In case you are unaware of it, we have an awesome teen group at our church.  Last fall when Howard came to the Master’s Class to ask if we would like to work with the teens to host the Teacher Appreciation Dinner, I thought, do we have enough in common to do that?  Since it has been a while since any of us were teenagers, did we know how to communicate with them?  After all, I doubt that many of us associate much with any of our teenagers except to say “hello.”  But this would be an excellent opportunity for us to work together and get to know each other.  So we said “yes.”

My first contact with the teens was one Wednesday night when I went to their class to talk about what we wanted them to do for this dinner.  I was a bit intimidated to meet this group of young people that I knew little about but I was pleasantly surprised.  They listened to me, even though at times I wondered if they heard me.   They continued following instructions all through the planning stages and the actual event.  They worked hard, both at setting up the fellowship room, which we transformed into the Teen Cafe for the evening, and at the actual evening itself.  They greeted, served, and attended to every need of their guests.  They were even in the kitchen washing dishes, my least favorite job.  They did all this side by side with the Master’s Class, two generations of people working together to serve others.  I think we know each other a little better now.

 Looking back on my experience with the teens, I come away with these two thoughts.  When you work together to bring glory to God, it doesn’t matter whether you are 11 or 87.  What matters is that you bring the glory to God.  The second is that our young people are working to bring that glory to God.  They are the future of our church and I know our church is in good hands.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  I don’t think any of our teens were thinking about letting their light shine but that is what they were doing.  Let your light shine and let Jesus shine through you.

~Kathy K.