By Amy Barnes, (fellow mom of a youth)

Has your youth been to Youth Group yet this fall?  No?  Here’s why I would suggest sending them, even if/when they are resistant.

First off, what is Youth Group? Youth Group is an opportunity to praise God, grow as a disciple, and serve the world through fellowship, fun, food, and most importantly faith.

Bring your youth to Youth Group every Sunday evening at 5:30 pm because fellowship is an important part of discipleship. Through fellowship, we grow in our relationship with God and with each other. Jesus’ team of disciples didn’t grow in their faith alone, or just with Christ as an individual. They formed life-long friendships that were strong enough to survive the turbulent roller coaster of their lives, even when they lost their leader and friend, and faced the epic challenge of spreading the gospel. As Christians, we are called to grow as disciples, but to do so, we must be connected to the vine of Jesus and support each of the other branches as God provides the sun, water, and soil to help us grow.

Bring your youth to Youth Group every Sunday evening at 5:30 pm because it’s FUN!  What’s not to like about Life-sized Battleship, Hungry-Hungry Hippos and Operation? Who doesn’t like Howard-County-bound scavenger hunts that result in giant bags of candy for the top two winning teams?  Who doesn’t want to participate in an Escape Room to help break the apostle Peter out of prison?

Bring your youth to Youth Group every Sunday evening at 5:30 pm so that you don’t have to do dishes!  What’s better than dropping your youth off at the church and then heading out to a nice restaurant youth-free?  For only $5, your youth is receiving a home-cooked meal, often with an amazingly delicious dessert to follow!  And there’s lemonade to drink!  Does it get any better for any less?

Bring your youth to Youth Group every Sunday evening at 5:30 pm because to grow in our faith as disciples, we need to understand what faith looks like. Faith looks like growing in awareness of God’s awesomeness and praising Him for that.  Faith looks like replacing worry with trust in God. Faith looks like doing something seemingly small, like assembling hygiene kits for UMCOR, that can impact someone else in a good and possibly even a big way.

So, now that you know WHY you should send your youth to Youth Group, How do you get your Youth-Group resistant youth to go to Youth Group?  You put them in the car and drive them to Glen Mar!