The other day I was watching a rerun of an old episode of Cheers. While the theme song was playing I heard the words and realized how much
those lyrics can relate to students coming to a small group or to your weekend service.
“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.”
A lot of students are coming to service with some heavy hearts and some deep issues they are dealing with. Coming to a worship service should be a time we can take a break from all of our worries and just be with God for a while. I see some of our high school students who are our “core kids” at Saddleback Church 3-4 times a week. I’m sure a lot of them are there because they are really convicted in their walk with God, but I also know that some of them are there because they are escaping from something going on in their lives. Don’t be fooled into thinking your core kids are doing just fine…take the time to find out.
“Sometimes you wanna go..where everybody knows your name
and they’re always glad you came.”
This may seem like a small thing, but it’s really not. When you take the time to get to know a student by name that tells them a couple of important things. It tells them that they belong. They are not just some nameless face that showed up at your small group or your weekend service. It tells them that someone cares enough to take the time to get to know them. It helps them to begin to open up and talk and share with others. It tells them you are glad they showed up today!
“You wanna be where you can see, the troubles are all the same.”
Students often think that the troubles they are going through are theirs alone, no one can understand what they are dealing with because no one else is going through what they are. When you get students involved in a small group they realize they are NOT alone, often times my small group guys are struggling with stuff I struggled with at some point in my life. Problems get easier to deal with when we know we’re not alone, that others have dealt with and overcome the same issues we have.
