A Weekend to Remember

Disciple-Now weekend at Highland Baptist Church was most definitely that–a weekend to remember. I was privileged to participate in these activities but, in so doing, I was obligated to lead a group of ninth and tenth grade boys in a small group setting. These guys were a great group that taught me probably more than I could ever teach them. Our picture is included below.

The weekend was highlighted by an intense study of the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer led by our featured speaker Jon Gillis. Jon’s messages challenged the students to evaluate their commitment to Christ and go deeper in their relationship to Him. From these sessions we dispersed to small groups where leaders would ask the students to respond to questions related to that session’s message. The idea was for the small groups to find practical applications to the biblical truth expounded in the worship service.

While the D-Now was an exhausting experience for both students and leaders, it was a rewarding experience for all as well. The guys reminded me what I enjoy most about ministry–building relationships with individuals. Some of they guys in the group I led had brothers or sisters in the youth group when I interned there in the summer of 2001, so I got to catch-up with their siblings and their families. I also accompanied many of these students to children’s camp that summer, so I remembered them from that experience as well. The boys taught me many things, including how to “goose” someone, how to respond to any question with a completely different question (namely, “When are you going to stop asking questions, Jon?”), how to stay awake all night. They also reminded me of the many silly things that freshmen in high school do, like play doorknob and safety. It was a great experience and I look forward doing it again.