It Takes a Village...

For those of you who don't know me well, there are a couple things you need to know:

First, I am a planner to the nth degree. Color-coded calendars, post-its and elaborate filing systems are my friends!!!

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But when it comes to Youth Group, I usually bite off a bit more than I can chew. Every Sunday, I've basically crammed a Broadway musical into 60 minutes of Youth Group time. So the 2 hours before Youth Group begins, I am usually frantically cutting out Challenge Cards, with markers and post-its and basketballs and attendance sheets flying all over the place.

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No matter how well I've planned, or how perfect I think the lesson is, the panic and anxiety at 4:45 pm on Sunday afternoons is palpable and weighty. I love what I do, and I love the kids who come to youth group; I want for them to experience Jesus when they come here, to have fun, to learn something, and to be changed indefinitely.

Knowing this, imagine my surprise when my watched turned to 4:30 yesterday, and everything was done: the Garden was completed for our devotion, the materials set out in each classroom, the game supplies gathered in the parking lot. Heck, I even had time to dig out the old basketball pump so that a couple middle schoolers could pump up the basketballs!!! What is this magic?!?!?!

Looking up

Game time at Middle School Youth Group is always chaos; it's just what happens when you bring 40 middle schoolers together and let them run around. At one point, I watched 15 7th grade boys all simultaneously pretend to faint at the same time. Yesterday, we had a battle for the most talented Samurai Master:

This is a great game because everyone can get into the battle, even if you aren't wielding the samurai noodle. It helps a lot of kids feel involved, even when they aren't big joiners or wanting to be the center of attention. So as we attempted to transition from games to devotion, I was nervous. I frantically flipped through the pages of my Bible looking for the scripture for today, and I stopped to look up to make sure there weren't kids shooting hoops or running halfway through the cemetery.

When I looked up I was greeted with a group of 40 middle school students seated criss-cross applesauce being gently shepherded by laughing volunteers. Their faces looked eager, and their eyes were attentively following me waiting for this week's lesson. It was like a refreshing glass of iced tea or a cool breeze on a hot day!

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After our devotion, we moved into small groups, where students were challenged to decorate flowers that are being displayed in our Garden of Love. Throughout the semester, we will be using 1 Corinthians 13 to learn about how God intends for us to care for the garden of our relationships with God and others through love and all that it entails. I shuffled about with a bag full of paper flowers, staring nervously at my Daily Plan. As I entered each room, I looked up, and I saw and heard these amazing adults laughing, joking, and learning with these teenagers.

Now I want to be clear: there was never a doubt in my mind that we have capable, amazing youth leaders who have spiritual gifts in leading our youth, and who could certainly do an amazing job leading our youth. What I worry about is whether the instructions that I gave actually make any sense at all to anyone outside of my brain. Even as we moved on to High School Youth Group, I sat back in my arm chair and watched with joy and hope as the volunteers laughed kindly and gently encouraged each of our teenagers. 

Maybe this doesn't seem important...

Maybe as you think about this, it doesn't seem that important to you. I've been here for a year, which normally would mean that many of you have thought: 

Well, Lindsay's been here a year. No need to volunteer. She's got it covered.

And even more so:

That Lindsay is an Energizer Bunny, she doesn't need an army of volunteers.

{Not that I've heard any of this...hypothetically speaking of course}

But let me tell you just how important it is to have great adult leaders for youth group. 

We need a connection

My husband and my brother and I went through the same youth group with most of the same youth leaders in charge. If you asked me who had the greatest impact on me in high school, I would say Kari Limmer or Shannon Rankin. If you asked my husband, he would say Donna Lee or Doug Spicuzza. If you asked my brother, he would say Roy DeLorenze or Chad Johnson. Some of these names are paid people; some are people who gave their time freely to spend with teenagers. I can't imagine what our youth group would have been like without any one of these people; each of them had unique gifts and personalities that helped to draw a wide variety of people to our youth group. 

As I look around at the 40 middle schoolers and 25 high schoolers we had at youth group last night, it is clear that we have 65 distinct personalities. Some will follow Mr. Tim's humor and playfulness. Some will follow Miss Donna's gentle heart and kind spirit. Some will gravitate toward the thoughtfulness of Miss Vereen or the compassion of Miss Sharon. Some will follow the brilliance of Mr. Chris or the never-ending energy of Mr. Jim. Some will be brought in by the geekiness of Mr. Mike or the athleticism of Mr. Chris or Miss Kathy. Some will be drawn to the energy of Miss Mary or Miss Beth, and some by the laughter of Miss Brenda. And some, yes, will connect to Miss Lindsay and her quirky qualities. Without any one of these folks, our youth group might not have a place to stick. And all of this makes me very, very grateful.

I'm grateful not only because this wonderful group of adults make my life easier (and believe me they do). I am grateful because when I see generations working together, I believe I am seeing the Kingdom of God. I am grateful because this dozen adults gets that the future of the church is being placed in their very capable, loving hands. I am grateful because this is a church family that takes responsibility for its members of all ages.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. I was overjoyed when some of the friends arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely how you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1.2-4

Let us continue this year to walk in the truth and the light of Jesus Christ.

