REFLECTION PAPER

I was a babysitter for 10 weeks. I spent my time keeping kids from making out and from beating each other up. There was some time where I was able to build relationships with the students, but they mostly wanted to hang out with their friends. My problem is that most of the students in this ministry are geared toward activities that I have not even dabbled in. I learned that in a setting like the one at College Wesleyan church, where there are that many kids, having a large number of staff members is a must. The number of adults caring for the kids has to increase as the attendance increases or the ministry will suffer.
My supervisor and I did not spend much time together. Most of my supervised time was me observing him at work within the youth group. I did not see him planning the group activities or writing his sermons. We did have one talk where I learned that he is actually going into prevention of juvenile misdemeanors. I learned that the youth pastor attracts kids that have a similar background to him. He comes from a hard life where he ended up making a lot of bad decisions and many of the kids seem like they come from the same background. I also learned that I need to meet kids where they are at. These kids needed to hear the basic biblical truths because they had no church background and that is exactly what Mike is giving them.
I have learned a lot about myself and how I would work in a ministry setting like this one. After this experience I believe that youth ministry is not for me. Even now I find it difficult to relate to the kids in culture. I know that I really enjoy working with the leadership team and that organization might be my gift.
This practicum has been a gradual downhill slope. I started out pretty hopeful and excited for this new opportunity, but as time passed I became less sure that I was supposed to minister to kids. Even with all the preparation and study in class, as well as 6 years attending a youth group, I cannot seem to connect to these kids. My spiritual journey has been consistent in the disciplines, but inconsistent in the results. It leads me to the conclusion that I am not made for youth Ministry.