take us to that hard place; to do the hard thing for him and not be afraid. I looked ahead at this school year and thought, "I can't do this." I remembered the second part of that verse. "If you want to save your life, you will lose it but if you lose your life for me, you will save it." God said, "You've let go but now you need to give yourself fully to me. You laid your sister at my feet in trust and now you need to do the same with your very own life. Do you trust me enough to go to the hard place? Do you trust me enough to do the hard thing?" I looked at that school year and it was a big mountain and I thought, "I can't lead these cell group leaders up there. I can't lead these students up there." God said, "Holly, with me you can. You can do it. You're ready. But you have to give yourself fully to me. If you give yourself fully to me, you can experience a miracle. A miracle if you let go and let me show it to you."

Have you ever faced a mountain? Has God ever asked you to do a hard thing and it looked insurmountable to you? Many times in life God will call us to a mountain and tell us to go up there. He gives us strength to climb, but we have to trust him and go with him. So God said, "Holly, there's the mountain, take the lead." I remember walking to the front of all my 50+ cell group leaders, shaking in my boots and saying, "Okay, guys, I don't know what we're going to do, but God is with us and we can do this!" As we bowed our heads and prayed for this school year, inside of me I cried, "God, we're not going up there unless you go with us!" And when I said that, I felt him right next to me, closer than I have ever felt him. He said, "Holly, I'm with you. Let's do it." And we began the climb into this school year.

The 2006-2007 school year was our most successful school year yet. And it cannot be explained apart from God. God himself took the lead. Miracles happened all year long. After our first teaching on faith, we gave students the chance to respond. We had over a hundred students come forward to give their hearts to Christ! A hundred students! It was a miracle! We had almost a hundred students go on mission trips during the course of the year. I have students coming to me saying they want to go into full-time ministry. A miracle! The miracle I experienced personally was I found my friend! I found the friend that sticks closer than a sister! He is with me and he is with you and goes with us to the hard places. He completes us and gives us strength to climb and do battle. He is with us! We are conquerors in his name! In his name we can do anything!

Another thing that was so amazing and crazy about this school year is that the spiritual warfare was bigger than I have ever seen. You see, when you get involved in God's work and you're doing great things for God, Satan does not like it and evil comes against it. We had cell group leaders struggling and we had students struggling. We had all kinds of struggles throughout the year. When you let go and let God, you become a rebel force on the planet. You become a part of what God is doing in the world. And let me tell you, the fighting is fierce. And more fighters are needed who will rise and say, "I'm going to let go and let God and take back what Satan is trying to steal from us." You might be saying, "Why do this? Why get involved? Why deny myself? Why let go? Why give myself fully to God? Why get involved?" Because!  People's lives are hanging in the balance. You can either be part of building a kingdom to you or building God's kingdom. You can either be about taking life just for you or you can be about giving life to others in places like the Sudan. You can be about building a house just for you or you can be about building houses for people in New Orleans. You can be about just serving yourself or you can serve your neighbors in Dayton. It's your choice. Lives are hanging in the balance.

Students, this summer you have the opportunity to be part of a movement called Urban Plunge. It is eight weeks of mission trips where you can serve and love the people in our own city. You don't want to miss this movement of what God is going to do. We have two college students who are coming back to be our interns. Their names are Jessica Bayless and Jeff Butson. They went through student ministry here, graduated, went away to college and now they're saying, "I want God to take me to a new level - to graduate to a new level. I'm going to go back and serve." They're going to serve our students all summer long. It's going to be powerful what God is going to do! God is looking for his family. He is looking for all of us to rise with courage, to not be afraid to do the hard thing, to not be afraid to graduate, to let go and let God. If I can be a leader, you can be a leader. If my life can impact, your life can impact. God wants you to rise and be a difference in this world. He wants you to let go and let him show you the miracle of what he can do through your life. It's more than you can imagine. He can change the world through you.

For those of you who are ready to go to that deeper place with God, if you're ready to go to that new level and graduate, God wants to see who you are. Often times, Jesus challenged his disciples to action. God wants to see those who are willing to let go and let God! I want to challenge you: if you are ready to join what God is doing in the world, if you are ready to let go and let God and experience the miracle of what he can do through your life, will you stand right now. Right now you are standing before your Father in heaven. He sees you and loves you. He doesn't care about your past and has for your future more than you can imagine. Right now, I need you to make some decisions. I need you to let go of some things and give yourself fully to the work that God wants to do through you in this world. Listen to the call: "If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me. For if you want to save your life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for me, you will save it."

I want you to hold up your hands and clench your fists and bow your heads. Father God, we stand before You right now, humbled in Your presence that You love us and You go with us to the end. We know, God, that this life is the only time we get a chance at this life and all the decisions that we make have a huge impact for eternity. Father, we stand before you ready to graduate and go to that next level. Our right hand represents that security we're holding on to - a job, a relationship or a dream that's taking us away from experiencing You. Right now, in the name of Jesus, we open our fist and release that to You in trust knowing that You are our security and our foundation and You will lead us on. Father, our left hand represents our very life. You want us to fully follow You, to not be afraid and lay our very lives down for what You are doing in this world. Right now, we open our fist to You and release our life to You. We let go of our very lives and stand before You completely open to Your will and to Your way. I pray for every person here that You will lead us, guide us and show us the miracle of what happens when we let go and we let You lead us and love us and take us to the next place. We thank You for the opportunity to serve You and love You and be part of Your family. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer and if you meant it, if you said, "I let go and I'm going to let God," I want to congratulate you because you are the graduating class of 2007. God bless you.