Okay, so God has been totally calling me not only for mission trips but to serve in the youth/preteen/teen ministry. For the past year, I've been frustrated with the fact that late preteens and early teenagers are often overlooked by numerous churches (not just mine) and most often are put in elementary programs or high school programs.
The problem that I see with this is that the elementary programs are too simple for them and many of them probably feel like as if the church is trying to "dumb" them down. Moreover, the lessons taught and discussions raised in the elementary Sunday school programs are something that they consider as "passé" or meet with an attittude that goes along the lines of: "been there, done that!" Other churches have tried to put preteens & early teenagers in high school programs. But you know what! If one does not have a good foundation on the preteen program or whatever, there is very little chance that the high school program can affect them. Sure we can pray for them (I'm not underestimating the power of prayer here). But God wants us to do something; not just sit around waiting for God to do all the work. God wants to use us so that we can glorify Him and for others to see His power, and therefore glorify Him as well. So if we want us to be used by God, we can't just throw these large and growing number of youth around to any program that is available out there. Anyway, feelings of boredom, discontentment and other words that I can't think of right now, that these youth feel are something that I can totally relate with. I grew up in a church during my preteen years with only my sister as a classmate. Now that was something. I was totally bored out of mind. Didn't really care about what the Bible has to say 'cuz I felt like as if I knew all of them...intellectually that is. I lacked the application part.
Now what I feel called to do is not necessarily start an official program at my church. More like a small Bible study targeting the girls in the preteen and early teen period. It really saddens me to see when I see these girls just sitting in Sunday school classes (of their own age group), just being quiet, and what seems to be just soaking in the lesson. Really, to me, they aren't really there. The challenge for me is to get these girls excited about what God has in plan for them, how they can use their own individual talents to serve the Lord, HOW they can serve God, and just to have a blast in communing with God as a group of young girls. I know that sometimes trying to be a youth who follows God is hard and it's...I guess what some people would put it as "time consuming." But I want to let these girls see that it isn't time consuming at all.
So I've prayed and I'm still praying. But after praying, what do I have left to do? I know I should trust in God to put things together for me. At the same time, God wants us to not just sit around. But I want my actions to be what God wants me to take and ones that aren't driven by my own personal motives or whatsoever. I need resources. But I haven't started looking for resources yet. I just started tonight really. And I've looked through a few and they're quite expensive. I don't really have the budget for it. My plan is to just go to a local Christian bookstore and look through various books and take mental jot notes from books I encounter specifically targetting teens. If you have any suggestions, feel free to email me. I'd really like to ask my church for financial support except I really don't know how to ask. And I feel like as if I should get this small group bible study started first before I ask. I don't know. Give me some advice please!
So, if you have taken this time to read this entry with me, please pray for me:
1) That God would continue to use me in whatever way He sees is best for me and that I would be willing to follow Him even if the path is difficult
2) That God would provide me with resources to reach these young group of girls
3) That these girls who I will be reaching out to will be willing to participate and be open with me and that they would see how great our Lord is and that God is not just One who is kept inside the church or in their Sunday School rooms...but rather that God can affect and change every aspect of their life for the better (way better than they can imagine)
4) and anything else you can think of. Hah! I'm too tired right now. But I really thank you for all your prayers.
lots of love,
czerns
