Tag: youth group

Posted in Ministry, youth

A few youth ministry memories (from way back)

Posted on by William Douthwaite

When I was growing up, our family was always involved in the church. My parents were involved in teaching and leadership, and as soon as we were old enough, my brother, sister and I were involved in the youth ministry.

Youth ministry looked a lot different in the early 1970’s. The high school youth group was called the Walther League. The Junior League was for those in Junior High School, which was grades 7 through 9 in our community. I don’t remember much about Junior League, except that we could wait to be old enough for Walther League.

Walther League was run entirely by the youth. There were a couple of adults there to make sure we didn’t break anything in the church and provide transportation. Other than that, they watched us have our meetings. We elected a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. The president ran the bi-monthly meetings, the secretary wrote down minutes in a notebook, and the treasurer kept a little lock box with our cash in it. Meetings consisted of reading a devotion from a devotional magazine, reading last meeting’s minutes, hearing how much money we had, ate a snack, played a game, and decided what else we wanted to do.

The only activities I remember were going to play miniature golf, going to a movie, going out for ice cream, and raising money to play miniature golf, go to a movie, and buy ice cream. The church gave us half of the Sunday morning coffee and donut money if we helped serve and clean up. We collected newspapers which we could take to a dump and sell for $2.00 a ton. My dad actually let me weigh down the family station wagon for trips to south Philadelphia to make a couple of bucks. I don’t think we ever accumulated more than twenty dollars, but that’s all we needed.

Not everyone in our group was allowed to go see the 1969 movie “True Grit” starring John Wayne. The film included some gunfights and the dialogue included a few obscenities (“Son of a b****”). I know, sounds mild compared to what’s on TV and in films now, but at the time, it was a big deal.

I don’t remember what else we did. By the time I was out of college and involved in youth ministry, much had changed. The leaders did the programming and teaching, and the youth came to be fed and entertained. In fact, parents expected the church to feed and entertain their children to keep them out of trouble. This became harder and harder to do since the world offers much more and better entertainment on TV, devices, and the internet.

I believe the best youth ministry happens when we give our young people something to do. They couldn’t wait to take on leadership responsibility during Vacation Bible School. Summer mission trips were times of spiritual growth. They benefitted by the experience of being part of the body of Christ, hearing and learning, going and telling.

2014 summer mission trip to Chattanooga, TN
Posted in Grace, Ministry, youth

Look who showed up at the resource center!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

When I walked into the Resource Center today I ran right into our church’s youth group. Working the intake desk were Alexandra, Abby, Grace, Nooch, McKelvey and Michael. In the backroom, where staples were sorted, bagged and distributed were Adam and Addison, Jake and Nick, Anna and Cole, Tess and Mackinzie, and Joshua. They had already been trained by our coordinator, Trish, were supervised by youth leaders Rob and Liv, and were assisted by some great parents: Dina, Beth, and Kelly. (I hope I didn’t forget anyone — please forgive me if I did.)

resource ctr

Some of the shelves were on the verge of empty, but there was enough food to send everyone home with a good week’s worth of non-perishables and bread. In our little corner of the post-hurricane world, I know it meant a lot to the clients.

I had stopped by to take a few pictures and encourage them in their ministry. I am so proud of their efforts to serve the congregation and community. Youth in ministry is a much better moniker than youth ministry. They are not the future of our church. They are the church right now.

I wonder if they understand the impact of their efforts? I know them all and I don’t think any of them have ever come home from school to an empty pantry or refrigerator. They may have lamented, “There’s nothing to eat!” But not because there wasn’t any food — just no Doritos or Oreos. Some of them had just gotten power restored. Others had helped clean up debris from yards this past week. All brought joy, laughter, and youthful energy with them. And for that I am thankful. It’s contagious, not just for me, but for the parents and clients, too.

When I was ten, twelve, or sixteen, I didn’t have a grasp on how much need there is in this world. Sometimes you can see it; they are sitting by the side of the road. Sometimes you can’t; they are sitting next to you in school. They don’t let on that the free lunch they get is their only meal that day. Or that they are living with a grandparent.

On the other hand, they also don’t judge. If someone comes in for food, they just need some food. Period. No thoughts of, “Why don’t they get a job?” or “They don’t look that hungry.” Just an eagerness to share what they have with someone else.

I always learn a lot from young people. That’s why I like hanging around them.

The Resource Center in Bunnell (1510 Old Moody Blvd.) is open during the week as well as Saturdays, providing food for Flagler County residents. Call 386.437.7373 for more information. 

 

Posted in Ministry

“How do I know which bathroom to use?”

Posted on by William Douthwaite

bathThe semi-official topic of our youth group discussion tonight was “How do I know what bathroom to use?” This seems to be the topic everyone is talking about, at least in all the media and social media outlets. I was genuinely curious about how our youth’s experience and how they might answer that question.

I asked how many actually knew someone at school who identified as a gender different from their physiology. One thought they knew someone, but they weren’t positive and hadn’t asked. Another knew a young man who came to school in lipstick and high heels. My followup question was, “How are those students treated?” The answer: “No one really pays that much attention.”

I learned much in preparation for our discussion today from a paper from the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations on that topic. I learned a lot from our youth tonight, too, as we talked about what the Bible had to say about gender, natural law, God’s revelation and grace.

Though the Bible clearly reveals God’s plan for male and female, a fallen human nature reveals many variations that stray far from that plan. Regardless of your sin, you need to hear the law, your sin, the Gospel and God’s love. We so much want to judge and condemn others. God so much wants us to love each other. The tension is agonizing. Welcome to Christianity!

Our group tonight consisted of two high school seniors, one college freshman, a high school junior and an eighth-grader. I’m a baby-boomer who’s catching a glimpse of retirement out there on the horizon. We are learning so much from each other. My generation has our panties in a knot about the whole issue, boycotting businesses and straightening out the world. They are all about loving the unlovable like Jesus.

They give me great hope.