This morning, I was at the club at Pearland JH West. It is just a wonderful club. Let me tell you about it.
There is a leadership team that is made up of 4 8th grade girls: April, Abby, SaraBeth and Milan. They are wonderful, each dedicated and gifted in their own way. April seems to be the behind the scene, take charge, back bone leader type. Abby is the teacher, talker, leader type. SaraBeth is the praying, dedicated, behind the scene, driven by her passion for God. I don't have a read on Milan yet. She was ill this morning and quiet the last time I was there.
April is who greeted me when I came to the first club, introducing herself, explaining what they were doing. SaraBeth prayed at the flag pole for See you at the Pole – alone in 2010. I believe that SaraBeth might be the driving force behind this club, however, she is painfully shy, yet she overcame that to recruit others to help her start a club. And now, she is a leader. She prayed this morning – did a great job. Abby is the only teacher/speaker I have heard so far, however, I understand that she and Milan switch off.
This is what I have done the 3 times I have been at West. I have clapped and cheered and told them what a great job they were doing. I have linked them to the other clubs, by telling them about the CITY shirts and by telling them about the other clubs. This morning, I brought them food: Donated 2 bite brownies with sprinkles and a glop of yellow frosting. They were thrilled!
Another thing. I told them I would normally put 2 brownies on a napkin and April and SaraBeth took over and started doing it. It's a simple skill and I'm sure it doesn't sound like much, but April and SaraBeth, eagerly embraced it and started doing it and took it over. Teachable.
After the club, I picked up trash. I am thrilled to pick up trash for these clubs, because it makes sure the club stays in good standing with the school. Close things down, so that all the student leaders can get to class on time.
They were thrilled to hear about the shirts. Thrilled to have brownies. I was thrilled to be there. This morning, I was the only adult in the auditorium. There were 96 students today. Last time, there were 2 adults, me and another youth pastor. Adult help is an easy way to support these clubs and so important. The safety ratio for a club of this type is 1 adult to every 30 students. It is important that the church step up and do this. It is a preventative measure: It prevents the problems the students could get into. It prevents the problems the school could have with the unsupervised students – alone in the auditorium. It prevents the school having to come up with the personnel to supervise the students, which would also be supervising the club, which can lead to other issues. And it becomes the church supporting the church, the adults supporting students. I love that.
And here is what I was made for. At some point, I became a welcome addition to their leadership team. Welcome to help, welcome to contribute. Not the leader or the master, but a fellow team player. And I love that. I love coming along students and helping them fulfill their vision of a having a great club at their school. I hope you are hearing me: I don't want to be in charge: I don't really think that is appropriate, but I do like being a team player and I don't have any trouble being an equal on a student leadership team.
That's what I was made for.
