Ministry

Middle school ministry has been super fun for me lately. Every Thursday and Sunday I get to hang out with a whole bunch of middle schoolers who are trying to figure out who they are. It's an interesting time for girls especially (boys too, but since I'm a girl, I know what they're going through more than boys) because of the insecurities that surround pre-teen and early teen years.

My observations about middle school girls:

The sixth graders come in each year as energetic little ones who just want to have lots of fun, want you to love them, and sometimes want to cause lots of trouble (mainly for attention seeking reasons).

When they get to seventh grade, they grow (a lot), they start seeing that boys are there, they develop their little cluster of friends, and they generally start liking you as a volunteer leader, not just someone to pay attention to them.

By the time they're in eighth grade, they have a much better sense of self, they can think more abstractly, and they start becoming little adults.

It's hard to say which stage is my favorite because I like them all for different reasons. I'm just so blessed to be working with the kids here in Stayton, and I'm blessed to have a husband who loves them so much and is passionate for their hearts.