My youth ministry experience...

I have been enjoying being a youth minister more than I thought I would.

You see, I am not a woman who deals well with bad attitudes—and I don’t care if you are 5 or you’re 65, if you’ve got a bad attitude, are nasty, like to roll your eyes, don’t take what I’m saying seriously or think you above it all, etc, then I have little time for you and will let you know just that.

So obviously, knowing that almost every teenager behaves that way at some point or another, I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to enjoy working with this age group. I figured I would be surrounded by a bunch of teens whose parents force them to come to our gatherings and that they wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t care. These teens have proven me wrong…They are bright, they are open, and they aren’t afraid to be honest with me when I ask them to be. They aren’t afraid to talk about their relationships with Jesus (they also aren’t afraid to talk about the fact that they don’t have relationships with Jesus in some cases).

Most of all, I am touched by their trust. These teenagers listen to me talk about God and my experiences and they open themselves up to me telling me about what (and who!) bothers them, what makes them feel happy, what makes them feel accepted. These teens feel safe when they are with me and the two other adult facilitators.

And I feel honored that God has entrusted them to me for a few hours a month—to have fun with them, and joke with them, and teach them—and most of, continuously remind them just how much God loves them. I am blessed.