The following is a post by Joe & Lisa who are at 7 Mile Road Boston getting ready to move and be a part of planting 7 Mile Road Philadelphia:
We are at a weird stage in our life. Neither here nor there. We know in less than 6 or 7 months we will be off to Philly, but deciding on what to do with our time now is hard. We get the updates of what is going on in Philly and we are frustrated because we can not be there. We see all the great things going on here and we are frustrated because we are leaving. Last week was one of the first steps of many to come.
God worked it out so that I am no longer leading the middle school youth group. It was very hard to take that in. Yet taking a step back I came to realize it was truly a blessing from God. It was a blessing for two reasons, 1) because I have a independent study that I am taking which takes a lot of time and 2) because most of our middle schoolers from last semester are high schoolers now so there is a whole new batch of kids coming in. Anytime a new group of kids come in you need a period of just getting to know each other and gaining the right to be heard. If we were to continue with the middle schoolers we would be leaving before any real relationships could be formed. It was hard to get one step closer to wrapping things up but I am grateful for how God brought that together
Last week I met with the high schoolers and it was bitter sweet because we realized we only have about 4 more official meetings with them. It has been our joy to be with these guys. It really breaks my heart to leave them. We have dealt with a lot of different difficult and fun situations with the group and they have taught us a lot about youth ministry. Teenagers can be difficult at times but it’s so important for us as a church to understand how much of an influence we can have in their development. If only we would take the time to meet them where they are.
Most of the time when we see a teenager our first inclination is to change their hair style, clothes, mannerisms, but what they need more than anything else is godly men and women willing to meet with them for coffee, a movie, or dinner and get to know them and listen. You may not understand why the Wii is so cool or how one can be a MySpace junky but just listening to them makes them understand how much love you have for them.
We are praying and trust God that just like the middle schoolers, the high schooler transition will be smooth.
Leave a Comment: