I’ve been volunteering in youth ministry at Holy Family for
two full years and this is the start of Year 3. If I look at the immediate lens
of my life as a whole, two years feel like a really long time. And in some
respects, I feel like I’ve been serving in youth ministry forever, even though
I haven’t. (As a tangent, if you want someone who’s actually been in youth
ministry for seemingly forever, at least from my perspective, look up
“Mardesich, Christopher”). I’ve met a lot of different people, some from
different parishes, some of whom I’ve only met once in my lifetime (and still
have only met once in my lifetime), and some of whom have definitely become friends of mine. My time in youth ministry has definitely given me a lot to reflect on,
some of which I’ll touch upon.
For those who don’t know, before I started serving as a
Youth Ministry volunteer, I had never been involved in any parish youth
ministry program, not as a teen nor as a volunteer. I had no idea when I
started if this was going to be a long-term thing. It was through a random
conversation (not-so-random in hindsight) in SCU’s Campus Ministry office where
I originally heard from a friend that Holy Family was searching for Youth
Ministry volunteers. During this conversation, I explained how I wanted to
continue in spiritual leadership after my graduation and had thought of youth
ministry as a way to continue that. Since my parents were part of the Simbang
Gabi choir at Holy Family, I had known they had an established youth ministry
program. With no prior experience in youth ministry, I ideally wanted to start somewhere
that had an established program. It worked out, and here I am two years later,
still volunteering in youth ministry.
Well, let me amend that last statement. I’m not just “still
volunteering” in youth ministry; I’ve become passionate about it, a lot of it thanks
to an in-depth conversation I had with a couple of good friends the end of my
LA Congress experience. I’m always trying to come up with new ideas for how to
best minister to the teens I work with. Whether that is ideas for future
meetings, thinking of how to engage the parents I meet in the 15-30 seconds I
have with, or trying to think of ideas to improve the ministry, my brain feels
like it’s always moving when it comes to youth ministry. Admittedly that
passion is a double-edged sword sometimes. When I feel there’s something that
really needs to be improved in youth ministry, I get frustrated inside very
easily, which isn’t the healthiest for me. And sometimes that passion gets in
the way of giving new ideas (that I didn’t think of) a chance at first. I feel
controlling that passion will come with time and overall I find it fulfilling that
I have this passion for youth ministry.
Now moving on to the teens themselves, they’re an interesting
bunch. There are definitely Sundays where they drive me crazy (usually from
having a small group I fail to control) and I’m like, “Uhhh….” at the end.
There are moments where a teen, usually in complete innocence, says something
or makes a joke that is completely offensive and I’m standing there with a
blank face not sure how to respond. And there are other things from working
with teens that leave me either drained or flabbergasted. But despite that, I
absolutely love them. They bring a lot of energy to the table. Talking with
them, doing activities with them, and overall seeing them is sometimes the
highlight of my weekend.
If there’s one component of youth ministry I really love, it’s
relational ministry, ministering to the teens by creating relationships with
them. I enjoy checking in on them, asking them about their weeks, and listening
to them talk about their lives. I love learning what they love, which helps me
understand them a little better. This component of ministry allows me to be
looser and allows me to be most present with where the teens are at. Connecting
with teens is one of the primary reasons I keep coming back every Sunday. To
provide a short example, when I told one of my teens last Sunday that I wasn’t
going to be at Holy Family today, they responded, “Noooo…” and gave me a hug
before I said good-bye for the night. Moments like that make me realize that at
least some of the teens really appreciate me, even if I may not be able to
recognize it at times. In that moment, I saw God’s love come alive through
someone 10 years younger than me. Moments like that are why I’m grateful to be
involved in this ministry and have the opportunity to serve the specific teens
I serve.
I could write more but I’ll call it a wrap right for now.
I’m glad I had this break from youth ministry to take a step back and reflect
on my time volunteering in it. This time next Sunday, I’ll be ready and roaring
to go to minister to the teens once again.
A small sampling of some of the teens I've gotten to be with through Youth Ministry.
No comments:
Post a Comment