I recently attended at staff training where an individual who has been working with youth for about 50 years shared the top 10 things he wished he would have realized when he first started working with youth. They are worth sharing.
1- We can only see a small part of what God is doing - don't judge results on what we see now
2- Pray expectantly and stubbornly, and watch for God each day - prayer works
3- Realize that you are called and gifted
4- Develop thick skin. You will be disappointed, you will be criticized, and you will suffer.
5- Be known as an encourager
6- Develop disciplines and keep them
7- Don't favor or pre-judge students or fellow leaders. You don't know how God will use them, so always think and expect the best.
8- You are not taking Jesus to the kids, Jesus is taking you to them
9- Go after help when you need it
10- Always foster friendship. Be the first to smile, be the first to know everyone's name.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
12 Days of Christmas Madness Meltdown - Update
A short update - more information, pictures and videos soon to come!
Christmas is now over, but the holiday season is still alive and well in Onalaska Young Life. We have completed 7 days of our Christmas Madness Meltdown - Thorbecks Dive-in Theater, Halo Tournament, Christmas Movie Marathon, Christmas Party, Gingerbread House Building Contest, Bonfire, and Photo Scavenger Hunt. We took 3 days off for Christmas, and are picking up the madness again today. Almost every day I woke up during the madness, I would wonder "why in the world did I plan 12 days of madness?" I was in survival mode - get through the day, sleep, survive the following day. The provision of strength and grace from God is beyond comprehension. Each day when I would get to our event, I would be filled with endless amounts of energy. All of the events went better than I could have hoped. Some days we had over 40 students - one day we only had 10. And each day, we had exactly the amount of students that God wanted us to have at that event. It was an amazing time to bask in the sufficient Grace of God, contemplate the true meaning of Christmas, and further build relationships with the students.
My favorite event so far has been the bonfire. The night was a perfect blend of good food, good company, sharing time around the fire, and a good old game of Human Tug-of-War (two teams, one on each side of a rope that is on the ground. The goal is to pull the members of the opposite team onto your side of the rope - the team who succeeds in pulling all of the other members of the other team to their side wins. Not a game for the week and frail). It was loud, it was crazy, the fire was warm, and the beef stew was to die for. It was one of those moments where you could just tell that God was dwelling in that place. There was a very strong sense of His Peace that night.
One of our goals for the 12 days of Christmas was to reach out to students who usually don't attend the events we already have going. Almost every day so far we have had new students attending the events! It has been so exciting!
The food that has been donated for these events has been such a blessing. Everyone goes home full and happy! Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of the effort to provide food. You have no idea the extend of the blessing that you have been.
Thank you all for your prayers and support! We have another 5 days back to back with more events. After we have completed our madness, I will be posting pictures, videos, and more information about the event. Please continue to pray for the students and the upcoming events!
Grace and Peace,
Bethany
Christmas is now over, but the holiday season is still alive and well in Onalaska Young Life. We have completed 7 days of our Christmas Madness Meltdown - Thorbecks Dive-in Theater, Halo Tournament, Christmas Movie Marathon, Christmas Party, Gingerbread House Building Contest, Bonfire, and Photo Scavenger Hunt. We took 3 days off for Christmas, and are picking up the madness again today. Almost every day I woke up during the madness, I would wonder "why in the world did I plan 12 days of madness?" I was in survival mode - get through the day, sleep, survive the following day. The provision of strength and grace from God is beyond comprehension. Each day when I would get to our event, I would be filled with endless amounts of energy. All of the events went better than I could have hoped. Some days we had over 40 students - one day we only had 10. And each day, we had exactly the amount of students that God wanted us to have at that event. It was an amazing time to bask in the sufficient Grace of God, contemplate the true meaning of Christmas, and further build relationships with the students.
My favorite event so far has been the bonfire. The night was a perfect blend of good food, good company, sharing time around the fire, and a good old game of Human Tug-of-War (two teams, one on each side of a rope that is on the ground. The goal is to pull the members of the opposite team onto your side of the rope - the team who succeeds in pulling all of the other members of the other team to their side wins. Not a game for the week and frail). It was loud, it was crazy, the fire was warm, and the beef stew was to die for. It was one of those moments where you could just tell that God was dwelling in that place. There was a very strong sense of His Peace that night.
One of our goals for the 12 days of Christmas was to reach out to students who usually don't attend the events we already have going. Almost every day so far we have had new students attending the events! It has been so exciting!
The food that has been donated for these events has been such a blessing. Everyone goes home full and happy! Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of the effort to provide food. You have no idea the extend of the blessing that you have been.
Thank you all for your prayers and support! We have another 5 days back to back with more events. After we have completed our madness, I will be posting pictures, videos, and more information about the event. Please continue to pray for the students and the upcoming events!
