jquack
Shared on Fri, 02/29/2008 - 23:41I have the greatest small group in the world :)
I am a volunteer youth worker at my church, as well as it's media person. I have been doing it for 8 plus years. I have seen every kind of kid come through the ministry and have seen some go one to lead successful lives. Just recently, we started doing small groups. They split the youth up into teams of same grade kids and assigned a group to each youth leader. Once a month, we get together in a laid back atmosphere and have a small group lesson.
I got middle schoolers......yep...middle schoolers. When I first got 'em, I was incredibly nervous. Who wouldn't be...they're MIDDLE SCHOOLERS! Slowly but surely, we're starting to come around as a group. They're listening more, my lessons are getting across and lightbulbs are going off...but still THEY'RE MIDDLE SChOOLERS
Either way, rewind to this past Wednesday.
We're heading to our classroom, and I'm walking up the stairs with two bags full of chips and cookies and sodas, plates and cups and everything else for a small snack for them. As I get halfway up the strairs, I notice them CLOSE the door to our classroom and shut off the lights...
Great, I think to myself, they've probably locked it and have decided to play a joke on me. I arrive at the top of the steps and check the handle, and of course it's locked. I shift the bags of food to my right hand to dig for my keys and fight o unlock the door. As I open the door, I am assaulted.
SURPRISE!!!!! SURPRISE!!!!!!!! SURPRISE!!!!!!!
....
my birthday is March 5th, my small group decided that since it was small group night an exact week before, to throw me a surprise birthday party.
They had decorated the room in streamers and happy birthday signs. They had gone out and bought me a cake and make a handmade birthday card, signed by everyone in the group.
Again...Middle Schoolers......
They lit candles and sang Happy Birthday to me. Asked me how old I was (asking the typical question if I was 60, etc) and gave me a birthday crown (which I proudly wore the entire night) and then we began our lesson.
It was, without a doubt, the greatest single birthday gift I had ever received in my (almost) 27 years.
It was extra special, I believe, because I never expected it from them. I've said before, they're middle schoolers. They're immature, growing and unsure about everything in life. They're selfish and sometimes cruel. They have a world they're trying to develiop and it's hard to let anybody into that world.
But once you, as a grownup, are in that world...it's almost like family.
I have learned alot about kids over the years. I don't have any of my own (see my valentines day post to see why), so I know it's hard for some to believe I could be so insightful about them.
Kids are about safety of self. Don't confuse this with Selfishness. Tha'ts an emotion where they concentrate on their happiness. Safety of self is something else. They're growing up in a world that is downright scary sometimes. Their parents may not care at all, or they may care too much. All they really want is to feel safe in their world. They'll do what they have to get that safety. Whether it's follow their friends, their youth pastor or their parents. Each kid is different of course, but deep down that's what their after. Safety in a world that is downright frightening.
Please remember this the next time you see the typical 'punk' in the store or something. Don't look down on them or their parents. Deep inside, I am certain there is a kid just dying to feel safe, and not the punk you see on the outside.
I'd bet my reputation as an fantastic A+ certified computer technician, and an awesome Small Group Leader. I got a card to prove that one too :)
Good day all.
/Man Mode: On
I am a volunteer youth worker at my church, as well as it's media person. I have been doing it for 8 plus years. I have seen every kind of kid come through the ministry and have seen some go one to lead successful lives. Just recently, we started doing small groups. They split the youth up into teams of same grade kids and assigned a group to each youth leader. Once a month, we get together in a laid back atmosphere and have a small group lesson.
I got middle schoolers......yep...middle schoolers. When I first got 'em, I was incredibly nervous. Who wouldn't be...they're MIDDLE SCHOOLERS! Slowly but surely, we're starting to come around as a group. They're listening more, my lessons are getting across and lightbulbs are going off...but still THEY'RE MIDDLE SChOOLERS
Either way, rewind to this past Wednesday.
We're heading to our classroom, and I'm walking up the stairs with two bags full of chips and cookies and sodas, plates and cups and everything else for a small snack for them. As I get halfway up the strairs, I notice them CLOSE the door to our classroom and shut off the lights...
Great, I think to myself, they've probably locked it and have decided to play a joke on me. I arrive at the top of the steps and check the handle, and of course it's locked. I shift the bags of food to my right hand to dig for my keys and fight o unlock the door. As I open the door, I am assaulted.
SURPRISE!!!!! SURPRISE!!!!!!!! SURPRISE!!!!!!!
....
my birthday is March 5th, my small group decided that since it was small group night an exact week before, to throw me a surprise birthday party.
They had decorated the room in streamers and happy birthday signs. They had gone out and bought me a cake and make a handmade birthday card, signed by everyone in the group.
Again...Middle Schoolers......
They lit candles and sang Happy Birthday to me. Asked me how old I was (asking the typical question if I was 60, etc) and gave me a birthday crown (which I proudly wore the entire night) and then we began our lesson.
It was, without a doubt, the greatest single birthday gift I had ever received in my (almost) 27 years.
It was extra special, I believe, because I never expected it from them. I've said before, they're middle schoolers. They're immature, growing and unsure about everything in life. They're selfish and sometimes cruel. They have a world they're trying to develiop and it's hard to let anybody into that world.
But once you, as a grownup, are in that world...it's almost like family.
I have learned alot about kids over the years. I don't have any of my own (see my valentines day post to see why), so I know it's hard for some to believe I could be so insightful about them.
Kids are about safety of self. Don't confuse this with Selfishness. Tha'ts an emotion where they concentrate on their happiness. Safety of self is something else. They're growing up in a world that is downright scary sometimes. Their parents may not care at all, or they may care too much. All they really want is to feel safe in their world. They'll do what they have to get that safety. Whether it's follow their friends, their youth pastor or their parents. Each kid is different of course, but deep down that's what their after. Safety in a world that is downright frightening.
Please remember this the next time you see the typical 'punk' in the store or something. Don't look down on them or their parents. Deep inside, I am certain there is a kid just dying to feel safe, and not the punk you see on the outside.
I'd bet my reputation as an fantastic A+ certified computer technician, and an awesome Small Group Leader. I got a card to prove that one too :)
Good day all.
/Man Mode: On
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