It sometimes blows my mind when I see things come full circle. When things that didn’t make sense in my past, come around and make perfect sense for my present.
I have been going to my church for about 21 years; I have had a lot of great, indescribable, life changing, "God moments" at my church. I have grown up there. I have many fun, happy, hilarious memories growing up in my small little church. It has always been home, and the people there are my family. But just like any home, any family... there were some unpleasant times as well.
When I was a student in youth, I had a great time. I was surrounded by friends and taught by the most energetic, crazy, loud, passionate youth pastor. I have so many fond memories of my years there, but like most teens, along with the fun came the drama. A lot of the time, the drama was between different students, girl drama, petty things that everyone got over in the matter of a few days or so. However, contrary to what most would expect, some of my most memorable, unpleasant moments come from issues with some of the leaders. There were times of discouraging words, hurt feelings etc. [Don’t get me wrong, I have long since moved past all of this; forgiven completely and have even become friends with a few of my old leaders. I understand that we are all human and that a lot of the petty or even more hurtful things done could be from a mixture of things including misunderstandings on both the leaders and students part. However, it is all still a relevant part of my memory.] It seemed to me that some of the leaders really didn’t enjoy being a leader. It was as if some of them were either forced or felt obligated to be there. They didn’t seem to enjoy the company of teenaged crazies. It was as though being a leader was somewhat, something miserable. Because of that, once I was out of youth, I told myself I never ever wanted to be a leader. I never wanted to be responsible for making or breaking a student’s experience in those crucial years… but more selfishly, I didn’t want to be miserable. I didn’t want to hate volunteering for something, and that was kind of the vibe I got when I was younger.
Fast-forward 5 years later, I am still at the same church, sitting in the same youth room, but now, I am a leader. It’s funny how God takes the things we vow never to do and says, “umm…you thought!” hahaha. But as I sit up there every Wednesday night, or as I hang out with students and build relationships with them; whether I am sitting in a meeting planning out crazy, fun events, or at the top of Supreme Scream with someone for the first time, screaming our lungs out, my mind is constantly drawn to my past experiences in youth. Instead of making me bitter or resentful or angry, they serve me as a gentle reminder. You see, I feel as if God planned it to be this way, way back then; planned for me to experience both the good and not so good parts of being a student in youth. Because now, as I am in the shoes that those leaders once filled, I can draw on my past experiences to point me in the direction of how I should act now. I can remember the greatness I saw in the leaders and emulate that, but I can also take the mistakes that they made and learn from them, so that I don’t make the same ones.
I am finally thankful for those unpleasant times, because it was in those times I learned the importance of not only the youth pastor, but his leadership team as well. It was then I learned that they are just as important in shaping the self esteem of a student and in guiding them, spiritually. I went from being less than a fan of the idea of being a leader, to being someone who gets so much joy from it. Youth ministry has become one of my greatest passions, and it has kind of hit me out of left field, but I love everything about it. I want to make sure that the students get everything out of these years, and that I try to serve them to the best of my abilities. Because they deserve it.
RevoYouthies—I have learned and gained so much from just being able to hang out with all of you and by getting to know you all on different levels. 2012 has been a crazy, hectic, rough year for me, but being able to surround myself with some of the South Bays finest has helped me more than anyone could know, I think more than I myself have realized until recently. Thank you for keeping me grounded, sane and fun! I am here for you, anytime. I promise. You guys are the friggin coolest! <3
When I was a student in youth, I had a great time. I was surrounded by friends and taught by the most energetic, crazy, loud, passionate youth pastor. I have so many fond memories of my years there, but like most teens, along with the fun came the drama. A lot of the time, the drama was between different students, girl drama, petty things that everyone got over in the matter of a few days or so. However, contrary to what most would expect, some of my most memorable, unpleasant moments come from issues with some of the leaders. There were times of discouraging words, hurt feelings etc. [Don’t get me wrong, I have long since moved past all of this; forgiven completely and have even become friends with a few of my old leaders. I understand that we are all human and that a lot of the petty or even more hurtful things done could be from a mixture of things including misunderstandings on both the leaders and students part. However, it is all still a relevant part of my memory.] It seemed to me that some of the leaders really didn’t enjoy being a leader. It was as if some of them were either forced or felt obligated to be there. They didn’t seem to enjoy the company of teenaged crazies. It was as though being a leader was somewhat, something miserable. Because of that, once I was out of youth, I told myself I never ever wanted to be a leader. I never wanted to be responsible for making or breaking a student’s experience in those crucial years… but more selfishly, I didn’t want to be miserable. I didn’t want to hate volunteering for something, and that was kind of the vibe I got when I was younger.
Fast-forward 5 years later, I am still at the same church, sitting in the same youth room, but now, I am a leader. It’s funny how God takes the things we vow never to do and says, “umm…you thought!” hahaha. But as I sit up there every Wednesday night, or as I hang out with students and build relationships with them; whether I am sitting in a meeting planning out crazy, fun events, or at the top of Supreme Scream with someone for the first time, screaming our lungs out, my mind is constantly drawn to my past experiences in youth. Instead of making me bitter or resentful or angry, they serve me as a gentle reminder. You see, I feel as if God planned it to be this way, way back then; planned for me to experience both the good and not so good parts of being a student in youth. Because now, as I am in the shoes that those leaders once filled, I can draw on my past experiences to point me in the direction of how I should act now. I can remember the greatness I saw in the leaders and emulate that, but I can also take the mistakes that they made and learn from them, so that I don’t make the same ones.
I am finally thankful for those unpleasant times, because it was in those times I learned the importance of not only the youth pastor, but his leadership team as well. It was then I learned that they are just as important in shaping the self esteem of a student and in guiding them, spiritually. I went from being less than a fan of the idea of being a leader, to being someone who gets so much joy from it. Youth ministry has become one of my greatest passions, and it has kind of hit me out of left field, but I love everything about it. I want to make sure that the students get everything out of these years, and that I try to serve them to the best of my abilities. Because they deserve it.
RevoYouthies—I have learned and gained so much from just being able to hang out with all of you and by getting to know you all on different levels. 2012 has been a crazy, hectic, rough year for me, but being able to surround myself with some of the South Bays finest has helped me more than anyone could know, I think more than I myself have realized until recently. Thank you for keeping me grounded, sane and fun! I am here for you, anytime. I promise. You guys are the friggin coolest! <3
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