What a night!

Well, my first youth event is in the bag! It was a ton of fun and I would say a complete success. I accomplished what I set out to do - get acquainted with the young people in my youth group. I feel like I connected in some way with most of them and hope to begin the process of getting to know them better - even those who may not be a "regular" in our group but who will visit with us from time to time. Overall, I am very pleased, but I can see the long road ahead.

More than before, I was made very aware of how much I am going to have to depend on God. Over the past few weeks, I've been going over tons of things in my head - from nailing down our purpose statement (which I think I may have after tonight) all the way to the logisitics of actually ministering to and meeting with these kids and what that will look like. But when we all came together as a group, I realized that I had been making my plans on my understanding of the way things are - of the spiritual depth of each of these kids, of their personalities, of God's plan for their lives, of my response to them...

All of it, of course, was wrong. How could I ever think my understanding would be right? After all, the only thing I knew about most of these kids was what I'd seen of them at church. Duh. With the exception of a couple of the kids, I don't really know anything about their home life, their experience with God or the church, and I certainly don't know what they like or dislike - all of these things (and more) have made them who they are. Only God knows their hearts and His will for their lives.

So all the scenarios and plans I'd been mulling over in my mind have been trashed or at the very least are up for a serious re-examination. I am truly going to have to be open at all times to what God is speaking to me. I may experience something in my day that God wants me to use to reach these kids or that will give me insight into what's happening in their lives. I don't know what it is they need, but He does.

In spite of my discovery, I'm still very excited! I can't wait to see God use these young people to impact others.