Come As You Are

One of the things that excited me the most about moving to Kissimmee in April of 1994 was the knowledge that there was a little more to do in the Kissimmee/Orlando/Lake Buena Vista area than there had been in the Piedmont Triad of NC (note the sarcasm).  I immediately began to think of ways to spice up my annual Youth Week, and in particular its signature event Rec Around the Clock.  In the years that followed this first FUMC-K Youth Week (August 1-6, 1994) this became a spectacular event.  But the first one was not too shabby either...

Our theme for the week was Come As You Are, and we focused our evening sessions on understanding that Jesus gives everyone a "come as you are" invitation to join the family of God.  We began the week with a Leadership Luncheon, at which myself, Rev. John Willis and several other staff members served lunch to the youth and led a discussion about being leaders.  We gathered again that evening for our first session and a seek and find (and shoot with dart guns!) game called Night of the Assassin.  The week was off to a great start!

Day 2 featured UMYF Night with the Osceola Astros.  The Astros were the class A farm team of the Houston Astros baseball team, and I had arranged for us to have specially priced tickets, special seating, and for one of our youth to get to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  My memory tells me that Lauren Carr, then just a rising 6th grade student, got to throw out the pitch...but I have been wrong before!  In any case, it was a fun night and served to let the whole community know that the youth ministry of FUMC-K was back in business!

The first Putt Putt Masters Golf Tournament was held on Day 3, and after our second session that evening we used wallpaper trays and built the world's largest banana splits.  Both of these events would become a regular part of our programs.  Day 4 found us tubing on the Ichetucknee River, a cold spring river just north of Gainesville, FL.  For years I referred to it as the "Itchnituknee River."    Tubing the slow floating river through some beautiful forests and freezing your buns off was a wonderful way to spend a day with good friends.

And finally, Friday night brought us to Rec Around the Clock.  I know we went roller skating and to a movie;  beyond that I just remember that we were out all night and had a blast!  The crowds were pretty good all that week, and the buzz about our student ministry was starting to build.  We were trying to follow Jim Rayburn's old guideline that "it is a sin to bore a student withe the Gospel."  By keeping Jesus at the center of what we did, and being willing to get a little crazy with our programming, we faced the future with great excitement.

Because of Jesus,