readwithem Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/27/teens-challenged-to-do-hard-things/ This is timely - my 16 yo dd has been reading this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Thanks for the heads up on this book! I completely agree with their premises, btw. Kids are so very capable! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinag Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 I just picked up this book for my ds. He thought it was cool that Chuck Norris wrote the forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in AR Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Thanks for this. I'm ordering it for my 13yos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in WA Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 My husband is a missionary in the USA. One of his ministries is directing a Bible camp. Years ago a fellow missionary developed Youth Leadership. This is a ministry for teens starting in 7th grade. They participate in a local Youth Leadership group that meets 2-4 times per month. It is not a youth group as many of us know youth groups. It is an intensive discipleship program. The young people are held accountable, required to keep a Bible/prayer log, do personal devotions, and participate in a ministry. They study Scripture as a group at their meetings. For those who meet the requirements of the group (which is normally 100% of the group), some groups then take a mission trip which is usually going to a small town in a different area than where they live to do a Vacation Bible School (which the young people lead) and/or work projects. But the ultimate goal of Youth Leadership, is to have these young people work at our Bible camp in the summer. A large percentage of our summer camp staff is teens. For five weeks of camp, they serve by washing dishes, cleaning toilets, doing yard work, all forms of manual labor, and most importantly, lead cabins of younger children. These teens work hard - very hard. They are stretched beyond their personal abilities and endurance levels. But they still keep going. When the summer ministries are done, they will gather and cry because it is over. They want more. When they reach 16 years old, they may apply to be summer missionaries with our mission agency. They raise their own support and serve extra time in the summer. We've been involved with Youth Leadership ministry for nearly twenty years. I must say there is nothing like watching teens teaching the Bible to little ones. There is nothing like watching a teen lead a child to Christ. There is nothing like watching a group of teens gathered in intense prayer for a child who is spiritually lost. There is nothing like watching them encourage one another, love one another, be the body of Christ to one another. There is nothing like watching them grow into adulthood to continue to be amazing people. Some do wander and rebel, but most stand firm. Our youngest son is in his second year of Youth Leadership. Our daugther is in her fifth and her second as a summer missionary. My son and I were talking as I drove home from camp about some strangers we had seen at the grocery store. They had talked about spending the summer at a lake cabin and how much they were enjoying it. Our son mentioned how happy they looked. I jokingly remarked that anyone would be happy to spend the summer at this beautiful lake. He said, "It wouldn't be as fulfilling as working at camp." Trust me when I say that he has done very hard things this summer. I am proud of my two teens and all the other young people they work with. Teens are great people capable of far more than we expect or imagine. Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie in VA Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hey I just took my teen & preTeen to the Rebelution conference, just yesterday! It was great! It was a really big turnout... 3,200 teens and their parents! These guys are very impressive. We've always known are kids could do much more then our current society expects.. it was nice to have our kids see other teens who believe this and are into 'doing hard things'! Their book and the whole conference began with an idea that teens are more capable then society expects. They then created a blog to share their ideas. That's it. They idea took off from there. The wonders of God are so clear here. He is so great! Here is their website: http://www.therebelution.com/ hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 My husband is a missionary in the USA. One of his ministries is directing a Bible camp. Years ago a fellow missionary developed Youth Leadership. This is a ministry for teens starting in 7th grade. They participate in a local Youth Leadership group that meets 2-4 times per month. It is not a youth group as many of us know youth groups. It is an intensive discipleship program. The young people are held accountable, required to keep a Bible/prayer log, do personal devotions, and participate in a ministry. They study Scripture as a group at their meetings. For those who meet the requirements of the group (which is normally 100% of the group), some groups then take a mission trip which is usually going to a small town in a different area than where they live to do a Vacation Bible School (which the young people lead) and/or work projects. But the ultimate goal of Youth Leadership, is to have these young people work at our Bible camp in the summer. A large percentage of our summer camp staff is teens. For five weeks of camp, they serve by washing dishes, cleaning toilets, doing yard work, all forms of manual labor, and most importantly, lead cabins of younger children. These teens work hard - very hard. They are stretched beyond their personal abilities and endurance levels. But they still keep going. When the summer ministries are done, they will gather and cry because it is over. They want more. When they reach 16 years old, they may apply to be summer missionaries with our mission agency. They raise their own support and serve extra time in the summer. We've been involved with Youth Leadership ministry for nearly twenty years. I must say there is nothing like watching teens teaching the Bible to little ones. There is nothing like watching a teen lead a child to Christ. There is nothing like watching a group of teens gathered in intense prayer for a child who is spiritually lost. There is nothing like watching them encourage one another, love one another, be the body of Christ to one another. There is nothing like watching them grow into adulthood to continue to be amazing people. Some do wander and rebel, but most stand firm. Our youngest son is in his second year of Youth Leadership. Our daugther is in her fifth and her second as a summer missionary. My son and I were talking as I drove home from camp about some strangers we had seen at the grocery store. They had talked about spending the summer at a lake cabin and how much they were enjoying it. Our son mentioned how happy they looked. I jokingly remarked that anyone would be happy to spend the summer at this beautiful lake. He said, "It wouldn't be as fulfilling as working at camp." Trust me when I say that he has done very hard things this summer. I am proud of my two teens and all the other young people they work with. Teens are great people capable of far more than we expect or imagine. Cindy wow - that's so great Cindy! Thanks for sharing. Since my dd has been reading the book, she's been going out of her way to take the initiative to do little household chores without being asked - well worth the $$ for the book :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hey I just took my teen & preTeen to the Rebelution conference, just yesterday! It was great! It was a really big turnout... 3,200 teens and their parents! These guys are very impressive. We've always known are kids could do much more then our current society expects.. it was nice to have our kids see other teens who believe this and are into 'doing hard things'! Their book and the whole conference began with an idea that teens are more capable then society expects. They then created a blog to share their ideas. That's it. They idea took off from there. The wonders of God are so clear here. He is so great! Here is their website: http://www.therebelution.com/ hth That's so great Kathie! We were going to the one in Dallas but it happened to fall the weekend we moved here. Maybe next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Thank you! I am adding this one to my list - the top of my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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