Fall Practicum Week 5
Week 5 (10/5/08)Record of Ministry Activities
Plan and Coordinate Youth Events on Tuesday (1 ½ Hours)
Traditional Youth Group (2 ½ Hours)
Total Ministry Hours: 4 Hours
Personal Reflection on Ministry
I actually left youth group tonight feeling depressed. See, we had a change in youth leaders this semester, and so far, it hadn't been bad. Until tonight, however. This was the first night of youth group that I left feeling bad for the students that attended. Nothing was organized, nothing was planned. And it was clear that both of those things were true. It was truly sad. I had to make the powerpoint slides as soon as I got there, because they had not been made earlier. I had to make sure all the music was set up for the worship band. I even had to sing for a couple of songs because the “lead singer” was not present. So, I ended up doing so much and feeling burnt out almost as soon as I got there. That is not a pleasant feeling. The message from the youth pastor was disheartened and the worship seemed forced. It was a disappointing night for the youth group. There aren't a whole lot of nights that are like this, but they do happen. It makes me wonder how to avoid situations like this in the future. In my future ministry, being unprepared is something that I want to avoid as much as possible. Whether it is a sermon or a worship set, I want to be able to have things planned out and ready to go. Because not only does the ministry suffer an image crisis, but the people attending the ministry suffer spiritually. Which brings me to my next point...
Spiritual Reflection
I noticed that at youth group, when there was no clear direction in the service, my mind just wandered. It made me think back as to how I process messages and sermons. In homiletics, we discussed the fact that it is an important thing to have a process or thought train throughout the entire service. One thing leads to the next and to the next until it all makes sense. Well, at youth group, there was no real process and no real connection. This made it really difficult to process and connect with what was happening both in worship and teaching. So instead of having a solid spiritual connection with God and the youth group, I felt let down. I felt let down by the worship team, the youth pastor, and myself. It was so frustrating spiritually that I was forced to look at the importance of planning again. Who would have thought that a well organized service could so positively affect the spiritual gains and losses of the congregation. It was something that struck me hard tonight, and something that I will definitely remember for a long time. Especially once I am in a ministry somewhere.
posted by Tyler Murphy @ 10:14 PM
1 Comments:
Tyler, let me start by saying i will pray for you and the leader of your youth group, it is hard to think that someone is not taking ministry seriously. But i have a concern. My concern is with you being surprised when you showed up. I think you could help him out if you would work with him during the week. Go in and tell him you will make the powerpoint or ask if he would like you to come up with a game or two. Anything that will kind of get him going in the right direction, that way when you come to youth group you guys are on the same page and you are not overwhelmed. I would also talk to the worship leader and let him or her know that there is responsibility on their shoulders and if they are not fully committed then you will find someone who will show up every week. I hope i dont sound harsh but it has helped me so much to meet weekly with pastor Grant and just talk about what is going on. I pray that God gives you that oppertunity.
Post a Comment
<< Home