Why Am I Here?

Last night at youth group was our first night back of the year. It's strange that school started a few weeks ago, but it was our first night of youth group: one of the prayer requests was for midterms? seriously? anyway, this was the schedule with some notes about what worked and what didn't work.

6:15 Leaders arrive

Mostly okay. there was a handful of eager students who arrived at 6:00, the rest showed up between 6:30-

6:40 leaving those eager freshmen in suspense if anyone else was coming. a handful of leaders did show up early and helped greet upstairs - which was great!

6:30-6:40 Gathering/Snacks

Provided by a student and parent - delicious if not a little later than we would have wanted. one of the problems using volunteers is that you're not in control. I would have preferred the snacks arrive much earlier, but that's the way it goes.

6:40-6:50 Opening game and Introduction of Leaders (Youth Room)

We played a power point quiz which was a total flop... total flop, but it somehow achieved the goal of making the entire group gel together in a unanimous  - WAY TO HARD attitude. We tried to have kids guess mom's of celebrity families. whew! 

6:50-7:00 Joys and Concerns (Youth Room)

This is always a special moment of sharing when kids have the opportunity to be excited about each others lives and stand together with difficult problems. We did pray for our pastor's wife who recently had a stroke, and for a student who is receiving brain scans back this week.

7:00-7:15 Ice Breaker – Chicken on a Hill (Fellowship Hall)

beginning the year with a classic game like this is critical. the kids groaned with excitement, but by the end of the game everyone was laughing!

7:15-7:30 Why am I here devotion (Youth Room)I wanted to model a faith story on the first night - so I didn't hold back and laid out a great story about stealing a street sign when I was in college. I coupled that message with the story of Joseph and his brothers concluding with Genesis 50:20 - God intended it for good. Then we challenged the kids to think about how much of our actions happen for a reason.

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7:30-8:05 Small Groups sorted by grade the first night

1.  Share your name and an experience or a story when you’ve thought:  ‘why  am I here’
2. Looking backward, in the last 12 months what are some events that you didn’t’ expect but had an impact on your life?
3. Looking forward into the next year what are some events that you hope or will possibly happen that will have an impact on your life?
4. Thinking about the story of Joseph, do you think God planned to have Joseph’s family betray him?
5. Are there any parts of Joseph’s story that you can relate to in your life?
6. What’s your current family situation like? Is it similar to others here in our group or to Joseph’s?
7. Do you think God had a hand in your family situation? Are you part of your family for a reason?
8. If you could look ahead in your life to know the result of your decisions (good or bad) and what your life would look like in 10 years, would you? Why or why not?
9. What kind of an effect would/could this youth group have on your life or this year?

8:05-8:30 Prayer and Praise

We invited the new youth choir director to join us for the evening. He brought his bass and added some depth to our singing - which was awesome. With our drummer on a box, a bass, and a couple of guitars we really rocked the campfire circle by singing Lean on me, Prince of Peace, Forever Reign, Hungry, and Light the Fire. 

I'm going to try to keep track of our song choices better this year so that we don't get too stuck in a rut.

Of course we ended with our typical ritual blessing - you are a child of God, holy and dearly loved, Jesus loves you and so do I.