I wanted to take a moment to share with you all a little about
YOUR children's and youth ministries and how it's going so far this year. Dates,
times, and upcoming events are important, but they don't really give you, the
members who make these ministries possible, a real sense of the sometimes great
and sometimes subtle difference that our Christian Education programs provide
for the children, youth, and adults who participate in them. Enjoy!
A Little About Sunday School…
As I watch the children and youth move about the church on any given Sunday
morning, I'm struck by how truly comfortable they are at church. Visiting
children and youth are welcomed and included, their apprehension wears off as
the morning progresses, and the volunteer teachers do a great job of structuring
classes so that visitors and less-frequent attendees fit right in and get a lot
out of the Sunday school class. Of course, our regularly attending children and
youth know that they "own" the place, and move about freely and confidently in
and around "their" church. Thank you, adults, for not stepping on them as they
dart in and out and around you on Sunday mornings.
I can't heap enough praise on our volunteer teachers. They are always prepared,
always willing to give, and really make a difference in the live of their
students. It is a big sacrifice, and they never complain. True, we are still
short on teachers, and at this point, the months of January, February, and March
are without teachers. But God will provide, and the spark of desire will become
a flame of willingness, and we will have our Sunday school classes, because the
children and youth deserve it.
The parents of the children and youth who come to church are my heroes, too.
Getting a household of children out the door, fed and dressed and on time, is a
major accomplishment. Sunday mornings are a blur for families with kids, and the
temptation to "take a day off" is strong. But parents must never underestimate
the value of their children watching them going through the trouble of getting
up, getting ready, and getting to church on a perfectly fine Sunday morning that
could be spent doing so many other things. Regularly attending church teaches
them that going to church and living a life of faith must be important, or why
else would we do it? Thank you, parents, for bringing your children to church.
A Little About Jr. High Youth Group…
This is a ministry about connections more than it is about regular meeting
times and silly games. We plan a program and try to make it appealing, but we
know that Jr. High youth do not drive, and are really at the mercy of their
parents' hectic schedules. Jr. High ministry is partially a Family ministry, and
partially a Friendship ministry, both of which are vital to the faith
development of this age group. We structure opportunities for Jr. High youth to
do activities and get better acquainted with their peers in the church, and take
advantage of the time that we do have with them, including Sunday mornings. But
the most important feature of this ministry is that the youth and their parents
know that we are always there for them, whether they can make it to an event or
not. The light is always on, so to speak, and the youth group leader is always
happy to see them. This is a comfort to both the youth and their parents, as
both are struggling to figure out what the other really wants.
So it's not about how many come to a programmed event, it's about how much those
who do make it get out of the events. For example, last week several youth and I
spent the afternoon by going to Winco, which was so crowded that you couldn't
back up in the aisle, where we filled to the brim four shopping carts with food
that would become entire Thanksgiving meals for 20 needy families. It was a
workout. Once we had the carts filled, we had to unload them all at the
checkout, and then re-pack it all up into bags. Then we had to load it all into
the van, come back to the church, and unload it again. We still weren't done. We
had to unload it all from the bags, so that we could sort and re-pack it into
separate boxes that contained one of each item, for a total of 20 complete
Thanksgiving meals.
Frankly, I was tired of handling those groceries. But when we were finished, and
we stood amongst 20 fully stocked boxes that represented a true reason to be
thankful for 20 needy families, we all knew that we had done something
incredible. The visual impact of that moment was well worth the hard work. I
didn't want to leave, I just wanted to stay there and soak it all in, and let
the youth do the same. As we joined together and said a prayer of blessing on
the food and for the families that would receive it, I got a brief glimpse of
what Jr. High ministry is all about.
A Little About Sr. High Youth Group… This is a ministry about belonging
and empowerment. I have been lucky to have the dedication and commitment of the
Sr. High youth who are a part of this group. I do spend many hours planning
cutting-edge meetings with cool games and meaningful topics for discussion. Yet
that doesn't seem to be as important to the youth as just being able to chill
out and be themselves for a bit. Sure, I wish they stayed a bit more focused,
and even sometimes followed the agenda (yeah right!), but there's a strange and
wonderful joy in that fact that even though it's 8:30pm and the meeting ended a
half-hour ago, none of them want to leave.
I make sure that the youth know that I'm most interested in them discovering the
spiritual side of themselves and becoming proactive in using that awareness to
go out and make the world a better place. And I constantly remind myself that
even though they won't often say it, Sr. High teens are desperate for a
comfortable place to be spiritual and explore their spirituality. It is
rewarding to know that we have this place where we can relax, take a break from
our hectic lives, sit on yucky couches, yuk it up a bit, and wonder if the pizza
will ever arrive. In many ways, it will be years before we can measure what kind
of effect this ministry has had on the youth. But when these kids are in their
thirties and forties, I want to hear all about it.
Thanks be to God for our many blessings,
Kelly
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