January 2009 Youth PresbyNotes Meditation

2008 was an exciting journey for us as a youth group. We shared many great experiences with each other and maybe even made a few good memories on the way. Above is just a collage of some of the activities that we did in 2008 as a youth group.

Stop and give thanks for the ways in which we have seen God moving in our life as a youth group. The ways God has brought us closer together, the ways in which God has brought new faces to our youth group, the many ways God has opened the door for opportunities to go out into the community and serve him, the ways in which God has showed us how much we are loved and cared for. This past year we spent much time learning and trying to figure what community is and what that looks like for a youth group. We had our share of good times and yes, even some bad times. Overall though, 2008 was a year that brought the youth group of First Presbyterian Church closer together. It brought us a few steps closer to community!

What is to come in 2009 for us? What will our community look like as we further explore the topic of love and what exactly it means and looks like? What adventures will we embark on? What will South Dakota look like as we serve a people who has suffered years of oppression and poverty? In what ways will we see ourselves and our faith grow and stretch in this next year? How will we welcome the handful of new 6th graders in August? In what ways are we going to experience God’s grace?

My prayer for us is that we will continue to seek the risen Lord in everyone we meet. That we will continue to work towards community and learning how to LOVE one another along the way. My hope is that we will become a youth group where not only we feel welcomed but our friends will feel it so much that they want to come back. Above all my hope is that we will worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as often as we can and through every activity we have. May 2009 become for us a year of Jubilee and a demonstration of the Kingdom of God to the world!