Why I love youth ministry

I love youth ministry because you honestly never know what's going to happen. You don't really know how many students are going to show up, you don't know if the new game will go over well, you don't know if the powerpoint you spent a good hour on is going to work, you don't know how many youth workers will actually show up, you don't know how God is going to use you....the list can go on forever.

I led the middle school service at my church last Wednesday night. I was a little anxious and a little scattered because I was asked just a few hours before we were to begin. I had led the service a couple weeks before and our students had just been crazy, so I was also worried about not getting their attention.

After a crazy, rowdy game, we headed back inside for our prayer time . On the screen, we had past prayer requests that students took turns reading outloud. I was amazed at how focused and respectful our group was. I got up to share about the different ways God has answered the prayers I've prayed, then we started a NOOMA video called OPEN. In this particular video, Rob Bell talks about why we pray and how we pray and how God answers our prayers. It is definitely one of my favorites. The video started and then froze and never unfroze, so I asked our tech people to just pull up the powerpoint of verse, questions, and thoughts that I had made for the students to answer silently at the end of the video. The powerpoint wouldn't pull up either.


(This is when God really started to do his thing!) I asked our students to close their eyes and reflect on the 20 or so questions, verses and statements that I would read a loud. The questions ranged from: Do you pray? to Are you angry with God? to What do you need to be honest with God about? At the end, I gave them 4 oppourtunities to respond. They could sit or kneel in their chair, pray with friends, pray with youth workers, or write their prayers and requests on paper. I was overwhelmed with God's presence as students huddled in groups, holding hands and tear streaming down faces. Students were praying all over the room.

At the end of the night, I gathered over 60 written requests and as I read through them, my heart became so burdened. I KNOW that our kids are going through tough stuff, but to see their middle school handwritting and to read the words that come from their heart makes it more real. I want to hug them and never let go. I want to be their safety net and I want to keep them from the hurts of this world...but I also realize that I can't. We live in a fallen world that is painful, heart-breaking and so very sad. My love is not enough. It doesn't matter how much I love. Trust in God is the key, I need to be more trusting that God is in control. He has given me this incredible oppourtunity to work with His children and as hard as it is at times...I am so thankful.