I have been on the committee for Rockdale YoungLife for 3 1/2 years now and I love it. A few years ago I would not have planned on saying that. In fact I would have said the exact opposite. Not because I don't like the ministry but because it didn't seem like it would fit me. Here's how it all started.
After Zach and I moved to Conyers and found a church we were invited out to dinner by newish friend (now great friend) Michael Edwards. He was the regional director for YoungLife in Rockdale County. Neither Zach nor I had ever heard of YL so we spent the evening learning the basics of the ministry. I immediately knew there was NO WAY I was doing it. Not that I didn't think it was a great concept but because the idea of hanging out with high school girls and playing silly/weird/gross/ games pretty much terrified and repulsed me. I am just not that kind of girl and wasn't in my teenage years either. (sorry if you already thing I am a boring person!) Zach of course that it was awesome and decided to start helping as their music guy and quickly was entrenched in camps, hangouts, games, etc.
After a couple years of giving monthly and donating food at certain events I felt led to give a little more so I asked about joining the committee. I have now been on the committee for 3 1/2 years and have loved being a part of it. Planning and organizing is definitely a better fit for me! Our job is to be the driving force behind the business end of the ministry so that the director and volunteer leaders can have as much available time as possible to build relationships with teens in the community.
Right after I joined committee we lost our regional director due to lack of funds and have been running on a volunteer basis only. It's been a difficult time but we have seen God's hand in the ministry still. Our volunteer leader numbers have grown and more and more kids keep coming to club as God uses our small attempts to do big things. We've also finally worked ourselves out of our debt and have a positive balance though there is a long way to go before we are able to have a staff member again.
A few weeks ago Leslie and I were able to go to one of the YL camps for Committee Weekend. The weekend is designed to give us a taste of the experience teens get as well as having different sessions available to give ideas to help your committee run smoother and build up the ministry. We started off the day a bit overwhelmed not only with the amount of information given but the amount of work our area still needs to do to improve. However God took those fears and turned them into encouragement as we realized how many people and resources there are available to accomplish it. The largest resource we found was HIM. The whole time we felt prayer being an overwhelming theme in our needs. Were we praying for every aspect of the needs in our ministry before, after and during? Were we praying for what decisions to make? Were we praying for guidance? The answer was inevitably not nearly like we should be. We came home from the weekend and shared our findings and after prayer decided that our first course of action is to pray. We've planned a monthly prayer night to pray for YL and seek God's guidance it what are the next things to come.
I am asking you to set aside some time Tuesday evening October 11 to pray. If you live near Conyers we are meeting at LightHouse Village. If you live elsewhere please just spend some time lifting up the people and future of this ministry we call YoungLife.
If you want more information about how to give financially please visit this page to set up an account and choose Rockdale County area # GA132.
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