During our Awesome Adult Leader After Party last night, I asked our team to get together and write 2 poems about what youth ministry is like through the eyes of adult volunteers. Enjoy!
Who Wouldn’t Want to Do Youth Ministry With These Knuckle Heads?
Sunday night was a real highlight for me! We had our Awesome Adult Youth Leaders’ After Party. It’s the end of the school year and we just wanted our volunteers to know how much we love and appreciate them. We took them out for dinner, had a time of sharing, and gave them gift bags. Of course, we’re in youth ministry, so we had to torture them like they torture kids all year and make them be goofy. They didn’t seem to have any problem with it, though. 🙂 Volunteers make the youth ministry world go round, and I am so grateful for our team. Praying that next year we have even more awesome adults loving our students to Jesus!
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| Jen posted a pic of her gift bag items. |
Brad and Rebekah New Album AND playing THIS WEEKEND at SHELTER ROCK CHURCH!!!
I am super excited to announce the release of Brad and Rebekah’s New Album When we Gather! The album is really great! Get it on iTunes! here. I promise you’ll love it.
I am also very excited that they will be leading worship THIS coming SUNDAY at Shelter Rock Church Syosset Campus at 9:30 and 11:15am, AND playing for our last Rock/Bridge youth service of the school year that evening from 6-8pm (also at Syosset Campus). All students are welcome and encouraged to bring friends. It’s gonna be a rockin’ night and you don’t want to miss it. PLUS we’ll be having food!
Convoy of Hope
Yesterday was Convoy of Hope Long Island and our church partnered with 75 other churches from the Island to impact our community for Jesus. Our church ran the medical tent, and I led a team of 10 from Student Ministries who worked in the Kids Zone where we made balloon animals and did face painting, which was great experience for us as we’ll be doing this in Peru this summer. So proud of our students and our church! See all the pictures here.
Mama Came to Visit
I just returned from a pastoral staff retreat in Wisconsin (which I’ll write about in the coming days). I didn’t realize until the night before we left that we would only be about 1 1/2 hrs. from Chicago where my parents live. So, I hit them up, and lucky for me Mom was able to come up yesterday for a quick visit. It was nice introducing her to our church staff and having her join us for dinner. We had a “get-to-know-one-another” element of our retreat, so one of our pastors took advantage of Mom being with us to interview her and ask embarrassing questions about my childhood. Fantastic. lol!
Former Students Doing Ministry!
This past week I got together with two of my former students who are doing great things for God. I also stopped by my former church and found two more of my former key students pictured in 2 different publications. Both of them are now working in youth ministry, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. This is just a small sample of what God is doing through the lives we’ve had the privilege of impacting through the years.  I felt like a proud father. May fruit remain!
Youth Ministry: A Poem
Here’s a poem I wrote a few years ago.
How you got into youth ministry
The possibilities are endless
However it came about
You’re now counted in the census
Maybe as a youngster
You were very well connected
To a loving youth pastor
Who knew you were selected
To be a youth worker
To be a player in the game
So you could love students
Pass on the legacy just the same
Maybe you had no one
Your youth was full of regret
Now you wish to make a difference
And help teenagers get
The love you never had
But truly wish you did
So to a meeting you went
And up you slid your hand
Perhaps your church was stuck
No one would do the job
So you were volunteered
And now you cry and sob
Wondering what happened
Wishing you could sleep
But that’s next to impossible
In a cabin, in your face, a kid’s feet
And so you Googled Help!
I’m in youth ministry
And up popped Doug Fields
Your heart filled with glee
So now you’re full of life
Full of hope and ideas
Planning events, prepping talks
Recruiting volunteers
The longer you’re in this thing
We affectionately call youth ministry
The more you come to realize
It’s not about activity
It’s about loving Jesus, living authentically
And of course loving students
Sometimes you want to quit
But something tells you you shouldn’t
Because you come to know
Yes you come to understand
Youth ministry isn’t about kids
It’s about godly women, godly men
Who will catch the vision
And live life for God’s purposes
And pass it on to their kids
As they talk, play, and take trips to circuses
And so you keep at it
One more day, one more kid
Through the laughs, through the tears
The mountain tops and the skids
Because you know
As Mother Teresa said
Little things done with big love
Make a difference in the end
Though you may never see it
God is smiling from up above
So keep on keepin’ on
And remember, it’s all about love …
The Greatest Rivalry With The Greatest 11-Year-Old
Yesterday I surprised Natalia with tickets to the greatest rivalry in sports: The Yankees vs. the Red Sox. I told her we were going to the game and she said we couldn’t because the game was sold out. I told her I had 2 of the sold-out tickets and asked her if she wanted to go. Her response? Disbelief? Jubilation? Nope. This smarty-pants’ first words? “Where are the seats?” Are you kidding me? lol!!!
We took the train to Penn Station, got some food, then took the 2 train up to the 4 train to Yankee Stadium. Went in and watched the Red Sox take batting practice before the game. CC Sabathia pitched a gem with 10 strikeouts and 0 walks. The Yankees went on to win 4-1, and we got to watch the greatest closing pitcher in the history of the game, Mariano Rivera come in and do his thing: 13 pitches, 11 of which were strikes, 3 outs; the Sandman says “goodnight.” Awesome!
On the way home Natalia said, “Thanks, Dad. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Mariano Rivera put those Red Sox to sleep. Well, I can check that off my Bucket List.” Your Bucket List? You’re 11! lol! Super fun date night with my girl!
Delta Small Groups End of Year Party
On Wednesday night we had our Delta End of the Year Pool Party. It was a fun night for the students who were connected in our small groups this year to get together one last time before summer. A very fun night for all.
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