Something from Pete...

Thought I would post a copy of what I wrote for the bulletin at church this Sunday:


Teen Ministry Update...

Well, my experience in Victoria has been both challenging and exciting. Since moving here as the new youth minister in February, it has been a pleasure to meet so many friendly and loving people. Believe it or not, I was a little terrified at the challenge of trying to fit in and be accepted by a group of teenagers. This thought scared me until I met the kids here. I know it may sound cliché, but this is an amazing group of kids; a little out of hand at times (in my old person opinion), but very well grounded and mature for their age. They’ve made me feel welcome and accepted which I am extremely thankful for. There are currently 21 teens that have been coming to our different studies and events. It has been a challenge to try and see where I fit in with the youth and what they are already doing. There is an amazing, core group of people here that have invested their time and hearts into the teens over the past few years and I have been looking for ways in which I can become a part of that by working with them. Things are now beginning to look a little clearer andI feel as if I am beginning to find a place of purpose.

This past week I had a bunch of the Young Adults helping to re-paint and re-decorate the youth room. The newly decorated room was presented to the kids at our all-nighter/sleepover at the church building last Friday. The night went very well, and besides the lack of sleep, we all had a great time. During the evening we had a devotional where I sharedthe concept behind the stars that are painted on the wall of the teen room. Each star symbolizes one of the teens in our youth group, so each signed and decorated their own star. In the big picture of the whole universe, a star seems fairly insignificant and small, but if you take a closer look, the sun is extremely powerful and capable of sustaining life here on earth. Did you know that the sun creates enough energy every second to equal 92 billion 1 megaton nuclear bombs? This is the type of potential that I see in these kids if they continue to pursue and understand what it means to follow Christ. That is why I am here and that is what I hope to accomplish in my work with them. I would like to help them in their pursuit of that potential. Some ways in which we hope to do this are:

Monthly fun and games activity nights where they can invite friends who may not be interested in spiritual things. This is an opportunity to have fun, grow closer to one another, and shine our lights.

We will continue our Wednesday night home studies and Sunday morning Bible studies on a weekly basis. These provide a time of group sharing andgrowth for those who are interested in something more.

Something new that we are beginning is a weekly, one on one,study/mentoring with any of the teens who are interested in beginning a journey to better understand the church and what it means to followChrist.

We hope to get the kids involved with other teen groups in the city through a program called Epicenter. This is a citywide program that has many youth groups involved. There are events throughout the year that connect them with each other and with God.