If you aren’t between the ages of 11 and 18, you probably haven’t ever been to Good News Youth. But every Wednesday night that we met this past year was filled with so many cool things, that I wanted to try to share a few highlights with you.
I could tell you what we do each Wednesday, like eating lots of snacks and playing giant group games (picture 60-70 kids playing a huge game of tag, or as we call it, the Fox and the Squirrel.) I could tell you how awesome our youth band is or how we learned about people who had encounters with Jesus like the woman at the well, Mary and Martha, Nicodemus, Nathaniel, and others. However, there’s just no easy way to try to capture the work God is doing in the hearts of our teens with just words in a newsletter, but I still want to try…
I wish you could experience the 6th and 7th grade girls’ discussion group, when they go around the circle to share prayer requests and a different young lady volunteers to pray for each concern shared. Their prayers are precious and powerful, and I know it pleases the Lord to hear them.
I wish you could come early and watch the youth band practice. One of our students, Noah Lusk, is in charge of the youth band, so it’s totally student-led. They work hard to practice and lead their friends in worship. And you may think I am biased, but they are GOOD! I know God is honored when His children sing His praises.
I wish you could have been at senior night when two young men shared what they feel God is calling them to do with their future: one plans to be a missionary aviator and the other wants to be a Godly influence in media. One young man said, “I can personally testify that the Lord is real because I’ve seen him move in my life.” They both shared advice for their friends like be patient, trust the Lord and don’t dream your life away by only focusing on the future. When asked how we could pray for them, one said “strength to serve faithfully even when it gets hard because life is hard but its also good.” Then we invited everyone else up to pray over our seniors and departing friends. The wisdom and faith these young men shared and the powerful prayers said that night were all so encouraging!
So you may see discouraging stories on the news or read depressing statistics that make you wonder about the future of our youth. But I want to tell you that God is at work in the hearts and lives of SO MANY teenagers here at Good News, and I want to share with you the HOPE we have watching them grow in their faith and following God now and hopefully with their whole lives. That’s what God has been doing on many Wednesday nights this past school year. We can’t wait to see what He will do next year too!
I could tell you what we do each Wednesday, like eating lots of snacks and playing giant group games (picture 60-70 kids playing a huge game of tag, or as we call it, the Fox and the Squirrel.) I could tell you how awesome our youth band is or how we learned about people who had encounters with Jesus like the woman at the well, Mary and Martha, Nicodemus, Nathaniel, and others. However, there’s just no easy way to try to capture the work God is doing in the hearts of our teens with just words in a newsletter, but I still want to try…
I wish you could experience the 6th and 7th grade girls’ discussion group, when they go around the circle to share prayer requests and a different young lady volunteers to pray for each concern shared. Their prayers are precious and powerful, and I know it pleases the Lord to hear them.
I wish you could come early and watch the youth band practice. One of our students, Noah Lusk, is in charge of the youth band, so it’s totally student-led. They work hard to practice and lead their friends in worship. And you may think I am biased, but they are GOOD! I know God is honored when His children sing His praises.
I wish you could have been at senior night when two young men shared what they feel God is calling them to do with their future: one plans to be a missionary aviator and the other wants to be a Godly influence in media. One young man said, “I can personally testify that the Lord is real because I’ve seen him move in my life.” They both shared advice for their friends like be patient, trust the Lord and don’t dream your life away by only focusing on the future. When asked how we could pray for them, one said “strength to serve faithfully even when it gets hard because life is hard but its also good.” Then we invited everyone else up to pray over our seniors and departing friends. The wisdom and faith these young men shared and the powerful prayers said that night were all so encouraging!
So you may see discouraging stories on the news or read depressing statistics that make you wonder about the future of our youth. But I want to tell you that God is at work in the hearts and lives of SO MANY teenagers here at Good News, and I want to share with you the HOPE we have watching them grow in their faith and following God now and hopefully with their whole lives. That’s what God has been doing on many Wednesday nights this past school year. We can’t wait to see what He will do next year too!
