Youth Year End Celebration

The Capricorn Community Church Youth Committee (fore mentioned in recent posts) met and planned a Year End Youth Celebration. The idea was that we look back at 2011 and praise God for what He’s done. This idea was both exciting and hard – as we’ve all been through a lot together. I’ve always said I’m not here to be their friends, so when they’re not walking in a manner worthy of God’s calling, I let them know. There have been more than one Friday Youth where I cry and cry because I’m disappointed in these youth, BUT there have been many Fridays and weeks where I’ve seen baby-steps and slight progress in their Christian walk. So, we wanted to give God glory for His work and His pruning through this year.

The Youth Committee was given total freedom to plan – giving them ownership of things always makes the events and goals succeed because they fight and work for what they want and what they want to succeed. I sat back and took notes. The conclusion: they wanted to have awards presented (certificates with superlatives), they wanted to dress up in costumes (categories were given: best pair, most creative, recycled style, celebrity, etc), food was to be involved (no surprise), dance competitions on the agenda, and they even wanted to invited THEIR PARENTS! I laughed and laughed thinking about all the aspects of the night and the fact that if Meagan and I had come up with these requirements – specifically dress in costume and invite your parents – they would have balked at the idea and not shown up. But, with plans in place, everyone left the meeting with tasks and responsibilities. Everyone pulled their weight and the night was a HIT!

There were two emcees, dance competitions amongst the parents, light snacks, costumes and I made a video to recap almost every big and small event from 2011. Even our visiting teams made an appearance in the video and shouts of excitement came over the crowd when they saw my American friends! There were also some very sweet testimonies from our youth about certain aspects of Youth this year that touched them and allowed them to grow. I was very impressed with the outcome of the night … and year. God’s plans are unfolding –slowly – and we’re waiting patiently for 2012 to see what else He will do in and through the Youth of Capricorn Community Church.