Do You Manage...Or Do You Lead?

When you enter a new ministry situation and see things that need to happen or that need to be changed, one of the more difficult decisions you must make is, "How quickly do I move?"  It didn't take me long to come to a decision on that question at Wesley Memorial UMC in 2001.  A number of their student leaders had left with an associate pastor just before my arrival. Another very important family had moved away.  We were soon to learn that we were losing our pastor to another church, which also meant losing our youth choir director (his wife) and two more key student leaders.  The time for action was NOW.

I began to roll out some of my plans to our Youth Ministry Team in a November meeting at my home.  Aside from (for the time being) minor changes to the Sunday evening youth group meeting, I had a couple of things I wanted to to do immediately. I wanted to start a bible study group on Wednesday nights.  I wanted to get a monthly SHO-Time (Senior High Only) fellowship night started.  I was going to throw a major Christmas party at my home.  I wanted to plan a Winter Week of Wonder (WOW) for the week after Christmas.  And I wanted to plan a Ski Camp for January of 2002.  My new team of Youth Counselors were supportive of these ideas, as they understood the need to build relationships and excitement levels given all that was going on.  I remember one particular volunteer asking several dozen questions about the value of a Ski Camp and how I would go about planning it.  After a long period of Q & A, Robyn Smith spoke up and said something along the lines of "Look; we went to all of the trouble and expense of hiring a full-time youth pastor (the church's first) with a lot of experience.  He's done this before.  Let's let him do his job."  And that was the end of that discussion.

SHO-Time was an immediate success, giving me a chance to build relationships with the high school students who had already been through several youth leaders and a couple of disasters.  The bible study remained a small dedicated group for my entire tenure.  The Christmas party (see picture at top) drew a huge crowd and got people very excited, and that carried over into Winter WOW (at left).  That first WOW included a round of mini-golf at Disney, followed by lunch at Planet Hollywood.  This would become a tradition.  All of these things helped me "earn the right to be heard" and share Jesus with my new youth family.  And the Ski Camp?  Check back Monday to see what I learned...

Leadership in youth ministry is a tricky thing.  It is important to listen to the students and hear their dreams and goals for the ministry.  Parents must be heard from, although it is crucial to remember that parents usually have hopes and ideas that apply to their child, not to the whole group.   Your pastor should have input.  And the adult volunteers who work with you share in the planning and implementation of your programs and goals.  But in the end (in my opinion- others will disagree) the youth pastor must be a loving and benevolent dictator.  You listen.  You pray hard.  You draw on previous experiences.  And then you make the call.  If you are the youth pastor, then it is as Robyn pointed out- you were hired because they want you to lead.  Are you there to manage a committee that oversees a youth program-  or are you in ministry to help students change the world in the name of Jesus?  Don't pass the buck on leadership.  You will fail at times, but that is nothing to be afraid of.  I know at WMUMC the youth were watching to see if I would be more of the same old thing... or a new kind of leader.  I suspect that students everywhere are asking the same question.  Jesus told his followers to drop what they were doing and go with  Him- wherever that may lead.  We should be just as bold.  Have a blessed weekend.

Because of Jesus,

The Lay of the Land

Happy Valentine's Day!

I began work as the Director of Student Ministries at Wesley Memorial UMC on October 10, 2001.  As you know, anytime you begin a new ministry (or any new job) it takes a little while to get "the lay of the land."  It didn't take long to put together a list of things that were in good shape in the youth ministry department.  It took even less time to see some of the challenges.  Here's what I was looking at as I began:

The Good Stuff

• There was a good group of adults (see above picture) who had been serving as small group leaders on Sunday evenings under the previous regime, and they seemed anxious to continue.  I wasn't crazy about the small group set-up, but it would work for a while.
• The senior pastor, Jerry Sweat, had a serious heart for youth.  He had 2 youth of his own, was often at the Sunday evening meetings and taught the high school Sunday School class in his office. He was ready to see the ministry become something special.
• Denise Sweat (Jerry's wife) had a wonderful ministry going with a youth choir and drama ministry they called Antioch.  The group had performed in church and had taken tours the previous two summers. It met right after youth on Sunday nights, and seemed more important to many of the kids than youth group.  I decided I would be a part of the group, singing and lending any help I could.  It seemed like the strongest link in the entire student ministry.
• A great deal of prayer, effort and resources had been poured in to the children's ministry, Promiseland.  There were many opportunities for teenagers to get involved teaching and sharing in worship.  I was very excited to have such an excellent feeder program in place.
• The group of active students was small, but excited, and I really liked them.  This was going to be fun.

