A couple weekends ago I volunteered to be a “leader” for the 2012 Stuck in the Middle conference for Horizons’ youth in the 5th-8th grades. It basically consisted of me chauffeuring kids to and fro, keeping tabs on their whereabouts, and bunking up with them at Great Wolfe Lodge. Six kids to a room anyone? Although we all survived and had a great time, this story isn’t so much about me or “my” kids that weekend but about the great youth leadership at Horizons’ Church.
In case you don’t know, Horizons has fantastic programs for our kids. Everything from the nursery and toddlers to DiscoveryZone to Fusion and Confirmation to Hang Time to VBS breathes throughout Horizons Church. Of course, this doesn’t happen on its own. Horizons’ staff and volunteers, along with the kids, make this a great success.
Even though, I’m going to leave numerous people out due to space, I’d like to tell you my perspective of some of adults I worked with that weekend, how they are impacting the lives of our children, and how they look out for them when they’re away from home.
Chris Berger - After shaving Chris’ head in church last year our relationship has been a bit tenuous. Ok – not really. Chris impressed me this weekend when he announced to the group of our 70+ kids to clean up their mess. We had just gotten done eating walking tacos (chips, beef, lettuce, tomato, etc.) and the tiled floor of this church was pretty messy – ok, it was trashed. This mess had spread up the stairs to the upper level of the church too. I believe Chris put it like this, “every one of you will pick up every shred of food on the floor. We wouldn’t want someone treating our church like this and we certainly won’t be treating their church like this”. To the kids’ credit it was cleaned up in no time. A great lesson on respect and responsibility.
Derek Steinacher – We had had a long Friday night and were half way through the Saturday events. Some of adults and kids were complaining of headaches and scratchy throats. I mostly just wrote it off to the smoke machine they were using during the extra loud worship music (remember earplug next time). I won’t tell you how but Derek came up with the idea that maybe we were all a little dehydrated (ok he did have this epiphany after coming out of the bathroom). He and I discussed it a bit and Berger went on a bottled water run for everyone. This seemingly minor incident made me realize the attention to detail Derek provides not only to the group that weekend but throughout the year.
Nicole Feather – In a previous life, Nicole was probably a doctor. She took control of the medications kids needed to take and monitored kids with diabetes and other conditions. Playing mom to 70+ kids (and maybe a few adults) is definitely one of her Holy Spirit gifts. I didn’t get to spend much time with Nicole during the weekend itself except for one memorable occasion. I apparently looked like I needed a hug late, late Saturday night after all the kids were down. She recruited Kyle (I’ll exclude the last name to protect the innocent) to administer said hug. Now by my nature, I’m not much of a hugger except with my wife and son. Kyle proceeded with the typically manly bear hug I expected but it then turn into more of a nuzzle. I’m not sure if he was weeping or wiping his nose on my shirt towards the end of our embrace, but I’ll certainly be on guard the next time I’m around that guy!
Jill, Karen, Theresa, Traci and many others kept us fed with 3 squares and loads of snacks. I haven’t had Lucky Charms and Pop Tarts for breakfast in years. If I don’t see either of those for another year it will be too soon. However, the walking tacos and spaghetti were excellent! Thanks so much for the grub!
Finally, Chris and Heidi McInerny – I think I latched on to Chris early on as I really didn’t know what I was up against. He gladly gave me a few tips on making sure the kids buddy up, keeping the hotel room as a quiet zone (I didn’t do so well on that), and encouraged me to get involved in what the kids were learning. However, it wasn’t until our Saturday night debrief that I really saw him shine. After a full day of the conference and a couple hours of the water park, about 15 of our kids got together with a few of the leaders. After the kids settled down, it was amazing to me how “CMac” got the kids to open up and discuss what they loved about the weekend. The kids that had earlier been glued to their ipods and phones were now articulately describing the weekend, what impact the stories of bullying had on them, and the new closeness they felt to God. I realized at that point I have a lot to learn about youth ministry. As parents, we are blessed that Chris and Heidi take the time to be in our kids’ lives.
All in all, I’d say it’s easier to herd kids than cats. The adults I mentioned plus the others that I left out really love Horizon’s kids and love the way events like this bring them closer to God. Their joy and satisfaction is seeing the kids love Him. It may be a bit cliché but in the end I think the best we can hope for is that our kids come away loving and knowing Jesus and loving each other. Thanks to Horizons church, its staff and volunteers, our kids have a great head start.
I have the privilege of attending Horizons, but moreover, my son is a member as well. As someone who didn't grow up knowing anything about God, I knew as a parent that I wanted more for my son. He attended Stuck in the Middle and came home teaching me more about what it is to be a Christian than I knew by the time I was 30.
ReplyDeleteFor this hard-nosed mom, it released the flood gates. Thank you Steve Bartels for watching over him that weekend, and to all the adults involved - you are a true blessing to me and my son!! Horizons rocks!!