Too much fun part 2

For the third time in about 2 months I have heard from someone who’s child goes to the youth group that they don’t think that their child is getting much from the group and all they do is have fun. What do I have to say about that? UGGGGHHHHH!!! Here are some observations:


1. I don’t think that we have too much fun. However, I do feel that we do more activities that could be construed as just having fun. Such as, an overnighter almost every other month. Most of the youth pastors that I know and have told this to have said that I was crazy but heres the thing: My teens LOVE overnighters! They eat them up. What else? Well we have had game nights the past few months. Simple times just to hang out and “be” together.

2. I think the issue is that parents think that the activities that I would call “extra” are what they perceive to be “everything”. You see, if you were an outsider looking in, you might look at a list of things that the youth group has done the past month and think wow, they are all activity and no substance. Take for instance October…here is a list of what our YG did: We had around 5 game nights, we had an overnighter, and we had a pumpkin carving night. Here is what you don’t see in the headlines: At that overnighter, we had around 10-15 teens praying around the altar…then some of them gave testimonies after they prayed (how many of our church attendees do that?). Before we went to carve pumpkins we talked about how we must be a light to the world around us or they will stay in the dark and not know Jesus. The Wednesday night services where we have fun and eat some food but are growing stronger each week as a group. The Sunday night discussions during the month where the girls talked about self esteem and the guys talked about lust. Those things never make the headlines of what the students tell their parents. Never!

3. Maybe I do have too many activities. Maybe we do have too much fun. Maybe our activities are too fun. Maybe I need to make them boring and then the number of kids would cut in half. Maybe, just maybe, because I have the time and freedom to do so many EXTRA things with the kids the relationships that we are building will help them in their walk with Christ. Even if it doesn’t…does our world need less fun? Are there too many things at church that make you laugh and WANT to come back? Are there things that are making your WANT to wake up on Sunday morning to go to “REAL” church? I didn’t think so…and I won’t stop doing what I am doing. Most of what these people are calling fun is simply what I choose to do in my free time with the teens. I don’t have to plan all these activities. I want to and if that makes me wrong and a fun only kind of I guy, I don’t ever want to be right!