Back In The Saddle

Youth Revolution Back At It

Over the last several weeks, the youth have been getting together once again.  The first week we had a game night where the teens could just enjoy some time together and reconnect after the summer holidays.  The following week, Robert led the group in a discussion about the Bible and why we believe that it is true.  The group was small, but everyone was active in the discussion.  This past Friday, I taught a lesson on how and why God shows His strength in our weakness.  It was wonderful to see Julian join us this past week, as we haven't seen him in quite some time as well as having Nikča join us once again after visiting once last year and again coming to join us a few weeks ago for our game night.  

Group One acting out an advertisement for a spring.  Each group had to create a compelling commercial for why the judges should buy their spring.

Group Two performing their advertisement wasn't very successful as their spring failed to do what it should in their commercial , even though it was funny.

Two weeks ago, I began something new for the youth who were interested.  I began leading a Bible study on Fridays before the regular youth meetings.  My goal in doing this is to support the youth who are interested in growing in their knowledge of the Bible by leading them in a study of the gospel of John, while encouraging them to do daily personal devotions in both the New Testament and the Old.  Currently, the group includes: Kuba, Maggie and Eliška.  Please pray for me as I lead this group.  Pray that I would filled with wisdom from God as I direct the study and as I attempt to answer questions that they might have from their daily devotional study in the books of Exodus and Romans.  Pray that I would lead well by example as I keep up with the same personal study that I have asked the youth to do.  Pray also for Kuba, Maggie and Eliška, that they would continue to grow in their hunger for a greater knowledge of God and a closer relationship with Him.  Pray also that as they grow in the knowledge of God, they would become spiritual leaders among their peers.

Yesterday, Robert, Míla and I met to discuss our cooperation over the last year and make improvements as we planned for this school year.  It was great to hear how we were all on the same page as we discussed things that we saw as working well and things that we thought we needed to improve or change.  One of the things that we decided to do was to make our teaching more cohesive by choosing particular themes to work through throughout the year and dividing those themes into subtopics that Robert and I could choose to teach on so that we could more easily support and reenforce things that the other is teaching from week to week and focus the youth as they consider the different topics.  We also spoke about different ways that we could make the two groups feel more like one by encouraging greater cooperation among the youth as they take greater ownership of the group through the organizing of snacks, games, and special events.  Pray that the youth would become one and that people from both groups would feel as though it is as much their group as it is for the other.  Pray also that the little groups within the whole group would begin to disappear so that each person would feel just as comfortable interacting with someone from the other group as they do interacting with someone from their own church.

This coming weekend, Youth Revolution will not meet as some of us will be away at BrodFest, a gathering of Církev bratrská youth from across the country which meets every other year.  BrodFest includes seminars on different topics, fellowship opportunities and worship.  Pray that this would be an encouraging weekend for the youth who attend and that it would help to draw them closer to God.  Pray also that they would build some relationships with other believers from across the country.  Pray that we would have some good discussion within our group as they listen and learn.  Pray for me personally as I'm quite sure I won't get much rest, sleeping on the floor of a school during the weekend.

Back To School

A couple of weeks ago, I began my regular school visits once again, meeting with students that I have met before as well as with new classes of students.  The teachers who took part in the English camp this past summer by either sending their children or attending with their families only had positive things to say about their experience with the camp and said that they were already looking forward to the next camp.  We also discussed greater cooperation between me and their school by having me lead an English conversation group at their school every other week and by some of the teachers encouraging their students to attend the teen conversation group at the church on Tuesdays.  One teacher in fact offered to attend with any of her students that might be interested in coming to the conversation group at the church so that those who might be a little more shy but interested could feel more comfortable attending.  Pray that these visits and conversation groups might bare more fruit for the English camp, the youth group and the church.