I loved reading the blog by Mark yesterday and recalling the things of this weekend that surrounded our weekly gathering as a church family. I can honestly say that I very much look forward to any of our Awaken Leadership meetings that we have because I love each of the friends that I have who serve our students with us, and I really like being around them. It’s an honor to get to discuss plans for the ministry and share vision with them, and even more so to have them involved in discipling our students (because whether they think so or not, I know they’re right for the job). To have the ministry that I am most responsible for at Journey go so well (in my eyes anyway) is quite rewarding; to know that I am part of a community that genuinely cares for one another in what I feel very strongly resembles the type of fellowship that the early church exhibited is the most rewarding. That lends itself to other efforts, plans and ministry within the local church going so smoothly.

One big thing that I love about our fellowship at Journey is that we “get” that the complete community of Jesus followers is not limited to the group of people that are a part of Journey each week. Many acknowledge this concept verbally, but not so many live it. In addition to ministry leaders at Journey, it is an honor to serve alongside other Youth ministers in the Hixson area who see just how valuable it is to bring our respective groups together in fellowship from time to time, those who realize that we have differences in the details surrounding the way we choose to worship but know that we all are serving and worshiping the One Living Almighty God. We have fun with it, but that (fellowship) is the main objective behind Sunday Night Kickball each week during the summer. We have fellowship, spend time sharing the Word, and spend time in prayer with at least three other Youth groups in the Hixson area each week, and it is awesome! (Youth kickball is obviously not the only avenue that Journey has for this… but it is a pretty cool one!)

I know that we have a sense of love and perhaps even pride in what many of us feel is a unique atmosphere and experience at Journey, from our Sunday morninggatherings to Awaken to the multiple small groups that we have that meet each week. Continue to love those things, friends; but do take advantage of any opportunities to share in the joy of some of your friends with other church families and to share your own joy with them. You might just be surprised how awesome that can be too.

David Henderson
Student Pastor