And They’re Off!

I was so excited for Saturday, to me it was a day I had been highly anticipating. It was the Belmont, the third part of the Triple Crown. Big Brown the favorite, like many before him failed to complete one of sports most difficult feats…the Triple Crown. So on Saturday I was bummed, sad, disappointed but still hoping that one day I will see a Triple Crown Winner.
When they analyzed the race they tried to figure out what caused Big Brown’s outcome. They noted that he stumbled a little bit at the starting gate, that he might have been kicked going into the first turn, that the foot injuries and heat could have slowed him down and someone mentione that maybe Big Brown was just not feeling it that day.
Today officially starts planning for Church of the Nativity’s new program Ascent for 5th and 6th graders. There are many reasons to why we are starting this program but the main reason is to ease the transition that a student makes from elementary school into middle school. From what I’ve seen in middle school 6th graders are a group of kids who still want to be kids and the world around them is changing and that’s confusing. Ascent’s goal is to help with that transition.
This will be the first major program that has been started in youth ministry since I’ve been here. Both Resurrection and Uprising were transitioned from old programs; but, Ascent is brand new.
I guess you can say launching a program is like any race. I expect Ascent to stumble a little bit at the beginning; however, to avoid a catastrophe it’s important to clarify vision, purpose and assign your ministers to specific roles.
I also know along the way we are going to battle outside influences from rec sports, Raven’s football to programmatic schedule and confusion of something new. To make sure the “heat” doesn’t get to you it’s important to create a healthy ministry team. Whether your program is old or new a healthy ministry team will withstand the bumps and bruises of spiritual battle.
Lastly, I know sometimes we just don’t “feel like it”. There will be times we’ll feel as if Ascent is a waste of time, it’s too hard, or just not our thing. That’s when you know you have to work on creating community within your ministry. When you create community it’s no longer about doing and it’s more about being with God and others.
I know I have high expectations for Ascent and have hopes that it will be a great program, but understand that along the way it may be a little tough. Like our other youth programs Ascent will strive to create irresistible environments where we can raise up Godly youth. Youth that can worship, connect, serve, grow and reach out together. As long as we stay focused, rely on God and community we should run a clean race.