The Challenges

• There was no youth room.  In fact, there was no room for much of anything. The youth group (called God's Property by the previous YP; that was a name that I never uttered out loud and changed fairly quickly) met in the Sanctuary.  It was a beautiful room, but it was WAY too big for our little group.  When we sang with the existing Praise Band, you could not hear anyone singing but the kids on microphones.  All of that had to change.
• The worship time was shared with the elementary school program.  I didn't like that at all because it seriously limited what we could do with music and worship.
• They were accustomed to having the YP "preach" on Sunday evenings, then breaking into small groups for discussion.  I wanted to use more creative ways of teaching and not use small groups every week.  Plus, the small groups had been decimated by all of the families leaving the church with the previous associate pastor- so they mostly just sat and stared at each other.
• There was no van or bus.  Jerry promised me we could fix that pretty quickly, and we did.  But in the beginning it was a definite disadvantage.
• I was going to have to "fire" the middle school Sunday School teachers.  They were a great couple and very helpful, but they thought they were teaching seminary and the kids tried to hide from them every Sunday morning.
• There was almost no history of summer ministry or youth trips (besides the choir tours).  I would be starting from scratch.

As you can see, I had my work cut out for me.  Fortunately, as almost always seems to happen, God used a simple little road trip only a few weeks later to start us on our way to becoming family.  That story is Wednesday.  The Jesus Revolution continues tomorrow!

Because of Jesus,

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.

Hall of Fame: Darin Miller

On Wednesday I talked about the web of ministry that is so visible to me in my life, and I mentioned the name Darin Miller (pictured with my lovely wife Marilyn).  His ministry and his web spread far wider than I can do justice to here.  But I will attempt to give you my little piece of his story today.

Sometime in 1994 (I think!) I was approached after worship at FUMC-K one Sunday morning by a young man I did not recognize.  Someone had told him I was the Director of Student Ministries (they most likely called me the youth guy, but I did have a title!) and he wanted to speak with me about volunteering.  A native of Alabama and a very proud alumni of Auburn University, he was going to be living in the area for a while, working as the chief engineer on the fire protection system at Disney's Boardwalk Resort.  It was under construction at the time.  We talked for a few moments and I discovered he had a Methodist background and a love of youth ministry and music, so I invited him to join us that evening for UMYF.  He showed up, and in no time at all became a valued part of our Youth Ministry Team.  He often played guitar with me at youth, and the kids simply loved him.  He also sang in every choir FUMC-K had.  Darin was a once-in-a-lifetime, fall-out-of-the-sky answer to prayer.  He went on numerous trips and survived some amazing adventures.  I seem to even recall Jocelyn landing on his head during a game...but he lived!

When his work at WDW was complete, he went back to Alabama and we mourned his loss.  But before long he was back, doing the same work at what is now Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.  He jumped right back in with us until he once again had to return home.  Darin loved his job, and judging by the size of the projects he had been entrusted with was obviously very good at it.  But Darin was about to encounter a serious problem...

