okay, i need to know how to survive going to a youth group in a church thats about 20 miles away and you dont go to the same school as they do AND nightly youth group programes are to hard to come to?
i really need the advice. Thanks!
Maybe ... they need the advice more than you do ....
Often kids get ingrown and cut people out. Leaders need to get people to realize
they represent the church to the most excluded attendee.
Soap opera dramas within the youth group contribute to this.
Kids need to be led to look outwardly, particularly to those God leads into their group.
Kids often come ready-made to produce a community but it's critical to impress on kids that
youth group is a community of Christ or it's just a social club. You can't have Christ around -- not for long -- and defy His principles for community (1 Cor 11-14, e.g.).
That's something we have to work on as youth group workers and leaders.
So what can you do as an attendee? There are a few things.
First, this community is not about joining or leaving. It's about redeeming -- what can you do to contribute to Christ's community? There are dozens of ideas and options.
Are you within biking distance of another church's youth group? Can you be helpful and enjoy the people there? The church likely doesn't care that you're not a member (and vice versa).
Can you find something that'll fit with a parent's schedule, if there's not something instantly nearby?
Further afield, can you give to someone else out of your need for the group to be more available and outgoing? That is, I've found often when I feel some gap, that is often God telling me to fill that gap for someone else.
I know these are really abstract. And I jump far out from what your original question really was, maybe I didn't even answer it. For that I'm sorry, but your posting strikes me as a big issue and an important problem today.
For the record, my church was also far away. I was a constant at Sunday School -- every week, it was really critical to me personally. I learned so much from Joe Novenson (now @ Lookout Mountain Pres). But I couldn't make it to youth group.
