Comments on: Something to Wrestle With… http://www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com/youth-ministry/something-to-wrestle-with.html Youth pastor's and ministers wives community and resources. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:07:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: RC http://www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com/youth-ministry/something-to-wrestle-with.html#comment-1210 RC Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:39:15 +0000 http://www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com/?p=247#comment-1210 I think this is a huge wake-up call to all of us in youth ministry. Life is not easy when you're a teenager. I was just there not that long ago (I'm 23) and I can already see there are SO many things they're dealing with that I didn't have to. I think we underestimate the youth sometimes. They are dealing with things way beyond their maturity level. Fair? Not really. But it's reality and we need to accomodate that and speak to that so we can lead them through these things in fellowship. I see that the more honest I am with my girls (I am a leader, my husband is the Pastor), the more open they are with me. I think this is a huge wake-up call to all of us in youth ministry. Life is not easy when you’re a teenager. I was just there not that long ago (I’m 23) and I can already see there are SO many things they’re dealing with that I didn’t have to.

I think we underestimate the youth sometimes. They are dealing with things way beyond their maturity level. Fair? Not really. But it’s reality and we need to accomodate that and speak to that so we can lead them through these things in fellowship. I see that the more honest I am with my girls (I am a leader, my husband is the Pastor), the more open they are with me.

]]> By: Jennifer C. http://www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com/youth-ministry/something-to-wrestle-with.html#comment-1208 Jennifer C. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:20:14 +0000 http://www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com/?p=247#comment-1208 We also struggle to find a way to convey God's love and mercy at times like this. A few years ago we also had to deal with a suicide within our group. The questions come..."Why" "What does this mean" "Where was God when this happened". The answer: (one of many) The same place he has always been, waiting for us to turn to Him. He is always there waiting for us and he will not abandon us to our hurt and pain even if it seems there is no way out. We cannot change what has happened but we can have a different future with our life surrendered to Christ. I agree that the health of your group can be revealed when tragedy strikes. What Heather's group did by praying with the kids was awesome. Prayer opens the door to healing and wisdom. I also agree with eliminating games as a regular activity when you meet for your regular youth night. You have precious little time with them and sometimes it is just 20 wasted minutes. We schedule a "game night" as an extra activity once in a while and try to provide several things that would interest different people. Video, board games, outside stuff etc. Tough question - tougher answers. Not every kid will respond in the same way. I will be praying for you and your students in the days to come. We also struggle to find a way to convey God’s love and mercy at times like this. A few years ago we also had to deal with a suicide within our group.
The questions come…”Why” “What does this mean” “Where was God when this happened”.
The answer: (one of many) The same place he has always been, waiting for us to turn to Him. He is always there waiting for us and he will not abandon us to our hurt and pain even if it seems there is no way out. We cannot change what has happened but we can have a different future with our life surrendered to Christ.
I agree that the health of your group can be revealed when tragedy strikes. What Heather’s group did by praying with the kids was awesome. Prayer opens the door to healing and wisdom.
I also agree with eliminating games as a regular activity when you meet for your regular youth night. You have precious little time with them and sometimes it is just 20 wasted minutes. We schedule a “game night” as an extra activity once in a while and try to provide several things that would interest different people. Video, board games, outside stuff etc.
Tough question – tougher answers. Not every kid will respond in the same way.
I will be praying for you and your students in the days to come.

]]> By: Heather http://www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com/youth-ministry/something-to-wrestle-with.html#comment-1202 Heather Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:08:52 +0000 http://www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com/?p=247#comment-1202 Hi Laura- I think this is a really good and tough question you asked. I think a youth group can really use this tragedy as an opportunity to reach out to the high school community. We recently had a student involved in a terrible ski accident so we held a 12 hour prayer for the student and the family. The injured student is not involved in the youth group but his brother comes fairly regularly. It was awesome to see the students come to pray for 15 minute increments...even students who had not come to our group in a few years and have since begun coming again. When tragedy strikes it is important to remind the students where to turn to by providing them with that opportunity. It was also a great opportunity for my husband and I to talk to and connect with students when they were finished praying as we were there for the 12 hours to supervise and make sure things ran smoothly. In regards to your question about games...our junior high group and high school group do not play games. I have found that we are one of the few groups that take this approach. When my husband came on as the pastor of student ministries we decided to not play games because we only have the students for 90 minutes a week and we didn't see any point to wasting 20+ with a game that does not produce spiritual growth. We saw an increase in attendance when we stopped the games because many new students found the games to be awkward and frankly any silly game we would be able to pull off cannot compete with the pricey game systems and entertainment they have at home. Hi Laura- I think this is a really good and tough question you asked. I think a youth group can really use this tragedy as an opportunity to reach out to the high school community. We recently had a student involved in a terrible ski accident so we held a 12 hour prayer for the student and the family. The injured student is not involved in the youth group but his brother comes fairly regularly. It was awesome to see the students come to pray for 15 minute increments…even students who had not come to our group in a few years and have since begun coming again. When tragedy strikes it is important to remind the students where to turn to by providing them with that opportunity. It was also a great opportunity for my husband and I to talk to and connect with students when they were finished praying as we were there for the 12 hours to supervise and make sure things ran smoothly.
In regards to your question about games…our junior high group and high school group do not play games. I have found that we are one of the few groups that take this approach. When my husband came on as the pastor of student ministries we decided to not play games because we only have the students for 90 minutes a week and we didn’t see any point to wasting 20+ with a game that does not produce spiritual growth. We saw an increase in attendance when we stopped the games because many new students found the games to be awkward and frankly any silly game we would be able to pull off cannot compete with the pricey game systems and entertainment they have at home.

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