During his time in Kissimmee he had become very close to the Thacker family, and had spent a lot of time at their home.  As anyone who knows her will tell you, spending large amounts of time around Cathy Thacker will change you- for the better! Between his work with the youth and choirs and his time with Cathy, Darin was struggling with a growing feeling that God was calling him to ministry.  It all came to a head when the pastor at his church in Alabama called him into his office one day and told him their youth pastor was leaving- and wanted to know if Darin would be interested in the job.  He was a little stunned.  He called me late that night to ask me what I thought.  I encouraged him and told him that I felt God had gifted him for ministry, especially with youth.  That was what I said, and it was all true.  Still, what I thought was, "Are you insane?"   It was just difficult to imagine any sane person giving up a stable, high-paying job for a low-paying 75 hour a week job working with crazy people!  I mean who would do that?  You'd have to be some kind of fool- for Christ's sake!  We talked for quite a while that night, and I knew when we finished that he was taking the job.  God was calling- and Darin was listening.  He has been in full-time student ministry ever since.  God has blessed him with a wife, a family and great churches to serve.  In return, Darin has done amazing work bringing youth into the presence Jesus.  I thank God often for allowing me to be some small part of the web of ministry that Darin has created.  (In a related note, Cathy Thacker would give up her position as the general manager of a local car dealership to go into the ministry.  She is now a Pastor in Orlando.)

Today I induct Darin Miller into my Youth Group Hall of Fame for the faithfulness and joy he injected into our student ministries at FUMC-K.  Those who knew him in those days will never forget his contributions and his friendship.  I will never forget his faithfulness and willingness to be a "fool for Christ."  Blessings to you, old friend!

Because of Jesus,

Youth Counselor Hi-Jinks

I have written before (The Youth Ministry Team) that one of the great joys of serving the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee was working with the group of Youth Counselors who made up the Youth Ministry Team (YMT). We had a lot of fun together at our monthly gatherings and occasional retreats, and today I want to tell you two stories about those times together.  The names changed over the years, but their love for Christ and the teenagers we served never did.

I am not sure at what point this happened, but at some point during my time at FUMC-K it became tradition for our YMT to meet in the Youth Room and to have lots of food.  Fruit, cookies and Pizza Rolls were most always part of the deal.  It was my bribe to help keep youth counselors, and I think for the most part it worked!  The other tradition that developed over time concerned the agenda for our meetings.  Each month I would bring an agenda of topics to be discussed and have on for every YMT member.  But here was the kicker- once the meeting began, the order in which we would discuss those topics was decided by Becky Watson McCleery (at the head of the table in picture above, with hubby Michael, Karen Fry and Carol Kraus- this was at a YMT Christmas dinner at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort.  I knew how to bribe that group...).  How she received this power I don't remember.  I just know that she had control.  Others were allowed to lobby for things they thought sounded interesting, but Becky had the final power.  It kept meetings interesting and unpredictable- which are both things that should always be true of student ministry!

Story number two concerns one of our YMT retreats, held at a time-share out near the Disney Crossroads.  How did we get a weekend at a major vacation destination?  We couldn't afford the place, but I had received an offer to come take a tour and hear their sales pitch, and you in return they offered a free weekend in their condos.  So I took one for the team, spent a morning not buying a time-share, and then just paid the upgrade to get us into a condo big enough for our team.  It was awesome.  And we were still within our budget until I sent some of the team grocery shopping.  Led by the mad shopper herself, Jill Painter, and the equally bad Darin Miller, they spent a fortune on groceries and snacks.  I remember there were hilarious stories of the team fighting over what to get while in the store, but I do not remember specifics.  Despite the blown budget, we had a wonderful weekend and came up with our very first mission statement as a team.  It read like this:

At the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee Youth Group we are dedicated to establishing an environment which is safe, caring and accepting.  This environment will be Christ-centered and will enable youth to take ownership of their own faith and strive for continued growth in Christ.

We didn't always do everything right; if you have been paying attention to this blog at all you know that is true!  But I have said it before and I will say it again- our YMT from Kissimmee for those 6 years was the best group of adults working with teenagers I have ever seen.  They played, worked and worshipped with equal passion, and our students felt the love.  I hear from them often that they still do.  I would try to list all of the Youth Counselors from those years, but I know I would leave someone out.  So I just say THANK YOU to all of them.  It's not often you can humbly say "together we changed the world."  But you know what- we did change it in the name of Jesus for the youth we served.  Can't do much better than that...

