Like a lot of churches in our tribe, we have a Wednesday evening mid-week “service” on our schedule. Virtually no one comes on a regular basis. Usually it ends up being me and one or two other guys, and we spend that time praying – for each other, for our families, for our church, for other churches in our area, and other stuff. It’s a personally and individually rewarding and encouraging time to which I look forward most weeks.
We also have a part-time student minister, who does the “big thing” for/with students on Wednesday evening as well. Our student group has been small, but it is growing in numbers every week. Here’s the thing…all of the kids who are involved in our student ministry are “unchurched” except for one guy, and he’s the one who has been the catalyst in getting the rest of the group there on Wednesdays.
Tonight, I watched and listened to a little of what was going on after the “student meeting” got over. (They have a band – don’t all high school kids want to play in a band? And the band “rehearses” after the “meeting” gets over.) Anyway…
We have all kinds of kids in that group…
We have one girl, “L” who is an interesting combination of Gothic look and Broadway voice. Tonight, she and another girl who I didn’t know, were singing highlights from The Phantom of the Opera. (Yep, I told them the story of how I ate some Phantom tickets last night. Their comment? “That sucks!” (Why would you have expected them to say anything different?)
We have another girl, “K” who is an interesting combination of Gothic and surfer chick (with an uncanny resemblance to Sheryl Crow – with maroon hair.) She has had some exposure to church in the past, but she’s not buying into it very much right now. (For the record, she was at our Sunday service this week, and her comment afterward was, “Pastor Charlie, you’re a good preacher!” Whatever…)
There are a lot of other interesting kids that hang out in and with the group. One girl claimed to be an atheist a couple of weeks ago, and was very vocal and certain about that philosophical position. She tried to initiate a heated argument in the group, and much to the credit of our student minister, he was able to talk about Jesus and share His grace in a pretty profound way. Tonight, a couple of weeks after that incident, I overheard her asking for prayer. (One side of me wanted to ask her to whom should we pray for her concerns. But that side was quickly and happily overshadowed by the side that said, “Yea, God!”)
We have bass players, we have guitarists, we even have a drummer who always reminds me of the stupid joke I told him the first night I met him. (What do you call somebody who hangs out with musicians? A drummer!)
Then we have this guy, “Z,” who has just shown up the last month or so. He’s a kind of scrawny little guy, and I’m not real sure what color of nail polish – fingers and toes – he’ll have next Wednesday night. I had the opportunity to chat with “Z” for a minute tonight. In an attempt to initiate a conversation, I asked him, “So what do you do? You don’t sing, you don’t play guitar, what brings you around this bunch?” His response: “I just like the atmosphere.” I asked, “You mean the atmosphere of the band, or the place, or what?” “Z” said, ” I just like the atmosphere of this place. The only reason I come here is because I feel like nobody’s looking down on me here.” Interesting…
If you’ve got a minute tonight, and a couple of extra prayers, would you use ’em for “L,” “K,” and especially “Z?” God’s up to something in this bunch. I’m not sure what it’s going to turn out to be, but I’m almost certain it’s not going to be your “typical” youth ministry thing. I’m watching and waiting and praying and encouraging and picking up Coke cans and candy wrappers and listening to Broadway songs and loud unrecognizable tunes and closing refrigerator doors and turning the air conditioner off and locking up after they leave on Wednesdays. All because something cool is going to happen…
