The Joy of Youth Ministry

It seems that the kids I work with really love getting messy. I am not a messy kind of person, but have had my share of these activities recently with the Back to School annual party called Mudball. Literally, it is a huge mud pit in which the kids played rounds of volleyball. There was also a home-made water slide into a pond all at a church member's home. You can tell from the picture how much I loved participating. Yet, I did so, nonetheless for over six hours (after preaching during the morning worship service)!

Then, there was the seventh grade, welcome to the youth group activity: Adventure World in Fredrick, MD. Most of the new youth group members are boys so I knew I had to do something active. The main events of the outing were mini-golf and paintballing. Mini-golf I had under control of course, but paintballing was another story.

Paintballing is harder on the body than it sounds. I still have a bruise from the only one time that I was hit. I'm sorry if my description sounds simplistic, but it is like being hit with a bullet of a gun at a high speed, yet only paint comes out. A former youth minister friend of mine told me to wear lots of extra clothes for padding. I forgot to bring a change of clothes and was sorry I didn't listen to her.

I am for gun control all the more after my experience with paintball. I look scary, don't I in the picture below? I told the boys we looked like big smurfs (but of course they didn't know who the smurfs were). I think I should post the picture of me in the blue suit in the youth room so the kids have something to be afraid of if they really misbehave during our times together.

But, overall, I'm especially excited about what the new class of 7th graders are bringing to our youth ministry here. They represent new beginnings, new hope and excitement for the future.

I just don't want to go paintballing again anytime soon.