Because of Jesus,

A Gift For Karen

Just Me & the Dog, Day 9-  Thanks to Jamie Robinson and Teresa Tysinger for playing along in yesterday's contest- your SPAM is in the mail!  Mom came yesterday, took me to Red Lobster for lunch.  It's not Calabash, but it will do!  Have appointments today and tomorrow, so I will keep the buses busy!  I appreciate everyone who has been asking about me during this "alone" time- Marilyn and Will get back Thursday night!  Whoooooo-hoooooo!!!

During my years in Kissimmee we had an outstanding Youth Ministry Team, and no one was a bigger part of it that Karen Fry (pictured above at my 50th birthday party, in the middle wearing the white top).  The mother of James, Jason and Josh (and wife of Jim), Karen worked for the county schools as a "Lunch Lady (cue Adam Sandler song)."  That meant she had summers off, or would have if she hadn't volunteered such huge blocks of time to be with us.  She and Jim loved going with us to the Betsy B. in Myrtle Beach, and in 1997 they were with us there for Karen's birthday.

You may know about Black Thursday (or you can read about it by clicking here), but the basic concept is that on any youth trip there will come a time when people get tired of each other and tempers may flair.  June 19, 1997 (unless I am wrong about the date, which is entirely possible!) happened to be the Thursday of our beach trip, and it also happened to be Karen's birthday.  We combined the two into one big Black Thursday Birthday surprise!!!

Karen was in the kitchen of the Betsy B. fixing her world famous "spaghetti for 45" when the excitement began.  The details have long since slipped my mind, but somehow we had it set-up for Nate Hill and Ben Thompson to begin to argue just outside the kitchen.  As Karen cooked away, the guys became more animated and the conversation grew more heated.  Suddenly, right under Karen's nose, Black Thursday broke out.  The boys were fighting.  One of them (Ben I believe) was bleeding (it was actually fake blood we had planted in his mouth).  Several of us rushed in to break it up, as Karen looked on, completely distraught.  As it all broke up, several of the group turned to Karen and told her that we knew how much she looked forward to Black Thursday, and that this our birthday gift to her.  Everyone was now laughing, including Karen, who realized she had been pranked!  The evening continued with no further incidents and a wonderful spaghetti dinner.  It was a most memorable night- if memory serves it was also the night I wrote Too Many Reeps...

Marilyn and I think the world of Jim & Karen Fry, and so did all of the youth.  Karen is a perfect example of how much impact you can have in the lives of teenagers without trying to be "cool" or "hip."  She was simply Karen- mother of 3 and school lunch lady.  And the youth loved her so much.  It was indeed special to have them at my 50th birthday celebration, and they were nice- no pranks!  Nate is now finishing law school, and Ben is serving his country in Afghanistan.  But if they need something to fall back on, they should consider acting.  They certainly deserved OSCARS that night!

Because of Jesus,

Those Wacky Youth Counselors

One of the true joys of working at the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee was spending time with the adults who served as our Youth Counselors. This group changed over the years as people got married, finished college, had babies and moved away, but we always had some sensational people serving our ministry. Today's UMYF Enquirer flashback takes us all the way back to the November, 1995 issue. I reprint for you here an article about our esteemed Youth Ministry Team called Barfing Is Such Sweet Sorrow! If anyone remembers why Becky is singled out for her barfing skills, I would love to know...

Our monthly Youth Counselor meeting will be held November 6th at 7:30 PM. All of our counselors- Mike Mangan, Michael McCleery, Pete Lynes, Karen Hall, Jill Painter, Darin Miller, Becky McCleery, Marilyn Jones and Cathy Thacker- are always ready to serve you. If you have questions about the meaning of life or the air-speed of a swallow, then these are the people to ask. If you need to borrow lots of cash, this is the wrong group. If you need a ride to UMYF or any other youth event, feel free to call on them. If you need insights on installing a new engine in a 1967 Mustang, then I would look elsewhere! And if you need any info on the proper way to barf, see Becky McCleery. She is living proof that you don't have to be experienced to be talented!

