Here, "youth group" includes from ages 14 and up to about 22 or so. It was really cool to see how they were all serving each other, taking care of each other.
Saturday started off in the morning with a workshop on "Worship as a lifestyle." After the youth led us in a few songs of worship and a prayer, in Czech and in English, each of us shared a personal story about a time in our life where we had decided to "present ourselves as a living sacrifice" a la Romans 12:1-2. One special thing about this is that we had come up with this plan in the van while driving home from one of the concerts, and only later found out that the theme for the whole weekend that Jared would be preaching on on Sunday was Romans 12:1-2. The kids then broke up into small groups to discuss questions each of us had posed on this topic, and then came back together and share them in the big group with all of us. It was really neat to see how they related to our stories and the ways God had taught us to worship in our lives. While all this was going on, there's a group of five or six youth peeling potatoes in the corner for lunch, also honoring God.
Speaking of lunch, we sat down together for a really delicious goulash with potatoes. We were spread out among the kids and kept the conversation going. It was really moving to see how genuine they were, how hungry for God and for truth, how humble and serving.
After lunch we conducted several different interactive workshops. One was on wellness and self-care, and it seem to be a really relevant topic and big hit with the youth. We talked about early warning signs of burnout and the need to keep yourself closely connected to God and your brothers and sisters in the faith. We also held workshops for instrumental musicians and for singers to prepare for leading the worship service the following morning at Sunday church with all of them.
This was followed by another group meal. By this time each one of us had enjoyed great conversations with at least four or five different people and it felt like hanging out among a group of old friends. It was special to have the chance to meet each person where they were, whether they had a strong faith and we're looking for further growth, or were just starting out getting to know God. And we also found that, many times, what they had to say was inspiring encouraging to us. It was definitely not a one-way street.
After dinner we all went upstairs to the sanctuary and we played a full concert for them. They were an amazing group to play for, so enthusiastic, many of them singing along, many of them obviously deeply moved in worship. All of our concerts your have been really great in different ways, but this one might have been the most special.
Seeing that the kids were so moved, one of the main facilitators decided on the spot to have a sort of panel discussion. We all were sat down on the line of 10 chairs in front of the group and asked to share a practical way to really move forward in one's personal relationship with Christ. We were not expecting this, but it was amazing to see what the Holy Spirit gave to each one of us to say. Afterwards we sat down again at tables with them and many of the kids came up to one or more of us talking about how they could relate with what we shared. We didn't head out till about 10:30 PM. It was a beautiful time.
The next morning we lead worship at the church for the whole body with the youth musicians and singers. Jared preached a fantastic message on Romans 12 in amazingly fluent Czech (there were handouts for us to follow along in English).
It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone afterwards. There were lots of hugs and some tears, and we hit the road for Telc.
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