Welcome to the very first post on a blog dedicated to telling the stories I find myself in being the wife of a youth minister. Maybe you’re one, too. Or you could be the husband of a youth minister’s wife. I live my life with one of those, so don’t worry, I’m not out to make them sound bad. 

In fact, I’m setting out on this new adventure, like the adventure youth ministry is, to tell and inspire and encourage other people to keep going. I’m here to offer advice, let off steam, share ideas. Let’s get started…

The photo below is of two of the young ladies we serve in our youth ministry. They are best friends. Yesterday, our local high school’s football team had a home game, so we offered the kids a place to hang out afterwards. 

Let me interrupt myself here. High schools are full of misdirected, influenceable youth. You probably already know this if you work with teenagers. These kids are surrounded by peer pressure - to do, act, or be a myriad of things contrary to what you, their parents, and their Creator wants them to do, act, or be. It’s a heavy mission field out there. My husband and I were reminded of that ever so clearly last night as we sat in the stands of the high school stadium watching impressionable minds pass by - faces either standing out, blending, or hiding beneath the crowd.  

We set up an evening for our youth to meet with us after the game and go roller skating for a couple of hours in a venue all to themselves. The skating rink charged us a flat fee to rent the building, and we asked the kids to pay a minimal fee to cover some of the costs. Good idea #1 - make them feel special. The rink was all their own. After skating, we headed back to the church around 1 am, popped in a movie, and shared lots of popcorn and snacks. We were all asleep by the end of it. Surprisingly, it was our most smoothly run lock-in to date. Boy, was that an encouragement. Instead of an all-night battle to keep them entertained, as we have had in the past, they were eager to play at the right time and settle down at the right time, too. Good idea #2 - bring along parents/extra chaperones; it sets an atmosphere that says “Hey, there are older adults here, you’re not getting away with anything.” You see, my husband and I quite young. I’ve only been out of college for a little over 2 years. We’re not that far away from the challenges of adolescence ourselves. So, we have had some issues where respect was not so freely given to us by our youth being that we didn’t already have the clout that parents do. However, being young has helped us in many other areas, too.

Like sleeping a total of 3 hours in a night. :)

More updates soon from the realm of the American Teenager. Be on the look out.