One of the great things about our team was that they understood that part of working with teenagers is being loud, silly and a little crazy. I will now reveal one of my all time favorite Youth Counselor moments that many of you will not have heard before. We were coming back from a Mid-High Adventure in Tennessee, and we stopped late one night just north of the Florida state line. It was so late that I just let the kids pick their rooms and go to bed. That left Pete Lynes, Mike Mangan (far right in the picture at top) and myself to share a room. After some debate, I (being the largest and also the boss!) got a bed to myself. As we settled in we talked for a minute, then it got very quiet. Suddenly, from the bed Mike and Pete were sharing, Mike yells out "THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS!!!" We laughed so hard we almost never got to sleep. If for some reason you don't understand why that is so funny, check out the video below.  Then go rent Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Our Youth Counselors, wacky as they were, made a huge difference in my life and in the lives of hundreds of students at FUMC-K back in the day.  They gave so much so that so many could know Jesus.  I thank God they were my co-workers and my friends.

Because of Jesus,

Wednesday Night Live!

The Mountain Top trip was not the only interesting part of the Summer of '94 at the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee.  Our theme for the summer was Don't Look Back, as we tried to shift the focus of the ministry from what it had been (a great success followed by two years of turmoil) to what it could be.  There were lots of new events, but one of the keys to the summer was a new program we called Wednesday Night Live!  (The group from the first WNL is pictured at top).  The history at FUMC-K dictated that there would be a Bible study on Wednesday nights during the school year.  My personal ministry history was to have a fun and games times on Wednesdays during the summer.  I decided to combine the two and give it a catchy name.  We would have an hour of Bible study followed by an hour of weird, wild, wacky stuff.  No one was sure if people would show up or not.  But the Youth Ministry Team decided to give it a go.

We decided the Youth Counselors would teach each week, and that our subject for the summer would be the 10 Commandments.  Each week we would tackle a different challenge from God with a different teacher.  Karen Hall (now Gould), Carlene Heck (now Skiles), Cathy Thacker, Jerry Hanbery, Laura Drapkin, Kay Hill, Becky Watson (now McCleery), Jill Painter (now Watson) and I all served as teachers.  We tried to give a little different perspective to God's Top 10, and I think it worked, because the crowd kept building all summer long.

Of course it didn't hurt that the study was always followed by an event!  Things like The Great Gumby Search, Banana Night, Snow Blast, Christmas in July and a trip to Old Town made each week special.  As always, things seldom went exactly as planned- usually because Todd Willis and Jocelyn Sessions were cheating at the games!!!  But we always had a blast, and slowly but surely Wednesday Night Live! became a huge year-round part of our student ministry at FUMC-K.

We tried a few other new things that summer as well;  a Mid-High Mission Trip, a "kidnapping," Beach Breaks and much more.  You will hear more about several of these events.  Looking back, I think we succeeded in moving the group out of the past and into the present that summer.  So many of the youth were feeling like that were a day late and a dollar short for the glory days of youth ministry at the church.  With our efforts that summer I think we convinced them that they weren't late; in fact, they were just in time.  We were ready to follow Jesus into the great WIDE OPEN...

Because of Jesus,

Speeding For Jesus

The First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee had two vans (and a bus) when I arrived there in 1994.  One of the vans was white, and it was in pretty nice shape.  The other van was blue, and it was....blue.   We had to take both vans on our mission trip to Mountain Top, not because our group was large but because we would be transporting local children to the mission sites each day.  Because I am an exceptionally nice guy, and because you cannot overestimate the value of having an actual doctor on youth trips, I graciously conceded the white van to Dr. Jill Painter (pictured above on the right, with my wife Marilyn and The Director...hehe).  I drove Old Blue.

Each morning we would leave with our teams and head out to pick up elementary-aged students and drive them to the VBS sites we were using.  We actually spent as much time in the vans each day as we did at the work sites, but it was great to get to spend time with the kids.  We were on a pretty tight time schedule each day, trying to get everyone picked up and to the VBS sites in time to get things going for the morning.  Then we would take them home.  The story I am about to tell you actually happened; I was not there to witness it, because I was busy praying that the blue van would make it up the next hill.  I trust that if I mangle the details someone who was there that day will correct me.  But believe me, it happened!