Grace and Peace,
Bethany
Friday, December 3, 2010
A Letter From a Student
Have you ever tried talking to a rock? I have. Crazy as that sounds, I sat there for an hour trying to make it talk back. It didn't work. Maybe living in Onalaska my whole life just got to me that day, or maybe I identified with the rock. I mean, I've been told that talking to me is like talking to a rock. At least I have eyes. If it still hasn't been established then let me point out, I'm shy. Making friends has never been easy. I remember when I was in grade school, if my friend was gone I'd spend the whole time at recess walking around with my head down hoping anybody would come talk to me. I got over it quick though, because I knew that Jesus loved me and that's all that mattered.
To be honest, my life has so far been a wade across the shallow Newaukum River. I grew up in a Christian home. My parents loved me and whenever I had some sort of problem, whether it was smashing my finger, or a friend found a new friend, my parents were there for me. My problems have never been huge, just the slippery rocks that everyone steps on in life.
Up until I started helping out at Young Life events, it had never crossed my mind that there were people in Onalaska who were crossing more deeper and dangerous waters. There is so much need here. Teens have told me how horrible their family life is and how they aren't loved like they should be. They don't want to grow up and be like their parents. I think its hard for them though because they think that if their parents don't care then why would anyone else. So they turn to their friends who are in the same situation. Its like two people who are drowning and clinging to each other hoping that they might be able to save themselves.
This is where Young Life comes in. They're the life jacket. They show that they care by hanging out with them and showing the kids that they can decide whether or not they make it to the other side. Not everyone accepts the help, but for the ones that do it's well worth the effort.
To be honest, my life has so far been a wade across the shallow Newaukum River. I grew up in a Christian home. My parents loved me and whenever I had some sort of problem, whether it was smashing my finger, or a friend found a new friend, my parents were there for me. My problems have never been huge, just the slippery rocks that everyone steps on in life.
Up until I started helping out at Young Life events, it had never crossed my mind that there were people in Onalaska who were crossing more deeper and dangerous waters. There is so much need here. Teens have told me how horrible their family life is and how they aren't loved like they should be. They don't want to grow up and be like their parents. I think its hard for them though because they think that if their parents don't care then why would anyone else. So they turn to their friends who are in the same situation. Its like two people who are drowning and clinging to each other hoping that they might be able to save themselves.
This is where Young Life comes in. They're the life jacket. They show that they care by hanging out with them and showing the kids that they can decide whether or not they make it to the other side. Not everyone accepts the help, but for the ones that do it's well worth the effort.
December 2010
Dear friends and family,
Time has been flying by, and it is so hard to believe that it is already December! So much is happening with the youth; it has been so exciting to continue to watch God work in their lives. God’s hand has been very evident in everything that has been happening – and we can’t wait to see what He has in store!
Updates!
The youth group that meets on Monday nights has officially moved from the Onalaska Community Presbyterian Church to the Onalaska Community Youth Center. The transition has been a blessing, and we are all very excited for the new facility! We have started providing the youth with a hot meal every Monday night, as many of the students come straight from sports practice, or might not have a meal to go home to. All of the meals have been donated through members of the local churches, and it has been so exciting to see how generous to body of Christ is! We are also going to dedicate one night of the month to learning about world issues (starvation, AIDS, human trafficking, etc.), and discussing what that means to us as Christians.
Wednesday night is our Campaigners group – a group of students who are serious about deepening their relationship with God. We meet at Judy Hansen’s house, share a meal together, worship together, and watch them fall in love with Christ. We have been going through the book of Corinthians. We just read through chapter 4, and the students were very touched by the portion that discusses responding to slander with kindness. They made a pact with each other that each time they responded with anything other than kindness, they have to do 10 pushups. They are getting very strong very quickly!
New News!
As Christmas break gets closer and closer, the students are getting more and more antsy to be on a break from school! Starting the day students get out for break, we are going to do our first annual 12 Days of Christmas Madness Meltdown!!! We are going to have an event every day during Christmas break (excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas day)! We are going to be doing everything from Christmas Movie Marathons, to Cookie Baking Blizzards, Gingerbread House Building Contests, Mud Olympics, bonfires, scavenger hunts, and so much more! As we go through the 12 days of madness, we will also be going through the Christmas story. We are very excited for the opportunity to spend extra time with the students over break, and to share the amazing story of the miracle of Christ’s birth.
Those moments…
In youth ministry, there are many hard, frustrating, irritating, happy, sad, and crazy moments. Some make you ask why you do what you do, others remind you why you do what you do. Funny: This week the students were taking 5 minutes of quiet time, and the room was dead silent. Having 30 students in complete silence is a beautiful thing. It was one of those God moments – until a toilet flushed. The moment was officially ruined. Frustrating: A student threw a water balloon at a car, which resulted in a very angry old man saying some not very nice things to me. The student who threw the water balloon proceeded to run and hide from me. Word of advice to all: if you are in trouble with me, the last thing you want to do is hide from me. Worth it: I was brainstorming with a few students for events to do over Christmas break. We were throwing around the idea of a gift exchange, when a student said “can we do something that isn’t about us? Can we do something where we give to other people?”
Prayer Requests
• Leaders, leaders, leaders! We need 5 more leaders to come on board before we can get club started at the high school!
