That Was The Week That Wasn't

The real end of summer- Labor Day- is right around the corner, and I have been thinking a lot about all of the summer ministries I was involved in over the years.  Beginning in the late 1980's (see The First Youth Week) I included a Youth Week in every summer that I planned.  The week always had a theme, and always featured at least one event each day.  It most often began with something at the church on Sunday evening and ended when Rec Around the Clock finished on Saturday morning.  It was always one of my favorite weeks of the year, both in the planning and the execution.

In September of 1999 my future at FUMC-K was a bit up in the air, but I was still expecting to be there the following summer.  The year 2000.  It seemed like it should be big deal, and I began to formulate a plan to make Youth Week 2000 the most amazing ever.  We had always joked about taking a group cruise; I began thinking about a cruise themed Youth Week instead. But then life happened and I left in March of 2000.  Fast-forward to late 2004.  I was the speaker at Youth Tremors, a post-Christmas camp for students held at Quaker Lake.  My old friend Tim Vestal, who coordinated the event, used a cruise theme for the long weekend.  It reminded me of my previous plans, and upon my return to Wesley Memorial UMC I began to put together a special Youth Week for 2005.  The theme would be the 2004 Ian Eskelin song Save the Humans (you can hear it at the top) and we would "tour the world" with the message of Jesus.  I wrote scripts for skits, and we even went to the beach and made our very own Save the Humans video, which I hope to someday be able to show you.  Once again life intervened, and I left WMUMC in late May of 2005.  Again my plans went unused.  In January of 2007 I began to prepare a scaled-down (but still cruise themed) Youth Week for the students of Trinity UMC.  But due to my own sin and stupidity, my career ended in February, with the plans already in my computer.  Three times I tried, and three time I failed.  Clearly, that was the week that wasn't (TW3)!

Those of you who know me know how much I hate to give up on a good idea.  Some might refer to me as stubborn or hard-headed.  I prefer persistent- especially when it comes to the things of God!  In any case, I have decided to share TW3 with my readers over the next week.  That means this blog will be a little weird- for one week it will be fictional!  I have combined some of the original elements from FUMC-K with some of the ideas from WMUMC and TUMC (and some brand new stuff!).  What you get in the end is a killer (if outrageously expensive) dream Youth Week Worldwide Cruise as it might happen in the Orlando/Kissimmee area today.  I know it would not have been realistic, but hey- I can dream, right?  So don't get hung up on the facts- just enjoy the ride!  I will write of each day's events just like I would have in a summer brochure if we were actually doing it- so feel free to sign up for the events you like!  :)  And it's all free!!!  This little experiment is my way of taking care of some unfinished business.  For you, I hope it will remind you of the excitement of looking ahead to great youth events.  This may be even more fun now that you are an adult...

As I have planned this blog event, one question keeps popping into my somewhat mushy brain- How do we get people as excited about church as adults as we all used to be about events like this one?  All input is appreciated.  Now get excited, and tell all your friends- Youth Week 2010 begins tomorrow!

Because of Jesus,