Jill had her van full of youth and children and was headed either to the work site or back to their homes to drop them off.  We travelled long, empty stretches of mountain highway each day in vans that grew very loud, so you were always in a hurry.  One such day Jill- in the big white van with the church name and phone number on the side- realized she was being followed by a lovely car with flashing lights.  She had lost sight of her speed and was well over the posted limit.  And she had been caught!  Speeding in a church van is always a bit awkward because everyone who passes by can see exactly who you are and knows that you, a follower of Jesus, have just broken the law.  Plus, you still have to pay the ticket and deal with the insurance points.  It is not a good situation.  Dr. Jill was determined to try and get herself out of this mess, so she devised a plan.  As the officer approached her, she had the entire van of kids sing Jesus Loves Me.  They sang with great gusto and passion.  Her hope was, I assume, that the officer would hear the children, realize what an important spiritual mission she was on, and let her off with a warning.  It was a good idea.  It didn't work.  He wrote her a ticket while she sat by the side of the road with a church van full of children and youth.  Total embarrassment for her; hours of laughter for the rest of us!!!  In all of my many years of youth ministry and trips, Jill received the only speeding ticket anyone ever got.  I know she still considers it a great honor...

As I mentioned yesterday, both of us were called on the carpet for speeding around Mountain Top itself, and I seem to recall her getting in trouble for taking a few of the youth underwear shopping as well.  But the ticket was her only driving faux pas of the week. We would go on many trips together over the next 6 years, and very few youth counselors hold a more special place in my heart than Jill.   I would have my own embarrassing issues with the blue van after we started home.  But that is a story for another day.

Because of Jesus,

The Youth Ministry Team

I had served Springfield Friends Meeting for eight years as their Director of Youth and Christian Education.  During that time my primary role had been that of youth pastor, but I also had other responsibilities.  Many other responsibilities.  I had had been the coordinator of Sunday School, recruiting teachers, picking curriculum and ordering supplies.  I had led the Family Life Committee, planning events for the church family, including our regular Wednesday night suppers.  I had worked with our senior citizens group, the Neighborly Club.  I had organized and directed our Wednesday after-school program for elementary students.  I did the "Children's Moment" every Sunday morning during worship.  And I would preach when the senior pastor was away.  I stayed busy.

My job at the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee was much less frazzled.  I was the Director of Youth Ministries.  That was it.  My task was to minister to and plan programs, trips and events for 6th -12th grade students.  This was my passion and my calling, and I would finally be able to give it all of my energy and not feel like I was slighting another ministry.  I was so psyched to be in this new position.  But there was one part of this student ministry that would be very different for me.  I was going to have help.

The "Youth Ministry Team" at Springfield had been very easy to communicate with, since I lived with her.  You see, Marilyn was often the only help I had with the youth there.  We would get parents to help on trips, and we did hire a couple of interns over the years, but for the most part it was just me and my wife.  At FUMC-K, the Youth Ministry Team was ready and waiting when I arrived.  Rev. John Willis had sent me a list of those who were helping out while they were waiting on me.  The list included Cathy Thacker, Andrew Lewis, Karen Biddle, Kay Hill, Jill Painter, Brad Watson and Carlene Heck.  It also mentioned a college student named Jerry Hanbery who might be around to help (although that first summer he led his own youth group in Orlando) and Pete Lynes, who worked some with Andrew and the youth choir.  Karen Hall would also re-join the team soon after my arrival, and Becky Watson and Michael McCleery would be around once college classes were over in May.  And Darin Miller was on the way!  It seemed like a cast of thousands to me, and I wasn't exactly sure how to proceed.  It became clear to me very quickly that all of these folks were helping because they loved Jesus, the youth, the church.  They wanted me to give them leadership and guidance.  They wanted to see our ministry make a difference.  We held a retreat at Alligator Lake (thanks to Dick and Kay Simmons) in early May, and we could feel God working among us to create His vision for youth ministry at FUMC-K.