• Please pray against spiritual attack. As the students continue to grown in Christ, the more the enemy continues to take their focus away from Christ
• Christmas Madness Meltdown – pray that all of the events will go well, that we will have enough leaders, and that students will be impacted by the message of the birth of Christ
• Pray for students by name – if you don’t know any of their names, I would love to give you a list! Gabby, Zack, Taylor, Sean…to name a few
Want to get involved?!? We have opportunities for the young and old, outgoing and shy, exciting and boring, energetic or tired! There are many opportunities to serve on the front lines, or behind the scenes. The only thing we ask is that you are F.A.T – Faithful, Available, and Teachable. Please contact Bethany Hutson for details on how you can become involved.360-880-7701 or onalaksayounglife@yahoo.com
Time has been flying by, and it is so hard to believe that it is already December! So much is happening with the youth; it has been so exciting to continue to watch God work in their lives. God’s hand has been very evident in everything that has been happening – and we can’t wait to see what He has in store!
Updates!
The youth group that meets on Monday nights has officially moved from the Onalaska Community Presbyterian Church to the Onalaska Community Youth Center. The transition has been a blessing, and we are all very excited for the new facility! We have started providing the youth with a hot meal every Monday night, as many of the students come straight from sports practice, or might not have a meal to go home to. All of the meals have been donated through members of the local churches, and it has been so exciting to see how generous to body of Christ is! We are also going to dedicate one night of the month to learning about world issues (starvation, AIDS, human trafficking, etc.), and discussing what that means to us as Christians.
Wednesday night is our Campaigners group – a group of students who are serious about deepening their relationship with God. We meet at Judy Hansen’s house, share a meal together, worship together, and watch them fall in love with Christ. We have been going through the book of Corinthians. We just read through chapter 4, and the students were very touched by the portion that discusses responding to slander with kindness. They made a pact with each other that each time they responded with anything other than kindness, they have to do 10 pushups. They are getting very strong very quickly!
New News!
As Christmas break gets closer and closer, the students are getting more and more antsy to be on a break from school! Starting the day students get out for break, we are going to do our first annual 12 Days of Christmas Madness Meltdown!!! We are going to have an event every day during Christmas break (excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas day)! We are going to be doing everything from Christmas Movie Marathons, to Cookie Baking Blizzards, Gingerbread House Building Contests, Mud Olympics, bonfires, scavenger hunts, and so much more! As we go through the 12 days of madness, we will also be going through the Christmas story. We are very excited for the opportunity to spend extra time with the students over break, and to share the amazing story of the miracle of Christ’s birth.
Those moments…
In youth ministry, there are many hard, frustrating, irritating, happy, sad, and crazy moments. Some make you ask why you do what you do, others remind you why you do what you do. Funny: This week the students were taking 5 minutes of quiet time, and the room was dead silent. Having 30 students in complete silence is a beautiful thing. It was one of those God moments – until a toilet flushed. The moment was officially ruined. Frustrating: A student threw a water balloon at a car, which resulted in a very angry old man saying some not very nice things to me. The student who threw the water balloon proceeded to run and hide from me. Word of advice to all: if you are in trouble with me, the last thing you want to do is hide from me. Worth it: I was brainstorming with a few students for events to do over Christmas break. We were throwing around the idea of a gift exchange, when a student said “can we do something that isn’t about us? Can we do something where we give to other people?”
Prayer Requests
• Leaders, leaders, leaders! We need 5 more leaders to come on board before we can get club started at the high school!
• Please pray against spiritual attack. As the students continue to grown in Christ, the more the enemy continues to take their focus away from Christ
• Christmas Madness Meltdown – pray that all of the events will go well, that we will have enough leaders, and that students will be impacted by the message of the birth of Christ
• Pray for students by name – if you don’t know any of their names, I would love to give you a list! Gabby, Zack, Taylor, Sean…to name a few
Want to get involved?!? We have opportunities for the young and old, outgoing and shy, exciting and boring, energetic or tired! There are many opportunities to serve on the front lines, or behind the scenes. The only thing we ask is that you are F.A.T – Faithful, Available, and Teachable. Please contact Bethany Hutson for details on how you can become involved.360-880-7701 or onalaksayounglife@yahoo.com
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Who are they? What do they do? Why should we care?
Poverty. Crime. Drugs, alcohol, tobacco. Teen pregnancy. High drop out rates. Complacency. Ignorance. Refusal to care.
The community of Onalaska has been plagued with the latter issues for too long. Members throughout the community have seen the vicious cycles that they bring, and have come together in order to generate change in the lives of the youth of today. The school, local churches, businesses, organizations, and individuals have taken it upon themselves to come together and refuse to allow this cycle to continue. We say “no more.”
This site has been created with the intention to no longer allow individuals throughout the community claim ignorance as to what is going on in the lives of the youth of Onalaska. We are responsible for the lives of the youth in your community. Let the ignorance and complacency end here. Events, newsletters, and stories to come...
Who are they, what do they do, and why should you care?
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