Faith in Action among Our Youth
by Jeremiah Hamby, Minister of Youth and Missions
One of the qualities that runs throughout our youth group that continues to impress me is their commitment to service. Our students are incredibly busy—going to rehearsals here, having a game on this day, going to meetings there, working jobs over here, working on homework wherever they can and, oh yeah, having school all day. However, they all also take time out of their days and weeks for service.
A few months ago, several of our youth and their families gave up a weekend to go serve during our annual Family Mission Weekend. Earlier in the year, the youth spent extra time outside our weekly activities to prepare to lead a Wednesday night Journeys session. Over the past couple of months, some of our youth have been staying after their activities to make a video for our upcoming VBS. During our church’s recent Easter Party, many of them served in various ways throughout the day. Regardless of how busy their lives are, our youth know the value of service and how important it is to be active within a community.
This culture is no mistake. It exists within our group because our youth have consistently heard how important engaging in community is and have seen our faith family live out a commitment to service with one another. We read Scripture and talk about important topics in our weekly gathering times. But the walk that they see others embody also has a profound impact on them. I say this both as a thanksgiving and a challenge for us to continue to model this culture here at Smoke Rise.
And even though the school year is coming to a close, we still have plenty of activities coming up over the summer! The Youth Choir will head to Savannah on their Sing and Serve trip; we will have a schedule of Wednesdays in the Summer (WITS); the youth will head off to Passport; and we will celebrate those who have graduated and welcome those who are coming up into the group during our “First Trip, Last Trip” event in July! Be in prayer for our group as we enter into the exciting season of summer, and as we look forward to all that God will continue to do in the lives of our youth.