My new role became that of "Shepherd" to this group of adults. They would serve as teachers and mentors and smalll group leaders.  And I would serve them.  I loved every minute of it.  Our monthly Youth Counselor meetings were always eventful and worthwhile, with lots of food and fun.  Our retreats were legendary, and you will read more about them in later posts here.   We would lose people as time went by, but there were always new folks (Karen Fry, Mark McKenna, Cindy Martin, Janet Cook, Wayne Cook, Sandi Lynch, Mike Mangun, Carol Kraus, Matt Schmidt, Dana Schmidt and more) ready to step up and fill the void.  In my six years at FUMC-K, I never lacked for help, and I still thank God for all of those with whom who I was privileged to share that ministry.   The picture at the top is from a Youth Counselor Christmas party in 1998 (I think) at The Grand Floridian.  You will hear more about many of these amazing people in the days to come.  They were not only co-workers; they were my best friends.

There was still one more job I had yet to learn about.  I was going to get to work with Hollywood...

Because of Jesus,

So Now What?

Having arrived in Kissimmee, put boxes and furniture in the house and gone to our first youth event, it was time to get serious about what to do first in my new role as Director of Youth Ministries at FUMC-K.  As mentioned previously, I had received letters from some of the youth and the adult volunteers welcoming me and indicating some of their hopes and expectations of me.  These letters were written at youth group on March 20, 1994- about one month before my arrival.  Most of these letters were excouraging and sounded as if the students were excited to have a new youth pastor on the way,  Others...well they certainly made me think.  Here are a few direct quotes (yes I still have the letters; go ahead and laugh!) from the kid's letters.  Names have been withheld to save any embarassment (but if you would like to guess, feel free to comment or e-mail me!).

• "We look forward to your coming with much anxiety...I am not sure what changes you have planned."
• "My favorite hobby is to start fires.  I hate cats and every time I see one I have no choice but to kill the animal.  I hope you are not a bug collector."
• "I need to talk to you about me the day you get here April 14th."
• "Brace yourself.  HA HA HA...you don't know what you are jumping into."  (This letter included a sketch of a man jumping off of a diving board into an empty swimming pool-  such encouragement!)
• "Everyone here is excited you are coming.  I myself am not over enthusiastic, but I am glad someone is coming..."

If the youth letters left me feeling a bit nervous about getting started, the letters from the adults made it clear that the task was daunting and the expectations were high.  Those thoughts were made ever clearer by a survey I had sent to volunteers who were working with the group in advance of my coming.  I had asked five questions of them.  I wanted to know the strengths of the group;  the weaknesses; the primary needs, or where I needed to start; how they saw themselves fitting in; and finally, what had summer programs been like in the past.   Over and over again I read that the strength was the closeness and commitment of the students who were involved, except for the few who found that closeness was translating into cliques.  But now there were many less than had been there just a few years before, and people found that depressing.  Having had three leaders in two years, with me being number four, had left everyone a bit staggered.  The words that kept coming up were leadership and stability.  The good news was I would have lots of help; one writer told me that some Sunday evenings there were more adults than students at youth group.  The bad news was that there were more adults...

My normal approach would have been to work my way in slowly, seeing what was working and what needed to be changed.  After reading the letters and surveys and praying about it, I knew I needed to come in with the cannons firing.  This was a ministry anchored in the past;  both the glorious past of huge crowds and strong leadership, and the more recent past of failure and abandonment.  It was time to go forward and to do it with great energy.  Fortunately, summer was only 6 weeks away, and I knew I could show them leadership an energy like they had seldom seen before.  The survey responses indicated that summers had been pretty basic in years past, with a mission trip and what they called "Breakaways" to lake homes or houses with pools on Sunday afternoons.  At least five of the surveys stated that "anything I planned would be OK."  I had to laugh.  They had no idea who they were dealing with...YET!  I hope you all have a blessed weekend!

Because of Jesus,