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And so it goes

Forgive me for being so scarce in posting this week. I am in the midst of final planning  for a big youth event. As director of youth ministries for my church, I am taking 16 teen-agers (mostly junior highers) and 5 adult leaders to a 2 day youth event about 1.5 hours north of here- this weekend.
Coordinating such an event is an exacting science since:
* girl A won't go unless she can be in the same room and same group with girls B & C
* girl D can't get along with girl A so you must make sure to provide a buffer at all times
* boy A does not want to be in the same hotel room with his Dad who snores and is one of my adult leaders
* boy C is super hyperactive and needs someone who can constantly watch him- and I mean constantly
* Girl F has a tendency to wander and flirt- so she must have an adult leader who pays attention, perferably a woman
* Girl F and E are both infatuated with Boy C who is too old for them (he just graduated and they are in middle school) so we need to make sure that we have a buffer there too (adult)- plus watchful eyes
* Since Boy C seems to attract so much attention from the girls we need to make sure he rides in a car with a group of guys so no girls get their feelings bent out of shape and throw snits
* Adult leader B does not deal well with junior high girls but is okay dealing the jr. high boys
* Adult leader B "believes" it is their job to point out the ways I fail or could have done it better or how terribly disappointed they are in me . . . . Leader B is plainly my biggest detractor and complainer about youth ministry. All the time. period.
* and the list goes on and on.
There is so much that goes on behind the scenes of planning a youth event. Things I never dreamed of before becoming involved in youth ministry- things that would not be problems when planning outings with young children or adults . . . . . plus you really need to have a couple of contigency plans for when things go wrong- because Murphy's Law for youth ministry is that things always go wrong. Someone always clogs/overflows the toilet in one of the boy's hotel rooms, someone always wanders away from the group, somone always bets someone else they can do such-and-such and fails, someone always gets mad at their best friend who is rooming and sitting with them the whole weekend and throws a fit or 2, someone always pouts that they aren't having any fun or the youth director is taking away all the fun . . . . .
But the following also always happens: young lives are touched, hearts softened and are dedicated and rededicated to God, tears of joy are shed, new friendships formed and youth come back on fire to make a difference for God.
And so the pros always outway the cons. And I always need a couple of days to recoop and regroup. . . . .
always.

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4:14 PM, 2008-Feb-27 .. Posted by CatherineAnn

Oh, I remember those days from when my dh was a youth minister LOL! Bless you!!!
Catherine :)

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4:33 PM, 2008-Feb-27 .. Posted by gabbie427

I used to be a Youth Director several years ago and my oh my do I remember all of this. LOL Sounds like a fun trip though

Gods' Blessings,
Amy Jo