On Monday morning, youth started showing up around 9am. They were ready to spend the week at the church for Methodist swag week. They didn't know what to expect and, honestly neither did I. Usually, we go away during spring break. But, this year, we were staying local and doing service projects within the community and our own church. Could I really keep their attention and give them a great experience by keeping them in our hometown and sleeping in our own church for a whole week? I wasn't confident even though I had been planning for months.
It started off rocky since 2 days of work fell through before we even started. Luckily, I got a back-up plan together. This wasn't just a mission week. I wanted them to understand what it meant not just to be a Christian but to be a Methodist. We started the event by forming groups. I had thought more youth were coming, but health issues and conflicts gave us 2 groups of 5. It worked out for the best because these were the youth I knew were dedicated to being there. Each group picked 5 questions to focus on through the week and to hold each other accountable for. The questions were along the lines of "am I living out the bible", "am I not complaining", and "do I not let things like social media and electronic things influence me". I didn't know if they would take these questions seriously. But every evening during covenant group time, I would walk by both groups and hear them discussing their day relative to the questions. They actually loved covenant time! One group has chosen to continue even after the week ended.
Another aspect of the week was learning about Methodist beliefs. They asked questions about what Methodist people believed on certain issues. Then, we spent time expressing them and other things that impacted us throughout the week. We hung their art in the youth house and they were so proud of it! It was great to walk around watching them as they looked up scriptures that had helped them, words that had meaning, and things they had learned. And, now they have constant reminders of their week.
So where was God in this? He was in the excitement they felt at learning more about him and growing closer to him.
Blessings, Jennifer
It started off rocky since 2 days of work fell through before we even started. Luckily, I got a back-up plan together. This wasn't just a mission week. I wanted them to understand what it meant not just to be a Christian but to be a Methodist. We started the event by forming groups. I had thought more youth were coming, but health issues and conflicts gave us 2 groups of 5. It worked out for the best because these were the youth I knew were dedicated to being there. Each group picked 5 questions to focus on through the week and to hold each other accountable for. The questions were along the lines of "am I living out the bible", "am I not complaining", and "do I not let things like social media and electronic things influence me". I didn't know if they would take these questions seriously. But every evening during covenant group time, I would walk by both groups and hear them discussing their day relative to the questions. They actually loved covenant time! One group has chosen to continue even after the week ended.
Another aspect of the week was learning about Methodist beliefs. They asked questions about what Methodist people believed on certain issues. Then, we spent time expressing them and other things that impacted us throughout the week. We hung their art in the youth house and they were so proud of it! It was great to walk around watching them as they looked up scriptures that had helped them, words that had meaning, and things they had learned. And, now they have constant reminders of their week.
So where was God in this? He was in the excitement they felt at learning more about him and growing closer to him.
Blessings, Jennifer
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