SERVE

This past missions trip marked a new 'era' in youth ministry for me. I had new perceptions and criticisms of this trip that I have not had before.

When I was at Sunshine, we planned every last detail of our own missions trip. We had a staff of 5, so we had the luxery of putting that many staff hours into 3-4 week long trips each year. Having that much control and responsibility on a trip has it's pros and cons. The Pros being that YOU get to choose where you go, what you do, what you eat, the topics that are discussed, the worship music & style, the theme, etc. The Cons are that YOU are responsibile for carrying out all of those details; speaking, preparing lessons & small group questions, lining up leaders to drive, cook, lead, plan games. You don't get a lot of down time because you're always a few steps ahead making sure everything is set and ready to go.

Coming to Plymouth is the first time I every went on a 'boxed' trip. Have you ever bought a 'bed in a bag'? It comes with a dust ruffle, sheets, shams, pillow cases & a comforter - all nicely packaged and ready to go. SERVE is like a bed in a bag. I don't mean that in a negative way, just that everything is pre-arranged and all I have to do is invite the students & then get them there.

Before I tell you my own perceptions, I want you to know that our students had a fantastic time, and that makes it all completely worth it. I had some in depth one -on-ones with several of our kids about their walk with God and how they have been growing. They were challenged, equipped, and engaged on this trip. I dare say that almost every student bonded with their small groups and walked away with new friendships and renewed faith.

Okay, now for my perception. The Redlands Site is extremely well organized and run. The host team was fantastic. The work sites were varied and you truly felt you were needed - not that they were coming up with work in order for us to feel useful. They had great pools for us to swim in, host families to take care of us, they took us to in & out burger, the beach, a hike, a concert...no complaints with any of that.

I guess my issue is that the theme and the talks seemed very, well, youth groupy. Our speaker was engaging, humorous, used some good illustrations - our kids got a lot out of it. My issue is not necessarily with her, it's more with how we do youth ministry. I guess after being in it for 7 years I'm starting to get a bit jaded. The scriptures were completely predictable. I think I've probably used the same ones in talks I've done. The videos and illustrations were funny, but I wasn't always sure they hit home the point. The theme was 'Living Inside Out' and I walked away still wondering exactly what I was supposed to get out of that. Every night we were given a challenge and had to write down something on a colored piece of paper and bring it to the cross. It seems like a cool, experiential, element, however I can barely remember the challenges and what I was supposed to do with all that. I wonder how effective and long-lasting those challenges were.

We also had a very genuine worship leader, however we sang the same 5-7 songs over and over, and they were songs where you repeat the chorus 15 times and build up the music, throw in a drum solo, then repeat the ending 7 times before moving on to the next one. Oh- and I forgot to mention that every song had motions. And if it didn't, well, we made them up so they did. I LOVE Jesus with all my heart, but I'm not huge into being a cheerleader & calling it worship. I'm sure that is worshipful to some, just not to me. Give me some thoughtful words with depth & let me sing them once so they don't lose their meaning.

Typically I come home from a trip feeling closer to God and on a little bit of that 'spiritual high'.

This year, I felt nothing. I didn't have any new insights about God or my life in Christ.

Thank goodness this trip was for the students and not for me. I can rest assured that God was present, that he was moving and working and he was glorified.