In August 2004, I walked into Century Baptist as a college freshman, checking out this church that my parents had suggested because one of our former pastors, Alan Steier was pastoring here.
A year later, I was baptized at Century. Another year later, I began volunteering as a Sunday School teacher under Melanie Kost’s leadership. Three years later, I joined this wild youth ministry staff and then two years later, began an internship on staff under Paul Nather’s leadership in the youth ministry. And as they say, the rest is history. Our stories have chapters. I look back over these chapters in my story and I am grateful for each of them. After much prayer and consideration as a family, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to close this chapter at Century Baptist. I have grown both personally and spiritually, and I am deeply grateful for the experiences and opportunities that my time at Century has afforded me. I will always cherish the community I experienced with our student ministry and leaders. Thank you for the opportunity to walk beside your students for the last 15 years in this student ministry. It has been a gift and an honor watching students turn the world upside down outside these walls. These students and MSM leaders are the best and I could not have done ministry without them for the last 13 years. I will be at church and teaching Sunday School this Sunday, July 7; on July 14, I will be gone and be at the Triennial Conference in St. Paul, MN; on July 21 I will also be teaching Sunday School, and my last Sunday at Century Baptist will be July 28, 2024. Students, I love you dearly and there are so many days where your faith, your wild hope, your goofiness, and so much more have encouraged me to keep actively following Jesus and loving people well. I'll still be around Bismarck, I'll still be game for coffee, and I'll still have Skittles. Always remember you are loved, you matter, and you belong. With love and gratitude, April J. Wahl
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Dear Wonderful, Fierce, Compassion, and Imaginative 8th Grade Class of 2024,
On August 22, 2021, we welcomed you into the MSM and promised you that Adventure is UP here. I hope we have kept that promise to you. You could say it was finally a school year that was starting to feel normal. We had a fall kickoff on Sept. 15, outside with lots of wild games that probably made you question why in the world would my parents drop me off here and trust me with these people? Over the last three years you’ve shown your commitment to showing up, to growing, and to serving others. You have even cheered each other on even when times got tough, when struggle after struggle showed up on your front door step, when doubts and questions about your faith and if this is all worth it started to roll around in your mind and heart. It can be so easy to stop showing up, to give up on following Jesus, but you have continued to show up and do just that even when it’s messy and weird…just like an MSM game. Our prayer for you has been that The Basement would be a second home to you. That on your hardest Wednesdays and your best Wednesdays, your heart’s desire would be to come to The Basement, even if you weren’t “feeling it.” That this is a place where you would know to the core of your being that you are loved, you matter, and you belong. That it oozed out of every adult that you encountered here. That it was more than just ‘feelings’ but that it was true and you knew it was true. I’m guessing one of the #1 reasons you kept coming on Wednesdays is this: your youth leaders. The ones who have texted you, called you, had you hang out at their house for small group, cheered you on at a concert or game. This fall, when you move up to HSM, I am going to miss seeing you together, watching you walk off to Small Group Together. You might not be here in MSM, but these people, adults in the MSM will still be here for you. I know this, because the leaders in our ministry care about you. I want you to know that we will do our best to make sure that you always have trusted adults in your life to help you through some of the things you’ll face in high school and beyond. Thank you for trusting us and sticking with us. A disciple of Jesus actively follows Him and loves people. Will you keep doing that? Will you keep coming home to Jesus and then going out there to turn the world upside? Even when you doubt all these truths you’ve learned, will you come back to knowing that you are so loved by the Creator of the Universe? Will you keep inspiring me and other adults to get out there and love people instead of arguing about how it should be done? There are more moments than I can name when you’ve inspired me to keep going, to keep following Jesus, to keep turning the world upside down. It’s because of your light, your influence, your impact that I’m still here today. We hope that you have come to see the church as a place where you can ask questions. Because we don’t mind your questions. We do mind when you disappear. So when life gets busy–keep coming back. You’ll never regret the time you spent following Jesus. Jesus is worth it because he is the best. I want you to know that we are paying attention to you, we are still watching you, we are still here for you. Even though you’re moving on from one ministry to the next. We aren’t moving on from you. We want you to continue to grow together, connected to disciples of Jesus. This fall, you will take a big step into the high school world. We may not be at your locker every day. But we will be cheering for you and available. If life is overwhelming, if you didn’t make the A squad, if a friend stabbed you in the back, if you have doubts, if you have questions, or if you’re confused or hurt. We’ll be here. Don’t be afraid to text or call. My hope is that you’ll turn the world upside down. Actively following Jesus and loving people. Finding your identity in Jesus alone. Living in community with other disciples of Jesus. Being for people, being for your city, and loving people wherever they are. We welcomed you into The Basement by telling you adventure is UP here. As you begin to close the chapter on this adventure in MSM, I pray that the words you have learned from us here and outside of these walls (and hopefully made visible in our lives) will continue to sink deep into your hearts. That you’ll be able to reach for them when you need them most and offer them with others need them most. There are so many more adventures coming your way. I don’t know what each adventure will look like, but we know the one who’s planned the adventure.: Jesus. Stick to him. He’s sticking with you. Expect that God will do immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine. Shock the the world by turning it upside down with the love of Jesus. Show them what you’re made of. We’ll be right here–turning the world upside down with you–one step at a time. “Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” ― Steve Jobs May is here.