Some resources

Intergenerational Ministry from Fuller Youth Institute

The Perfect Youth Leader

Summer...

For the rest of the church, when mid May rolls around and the kids hear the final bell of the school year, the congregation goes into Sabbath mode. There is a general rest from the busyness of the program year. Events are more and more scarce, and it becomes a great opportunity to go through closets, clean out classrooms, and take a deep breath after a busy, productive program year.

Perhaps it's the joyful freedom of summertime; perhaps it's the long, hot days or the stillness of the southern breeze; perhaps it's the brightness of God's creation. For some reason, youth ministry always seems to flourish most under the beating sun of summertime. Mission trips, conferences, and even Sunday after-church lunches together lead to tangible encounters with the Holy Spirit.

Our youth had lots of "official" opportunities to grow in their faith this summer, and they did an absolutely phenomenal job bearing witness to those opportunities yesterday in worship. In case you missed it or needed more information, here's the 60-second run-down of the summer with Unity Youth.

Asheville Youth Mission

In June, we took 13 middle school students and 5 adults to Asheville Youth Mission. AYM is hosted in First Presbyterian Church in Asheville, and works with lots of organizations in the Asheville area to combat the issues of hunger, homelessness, and poverty in the Asheville area. Our youth had the opportunity to work in a garden that provided produce for free for low-income families. The produce from that garden supplied Food Bank where our youth got to sort through produce donations and package them for distribution. That food bank also supplies food for a community meal for homeless folks at a local church, and our youth got to help with the preparations for that meal.

It was amazing how the organizations in the Asheville community worked together and embraced the volunteer efforts of AYM. The fact that groups could set aside political and religious differences in order to unite for the good of those less fortunate is something that stands in stark contrast to our contemporary society. It's something that struck me as a glimpse of God's Kingdom on earth.

The theme of the week was fear not, love all. By the end of the week, not just my way of thinking was changed, but I was.  I am more thankful of what I have and more sympathetic for those not as fortunate.  I also take time to think about what I can do. -Abby, 7th Grader

Our youth also got the opportunity to spend a day with veterans living in Veterans Restoration Quarters. Many had fallen on hard times due to mental illness, addiction, or lack of work, and VRQ helps to get these folks back on their feet. Our youth got the opportunity to spend the day with veterans, gardening, eating lunch, and playing Bingo. I was impressed by our youth who had no fear in talking to these adult men, and were in fact excited and engaged in their conversations.

When it was time to leave, they had to yell for me to come on because we were having such a good conversation.  -Matt, 7th Grader

For the moments when God's grace touched our hearts during this week at AYM, and for the moments to come when these memories inform who we become, we give thanks to God.

High School Work Camp

The very next week in June, 11 our high school students met up with two youth groups from the Pittsburgh area and traveled to Charleston, SC to help Presbyterian Disaster Assistance with home repairs and recovery following the floods that occurred in October 2015. It was the kind of trip that began with receiving 20 large plain cheese pizzas when you ordered 30 large pepperoni pizzas, and that was the sort of vibe of the week. As leaders, we encountered lots of challenges: poisonous spider bites, kidney stones, sewage backing up in the kitchen, large insects in the sleeping quarters, complex construction projects, and three roof projects in 97 degree weather. Yet, in the midst of all of that, God was still at work. 

The phrase that stuck out to me the most that week was printed on the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance T-shirts: out of chaos, hope. -Cate, 10th grader

One of our sites was at the house of a woman named Miss Gloria. Miss Gloria sat on her porch all day while we were there, and she would talk for hours with our youth, giving them advice for life, trying to set them up with new boyfriends or girlfriends, and sharing the latest neighborhood news. Just having someone to sit and talk with all day was a major blessing for Miss Gloria, and although we didn't finish her roof, she cried with joy and gratitude when we left on Friday. Meeting Miss Gloria was a special spiritual moment for many of our youth.

The week also served as an opportunity for youth to experience real gratitude for what they have, and for the comforts that they enjoy. They worked hard and they were tired. They saw desperate poverty and heard about complex and difficult situations. They showered in a trailer and slept on the floor. And yet this remained the best week of the summer for many of them. Why? Because God is at work.

Montreat Youth Conference

In July, 20 of our high school youth and four adults spent a week at Montreat Youth Conference in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. Montreat Youth Conference is a fabulous Presbyterian Conference that occurs for several weeks of the summer. Over 1,000 Presbyterian teenagers gathered the week we attended to worship and explore their relationships with God. We attended worship twice daily and also attended small groups and recreational times to help cement our understanding of God.

One of the more transformational parts of Montreat is the free time that high school youth get to spend together. In a culture that does not stop and puts a tremendous amount of pressure on youth, it was refreshing for our teenagers to spend time just together, just hiking or gazing out across Lake Susan, not a care in the world. It was a joy to observe our youth without the weight of the world on their shoulders.

How about you?

Only some of our youth were able to attend trips this summer, but that doesn't mean that God wasn't at work in YOUR life. I've heard wonderful stories so far about experiences at summer camp, at the beach, at grandma's house, or in the mountains. God is moving, working, and transforming in all of these average places, and I believe God has been at work in the lives of each of us this year. Where has God been at work in YOUR life this summer? How will it transform your 2016-2017 school year?