Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Heating Up This Summer

On Sunday we had our End-of-the-Year Bash for the Youth Group! Since it's been so hot, we were able to start summer right with (what else?) a water balloon fight! We also did a few other water games--one called a "Wet T-shirt Contest." Now, I know what you're thinking..."Why the heck was my kid participating in that and why at church?!" The game was a relay and each team had a set of XXXL clothes soaking in a bucket of water at the starting line. One by one each youth had to put the soaking wet clothes *over* their regular clothes, and then run to the end of the area and back and hand off the clothes to the next team member. They could start taking the oversized shirt and shorts off on the way back, which would elicit some interesting cheers from the kids! Special thanks to Laurel and Chad for helping with games and cooking the hot dogs.

Today I'm starting to work on the lessons for our Hot Summer Nights series. What's that? you ask. Well, I'd be happy to tell you! Studies have found that among adults (i.e., those out of high school...we can argue later when adulthood begins), the majority receive a negative (either "It's bad--don't do it ever" or silence altogether) response from parents on the question of sex. For three Wednesday evenings in July (1, 8, 15) the youth will meet from 5-7 to eat dinner and talk about relationships, love, and sex. It will be an open dialogue and a safe space to ask questions. Note: This isn't a biology talk. I'm not going to explain how a girl "becomes a woman," and there certainly won't be any bananas involved! This is a time to explore what the Bible has to say about relationships, what God wants for each of us, and how we should treat each other in dating relationships. There's no age requirement nor a need to be at any certain "stage" in life. All are welcome.

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