The First Steps

My youth ministry journey started the same way all the best ones do….almost by accident.

I had grown up going to church. It wasn’t just a part of my family…it was ingrained in it. My grandfather & uncle had both been pastors. My dad was in the worship band as soon as that became a thing…and the moment I could hold a somewhat steady beat I was playing drums right alongside him. There was just never a time in my life where going to church wasn’t a central part of mine and my family’s life. Then I started middle school. I could go on forever about everything THAT entailed…but that also meant I went to my first week of church camp. I LOVED it. The music was awesome. The activities were a blast. The chapel services impacted me in a very real way. On top of all that the counselors were the COOLEST! They knew all the best music, all the most spiritual bible verses, cracked the funniest jokes…from a young age I just wanted to BE them. Through all the ups and downs of my youth I always came back to camp. I always loved it and looked forward to it. I always hoped I would one day be cool enough to be one of those beloved camp counselors.

Fast forward to two years into college. One of my close youth group friends who was a senior in high school was visiting & staying with me at my place. You had to have graduated high school to work at camp. I hadn’t been brave enough to apply yet. My friend, Will, had been having a rough time recently and so had I. He wasn’t hanging around with the best of influencers, and he was worried about what his life was going to look like post high school. I hadn’t been making the best decisions myself so we were trying to encourage each other. We both loved camp so…one night while talking to him, I made a deal with him. I said, “If you apply to be on team (what the camp counselors were called)…I’ll apply with you. That was all he needed…but I’m not sure I believed he would actually go through with it.

Months passed. I had sent in the initial “interest” form to get an application…but hadn’t actually filled it out, much less sent it in. The application deadline passed. I hadn’t heard anything from Will and had yet again pushed this idea…this dream…of being a camp counselor to the back of my mind.

Then one day in February…I heard from Will.

Will: Hey man! Which preview weekend are you going to?

Me: What?

Will: Preview weekend….for camp! I sent in my application and I’m going to the first preview weekend for applicants this weekend. You coming?

I panicked. I felt awful. Will had held up his end of the bargain and I had failed him. I went to check my email…and despite not sending an application…I did have an invitation to “pick” a preview weekend just like Will had.

The email came from the assistant camp director and she happened to be someone I knew. She worked for my church’s youth group for a bit towards the end of my time in high school. I had immense respect for her…but I feared I had done too much damage as a goof off high school kid for her to think well of me. Still…I had nothing to lose.

I wrote her back. A LONG email back. I told her everything. I said, “I know I didn’t send in this application in time. That being said I’d love to come this weekend. I’d love the chance to be a part of team.” I was certain she’d give me an apologetic “Sorry but no. Try again next year.” Within the day I had a reply….”Don’t worry about it. Bring the application with you. We’ll see you this weekend!”

I learned an important lesson that day. You should turn stuff in on time. More so than that you should be open to second chances and not take them for granted when they come. Even more so…when you have the opportunity to give someone a second chance…you probably should more times than not. Grace is Christ like. I was so thankful I was given that second chance. I ended up getting the job. Will did too. It was everything we hoped it would be and more. Will met his wife and mother of his future child that summer. As for me…my journey into youth ministry had begun. It was the greatest summer of my life.