Youth

A big part of my field education experience is going to be working with the youth. Most people know I'm pretty good at working with kids, because I love hanging out with them and think they're great. I've been part of Theology on Tap, which is an adult Bible study group, for a year and a half now. But I have a big gap in my Christian education teaching from sixth to twelfth grade. Part of this is because when I was at Rejoice, I was too young to teach middle and high school students--I was one.

Another part is that I simply have a hard time working with groups of teenagers. I love spending time with Sarah and Jon by themselves. When they get in a group, though, I start to get annoyed really quickly. Teenagers just have a really interesting mentality when they are with their friends, and I need to learn how to deal with this.

Lucky for me, Linda was a high school history teacher before she was a pastor, so she has plenty of experience with teenagers. She also has a 14-year-old, who just so happens to be in Confirmation this year. This has worked out great because I'm observing her in Confirmation for the next few weeks/months, and then I'll be able to help teach. I'm so excited to learn about this part of ministry, and Linda has been a great teacher. I'm also working with the 7th and 8th graders on Sunday mornings. Their teacher, Stacy, is also a wonderful person who works great with the kids. I'm learning a lot from spending time with her on Sundays.

I went to youth group on Sunday night, too. I loved listening to the students (junior and senior high kids) talking to each other, and hearing about school, friends, family, etc. But when we got to the worship part of the evening, they were completely unfocused. I had a hard time worshiping simply because the kids were talking and laughing and not paying any attention at all. I'm not sure how to address this problem, as I know it will be an issue in every church where I serve. It was a good test of my patience, because I'm not in charge and didn't feel like it was my job to say anything. I also enjoyed seeing how Robyn, the youth leader, reacted.

I'm learning a lot about working with youth, but I know this is going to be one of the biggest challenges to my ministry. Luckily, God has blessed me with a wonderful husband who feels a calling to work with youth and young adults. Maybe I can just get him to teach my confirmation classes for me...