This past weekend the youth leaders and a small group of young people took a trip to Muskoka for Snocamp. It was a fun time and truly tiring time. I did things I hadn't done in years. Thinks my body is thoroughly repentant of having done, but that my heart is glad for doing. We did have a great time withe the kids.
Having said that...this weekend was a wake up call for us. Especially for me. Most of our group was not there. Most of all, they weren't there because most of the group really isn't connected. As in relationship and family. Most of the kids have one or two friends in the group, so, when one kids drops off we lose three and this happened this past weekend. We needed the eye opener, it reminded us of our original focus. Connect kids to God to eachother to leaders. We were spending so much time on the first and last that we were missing the fact that if they don't connect to each other, it'll all fall apart.
Yesterday was our first meeting since returning, I agonized over what my approach was going to be in teaching last evening....I settled on Jesus' call to follow him and what it really meant. I thought I was a little strong, but it turned out the kids loved it (I don't mean in the sense that it was so much fun) but they appreciated the challenge to their lives and several even came to me and said things like..."we need more of that!"...not kids I expected to hear it from. We also had an incredible turnout with kids coming that hadn't been around for months. God knows what he's doing.
Sometimes we need to be brought low before we can look to the one who is leading with an attitude and heart that says I will follow you wherever and regardless of the cost.
But I'm still tired. Barely awake right now, and I still have the whole day to go!
Posted by ed | TrackBackKeep up the good work! Probably youth ministry can be thankless at times but will pay dividends. Even how you handle disappointments will leave an impresison on them like my Youth Pastor's did on me.
Posted by: TRishGreat post! As a pastor, I apply what you've said to not only youth, but to adults. Connecting people to God is of supreme importance and one of our tasks as the church. Yet, if I\we neglect to connect people to one another, regardless of age, they quickly fall off. Thanks for the eye-opener!
Posted by: MattI couldn't agree more Matt...thanks for the reminder that this is not a single ministry thing but at the heart of ministry and spiritual growth. I guess Jesus said it best...Love God, love people.
Posted by: ed