A Strong Beginning...

After returning from Work Tour 2000 in early April, it was time to be about the business of putting together a student ministry.  My excitement level was very high. I knew there was lots of work to be done, but that was exactly the way I wanted it to be.  I had been given a list of names of over 400 students from grades 6-12 who were already connected to the Union Church of Hinsdale.  About 35 of them were active in the youth ministry.  I began to pray hard for the other 365 and to plan for ways to reach them.

I began meeting with a group of adults who were to become the Youth Ministry Team(Elizabeth Jung and Kevin Baab are pictured above).  We began to formulate a mission statement and to imagine what our purpose driven ministry would look like.  The first order of business for me was to begin a program for middle school youth.  This very important group of students had been treated one of two ways before my arrival- they were often ignored, and just as often treated like small children.  They were staying away from church in record numbers, and we needed to address this immediately.  Students from church families who don't get involved by middle school almost never begin to attend in high school (in my experience).  I started a ministry I called TNT (after my award winning program at Springfield Friends Meeting) for 6th-8th grade students on Sunday afternoons just before Discovery (the high school program).  Immediately the kids started showing up.  It was wild, it was loud and it was fun.  In short, in was unlike anything they had experienced before.  There were pies.  There were squirt guns and water hoses.  And there was Jesus.  We were rockin' the house!

I also began to slowly make some changes to Discovery.  I began teaching them songs each week so we could create a more worshipful atmosphere.  I was teaching from scripture and still making it relevant to their lives- and they were eating it up.  I introduced them to Christian music.  And we played hard.  Crowds stayed small, but I was pleased with those first couple of months.  And the best part was it was already almost summer...

Throughout my many years of youth ministry I held the belief that no matter what issues we faced as a ministry, summer could fix them.  By the summer of 2000 I had become known for my massive summer schedules that involved big events, trips and lots and lots of smaller relationship building events.  I don't remember exactly, but I am certain I began working on the summer brochure the week after Work Tour.  It would be my chance to completely blow the minds of my new church and community.  Because of starting so late (I didn't arrive at UC until March) there would be no big trips.  But there would be so many chances to get to know new students and their families.  I couldn't wait.  Little did I know that my ministry at UC was already at a turning point.  More on that tomorrow.

Jesus- the only hope for is You...and you alone.