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By Jeremy | November 19, 2007
"... Since my agenda wasn’t working anyway, I ditched it at the next meeting, situated the chairs in a circle, told the group what I was feeling, and asked them to do the same. What surfaced surprised me. The youth felt bored not because they wanted to pull away, but because they wanted more.
"Many of them were already coming to church every time the doors were open, for youth group services, Sunday worship, midweek Bible studies and prayer meetings. But even if they came to every service and lingered afterwards for fellowship and volunteered in between, at most we kept them busy for 12-15 hours a week. They still had nowhere to go after school, much less during long, hot summers. The streets were unsafe; home was contentious; schools lacked extra-curriculars. Why couldn’t they have a space of their own, where they could stay out of trouble and bring their friends? If the church really wanted to engage the community, why couldn’t we meet a community need and create our own youth center?
“'Uh,' I thought, 'How about this for starters? No money. No staff. No equipment. No space. No qualifications. No experience. No expertise. A disgruntled group of teenagers and a failed youth leader.' ..."
- From "Embrace the Mess: Why Youth Must Lead Now."
Topics: articles, generation xcel, leadership | No Comments »
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