We are blessed at BCMC with an abundance of wonderful youth. A good portion of my energy over the past six weeks has been spent getting to know them: their names, families, passions, hopes, dreams, and struggles.

Each and every participant in BCMC’s youth program is involved in numerous activities on top of school – from football to school newspaper to youth orchestra to tennis and cross-country. In the midst of an endless flurry of activity, I am constantly humbled when they all show up to be together on Wednesday nights and even Sunday mornings – laughing, sharing, and sometimes venting about odd teachers and boring classes. I hope that BCMC can be a true space of Sabbath for our busy youth.

The season of life we call “youth” is a roller-coaster ride. Contrary to popular belief, teenage years are probably not the “best years of your life.” Youth cope with immense challenges and stressors far beyond choosing where to attend college or how to navigate relationships with parents and teachers. Youth sponsors, David and Karen Levan and Ben Lichti, and I wonder about how to best be a supportive and life-giving relational presence for youth as they navigate their growing sense of independence and identity formation. How do we as a congregation continue to communicate how a life modeled after Jesus is relevant in this stage of life?

During a recent time of sharing, a couple of our youth group members who spent two months with their family on a bike trip to Alaska talked about how their eyes were opened to the vast landscapes, diversity, and possibilities of God’s creation. The same can be said about the life of faith, and the same can be said for our youth as well – vast, diverse, full of possibility, and created by God.

– John Tyson