It feels like May is like a 'second December' with the calendar full of activities, year-end events, school award ceremonies, and the list can go on and on. We all know that full schedules can lead to stress which leads to anxiety which leads to multiple morning meltdowns with teenagers in your home. How can you approach May differently this year, knowing that it will be full and schedules will be packed? How can you approach it with grace and ease that acknowledges it will be busy, but that you will create an atmosphere of peace within your home (and within your vehicle on the way to events)? As parents, caregivers, and trusted adults in the lives of teenagers, we have an incredible opportunity to speak peace into a month that can be absolute mayhem. We can be the collectives voices speaking words of identity, purpose, and belonging during a season and month where academics, accolades, and accomplishments are screaming to be valued more than anything. We can be the voices gently speaking the truths about worth and purpose that never change, regardless of what shows up in a yearbook or on a report card. Over the last few years of seeing the Mayhem of May, here's some insights that have been collected to help us show up well in the lives of the teenagers we love. 1. Ask what your student needs from you this month. We don't know until we ask. Sometimes we might get blank stares, or we still might get a door slammed in our face, but we have to ask. If you keep getting blank stares and "bruh, I don't know" comments, offer suggestions. Ask what you can do to show your student that you support him/her. How can you show up for them? Is it coming to that track meet that's causing major stress and anxiety? Is it running to Starbucks before school? Grabbing McDonald's chicken nuggets after soccer practice? Chatting before bed? I've heard it said before that a teenager talking at midnight and asking questions is similar to a young child asking for her 5th cup of water at bedtime. When we show up in the small moments, our students will come to us in the big moments. 2. Ask what their biggest prayer requests are during May. Prayer is communicating with God. It's the process of a simple and honest conversation with God to develop a friendship. When we take the time to pray with our students and talk about our prayer lives together, it not only connects us with God but it also connects us with each other. Ask your student what are the things that you need to talk to God about together. It doesn't always have to be praying out loud together. There are a ton of different ways to pray and talk to God. Pray quietly in your head, out loud, or by sitting in silence. Pray by reading through prayers written by other people or listening to the words of God found in Scripture. It's all about communication— speaking with and listening to God. 3. Think about your circles of influence. How many events are you and your student going to be at during the month of May? How often will you be with the same people? How often will you have opportunities to sit on the bleachers with someone or on a long bus ride to a music competition? God has placed your student and your family in those circles for a reason. How can you as a family love the people in those circles well, seeing it as an opportunity to be a friend like Jesus would be? You're going to be spending a lot of time with these teammates, bandmates, etc. for awhile. Why not pursue a friendship that can have a positive lasting impact that goes beyond the May Mayhem? 4. Make time for fun and laughter. You know what brings your student and your family joy. Make it a priority to create space for these moments. Those small moments can turn into lifelong memories. Turn on that YouTube video with Fortnite dances and have a dance contest to see who has the best moves in your family. Go grab ice cream after a long day. Pick a night where you watch a family favorite movie. Whatever your family defines as fun together, carve out the time to make it happen. It doesn't have to be a full night or an entire day; make the most of the moments you have together. Create margin for joy and see how that joy can carry you through the mayhem. Will it take some time to figure out the wild rhythm of May? Of course. Will there be times where we mess up and that family trip to Dairy Queen ends up with melted ice cream cones and tears? It just might happen. Even though there will be twists and turns on the May rollercoaster, there will also be moments of pure laughter and fun. If we take the time to make space for our students and show them we're there for them in the mayhem, if we show up and show we care, if we listen with empathetic ears, we are doing the good work of caring for our students in the midst of mayhem. If it's gonna be May, then let's make every little thing we do matter. |
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