[sorry guys, with the move and everything, I didn't have time to post this last week!]
Last Wednesday, I posted the first half of this exercise. I think it's important for everyone to do something like this: Why I'm in [your profession or field]. It serves as a reminder and a motivator, and it's pretty encouraging, too :) Anyway, here's numbers 6-10!
6. I believe it's important to help mobilize teens. This coming Sunday is "Youth Sunday" at church- i.e. the kids lead the worship service. I love watching this process take place- students come up with a theme, a plan of action, and then use their gifts and abilities to lead others. The more we give students opportunities to lead and learn and grow, the more we mobilize them, the better equipped they are to take on the world. Every once in awhile, they need to be reigned in, but the cool thing is that teens have this sense that anything is possible and everything is attainable, and they'll bust their butts to prove it.
7. I want my students to have a "person." Life happens, and there's no promises it will ever be easy. I know how valuable it is to have a mentor who can help you sort through all that life brings- both good and bad- and challenge you to grow beyond personal limitations.
8. I love the community. The more I work with teens, the more I realize how deeply rooted they are in community. They come to youth group early and stay late just to spend time with each other, after being with each other all week during school and all weekend. I see genuine love and care for one another, and I've seen them rally around each other in times of crisis. It really hits my heart, because it reflects the community you see in Acts, and it's cool how much they just want to BE with each other. i love it.
9. I love where they're at in life. The whole process of adolescence is so interesting to me, because you physically see these children turn into adults. I noticed it big time in my upperclassmen this year on the mission trip, because when I got here, they were all just starting high school, and they were still figuring things out. Now, they're helping make decisions, leading others towards the cross, and setting an unbelievable example for our younger students. I get goosebumps thinking about how awesome that transition is.
10. I know the importance of youth ministry in relation to the family unit. Let's be honest- I was a pain in the butt for my parents as a teen. I wanted control, they wouldn't really let me have it, and there was a lot of head butting. The funny thing is, my parents would tell me some nugget of wisdom, and I'd brush it off [kind of a "yeah, whatever"]; when I'd hear it at youth group, a light would go off. My youth pastor was saying the same thing as my parents, but because the relationships were different, I heard things differently. I want to partner with parents in raising these kids- after all, it takes a village- and I want to be a support when parents throw their hands in the air, frustrated with the rollercoaster of being a teen. In my family, we call it a "buffer," someone who can be the translator in tough situations.
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