STARTING A YOUTH GROUP chapter 97

In the fall we had a meeting with the parents of high school teens to discuss the formation of a youth group. It was my contention that youth groups connect teens to their church and supplement the family’s commitment to God. They do not replace the family. The goal was to begin, enhance and/or solidify their walk with God.

A very lively discussion ensured with people who had previously been in churches with youth groups in support and most long-term University Drive families opposed. The main objection was that it would encourage early dating and we all know what dating leads to!!!!. I laughed., not out loud, or course, I’m not crazy. How did they expect they were going to stop them from being attracted to the opposite sex and why did they want to stop them from being friends with peers in the church. If not at church, where?

The vote supported the establishment of a high school youth group, but cut out ninth graders. Maybe ninth graders were in a junior high. I’m not sure. We finally agreed the there would be neither promotion nor any encouragement for ninth graders to attend, but if the parents wanted to send them it would be OK. In the end we had one of the most unusual start ups I have ever heard of a youth group beginning with nine boys and one girl.

Some were very concerned. How could you have a youth group without girls? On the other hand I believed that where the boys are the girls would come. It is easier to get girls than it is a get boy’s. My greater fear is that it would be all girls. I wasn’t disappointed in the least. The real question was how would I keep Judy. She was older than all the boys and saw sticking with us as a ministry, of sorts. She was terrific and the girls began to trickle in. Girls tend to show up where there are boys.

The church insisted that we hold to the C&MA constitution for the youth group and that meant a congregationally elected president. Since it was not time for the annual meeting we elected a full slate of officers and Cliff Miller was the first elected president.  I wished you could have been freed from that restraint, but there it was. We would work with it.

I really did not want elected leaders. I know it was the church pattern, but I was sure I could involve more in leadership roles if we had a more free form model. I had the concept in mind, but had never worked it out well enough to explain. I would have only confused the matter, for the time being I just wanted permission to get a high school youth group going. I wanted the give and take flow of gifted leaders that served as they had time and were able. I did not want kids to be in competition with school events for leadership. I wanted Christian kids involved in school.

I was pretty sure I would find a way to work with the concept. Just didn’t know what that would be.

What I was privileged to begin with was an extremely talented group of capable leaders. I was able to train some, but mostly they already had leadership gifts. They were full of ideas and organizational skills. They could lead small groups, put plans together and more I was aware of what they could do, the more I struggled to release these gifts.

The entire early youth group was the most incredibly musical. Many were accomplished pianists and almost all of could sing. To me, we had the most amazing times of just sitting around and singing. An instrument was nice, but the group never needed it. I rarely felt like I lead that group, I just went along with them.

Music gilts led to finding ways to us those. I had ideas for them and they had one for me. That’s another story.