Vineyard East Youth

I’m trying a new thing out with my youth that I wanted to run by everyone to see if you’ve done this before and if it worked well for you. I’m really excited about it. We are starting it this Sunday a new series i’m calling ‘expressions in vanity’. And going through the book of ecclesiastes. I’ve never done a series solely on an entire book of the bible but how I want to lay it out I think it’ll go over real well. The whole thing with Ecclesiastes is…finding the hard truth that we can’t do this thing life on our own. Searching and traveling through our life making decisions for ourselves and choosing our own paths leads us to see how far we can really take ourselves (aka not far). And I don’t know about you, but im sure it’s not too different with teens all around, there is a certain arrogance about life. Not yet free as an adult, yet, out of the shackels of childhood. And there are more choices to make on their own, however, we as humans, and especially at that age, we grab a hold of it and run and decide everything for ourselves. Well, seeing this as just common among my teens and re-reading through ecclesiastes there was a clear portrait of a need to move into the topic of vanity and how it’s mentioned in ecclesiastes.

How I’m picturing this is the typical gather and hang out for a bit. A fun game or something crazy and then gathering up for about a 15-20 min talk. Break the group up into groups of 2′s or 3′s with 3 questions for them to discuss that pertains to that weeks lesson. Then finish with them praying for one another in their smaller group. I’ve broken them down before and they seem more productive when in a smaller setting.

The point here in all this is maybe just an idea for you and your group (and I’ll let you know how it goes) but also subjects that relate to not a broad spectrum of just teens in general, but for that specific group. And allowing them to be one on one mirroring the books imagery of ‘you can’t do it on your own’ lifestyle. And we’ve practiced prayer before and hearing Gods voice and so in an effort to allow them to develop deeper relationships with each other, now they are taking it to another level and releasing that to God.

If this is something you’d like to further talk about, please email me, but I’d like to see feedback from those that have done an entire book with their youth and seen results.

I think in all this and in the times we are in it’s important to realize there is a God who cares and is there to love and lean on. When our youth don’t know that and/or are naive of that fact they have no choice but to do it themselves. I want to take the effort in making sure it is a clear understanding we were made for something greater than who we are or what we even see with our eyes. The first step is recognizing the problem, vanity. And now we learn together how to move from it onto Him.