I don’t know about you, but I absolutely loved going to my church youth group when I was younger. We’d meet on Wednesday nights in someone’s home, then usually end up going to Taco Bueno or some other fine restaurant afterwards for more ‘fellowship’. We took lots of trips together (here is one from Panama City Beach circa 1989), but mostly just hung out in someone’s living room and ate Doritos. And it was awesome.
When we moved our family back to Dallas in 2010, I feared the youth group experience may not be a reality for my boys. Our boys are extremely active and love sports. We quickly learned that signing up for sports meant each week night was filled with either a practice or a game. We fought the battle in our minds that so many of you are familiar with over and over again. How do we teach our kids the value of learning about God and making that a priority while simultaneously teaching them to honor a commitment to their respective teams? I couldn’t even tap into my parent’s wisdom on this one because that was not a conflict their generation faced.
It was on a walk with some close friends shortly after our move that the idea of ‘Armour Up’ was born. We discussed having an all boys bible study in our backyard during the summer. I’m not going to name names, but it was THESE friends (and me) that thought being outside in Texas during the summer was a good idea. (Insert blonde joke here).
Thank the Lord PCBC allowed us to use their facilities after our first summer, because Armour Up may have died as quickly as my petunias in July if we hadn’t found air conditioning.
All that to say, last night at Armour Up (week 3) reminded me so much of the Lord’s provision and creativity. He has allowed ALL of our active boys the opportunity to have their own ‘youth group’ and their own type of fellowship. (Thank goodness it doesn’t involve a subpar tourist boat in Panama City Beach). Something about meeting weekly in the summer with your buddies screams ‘recipe for success’. As parents, our shoulders all come down just a bit, and there’s not as many demands on our schedules. Fun is a priority. And bedtime is much later. THAT, and you get to do this kind of thing…
7 8 structured game time AU 6.17.15
I am so grateful for Will, Nathan, Camron and our staff for providing my sons a true ‘youth group’ experience. My prayer is that you ALL know how meaningful these Wednesday nights are for these kids. I know when you drop off and pick up, it looks like mass chaos. But I assure you there is actual learning going on. Our prayer is that Armour Up is building a foundation in each of your sons that will allow them to one day become leaders who disciple others.
Speaking of, Will Washington delivered a powerful message reiterating our WE WILL statement: ‘Because God’s grace is sufficient, WE WILL have power in our weakness. (If you are reading this on your phone it may not work, but click here for the video).
The boys all played their usual crazy games, but the #1 favorite activity this week proved to be the AU selfie station.
Because, apparently, everyone wants a close up of their nostrils. (This is not your mother’s youth group.)
Whatever your definition of youth group is, was, or has yet to be, we hope you find some comfort in knowing that all of us at Armour Up feel so privileged you’ve chosen us as your Wednesday night home. We love your kids so much! And even if we never make it to Panama City Beach, we promise them a plethora of good memories to take with them into adulthood.
The AU TEAM
Many thanks to the following: our high school volunteers, our faithful parent volunteers, PCBC & their amazing staff, AND last but not least the Bohner family for feeding our AU guys this week!! If you’d like to sign up to fuel our staff, please visit us at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48aea722a0fa7-help or click here.
Next week:
– will be the last week we will collect school supplies for Arise Africa
– our AU store will be open
Theme – #tbw (throwback Wednesday – choose any decade)
Verse – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
See you then!!