This is why I do what I do.
When people ask me what my job is, I get interesting responses. Most of the people in the church think I'm an intern or an assistant, and people outside of the church don't understand how Girls Ministry can be a "real job."
Well, I saw this excerpt from a photo essay by journalist Robin Bowman, entitled It's Complicated: The American Teenager. She spent almost four years interviewing over 400 teenagers to be a part of this photo essay.
The excerpts that I read were absolutely heartbreaking, and a great reminder of why I'm so thankful that God has called me to do what I do. There are so many hurting teenagers out there who feel like they have no one to turn to, no one to talk to, and that the world has turned its back on them. I pray that they see us as a place of safety and refuge. A place where they don't feel judged, but where they will hear about the saving grace of Jesus Christ and how he can take the broken pieces of their lives and make something beautiful out of them.
Because the truth of the matter is, if we look at our lives, at some point we've all been just as broken. We've all screwed up big time in our lives, and I think we do teenagers such a disservice to categorize sin like we do. We've come up with a rating scale for sin, and feel like our sins couldn't be half as bad as theirs are, so we feel better about ourselves. Not so in God's eyes. I wish we could grasp this... I think we would be much more compassionate towards others if we did. I'll be the first to admit that I struggle with this, but it's something that I'm consciously working on.
Anyway, take a look at this photo essay... I hope that it breaks your heart for teenagers like it has broken mine.
I desire for each of the girls in our ministry to know who she is... first of all in Christ. If she knows that, she can face the world like a champ, and the rest of the issues don't seem quite as scary or huge.
Well, I saw this excerpt from a photo essay by journalist Robin Bowman, entitled It's Complicated: The American Teenager. She spent almost four years interviewing over 400 teenagers to be a part of this photo essay.
The excerpts that I read were absolutely heartbreaking, and a great reminder of why I'm so thankful that God has called me to do what I do. There are so many hurting teenagers out there who feel like they have no one to turn to, no one to talk to, and that the world has turned its back on them. I pray that they see us as a place of safety and refuge. A place where they don't feel judged, but where they will hear about the saving grace of Jesus Christ and how he can take the broken pieces of their lives and make something beautiful out of them.
Because the truth of the matter is, if we look at our lives, at some point we've all been just as broken. We've all screwed up big time in our lives, and I think we do teenagers such a disservice to categorize sin like we do. We've come up with a rating scale for sin, and feel like our sins couldn't be half as bad as theirs are, so we feel better about ourselves. Not so in God's eyes. I wish we could grasp this... I think we would be much more compassionate towards others if we did. I'll be the first to admit that I struggle with this, but it's something that I'm consciously working on.
Anyway, take a look at this photo essay... I hope that it breaks your heart for teenagers like it has broken mine.
I desire for each of the girls in our ministry to know who she is... first of all in Christ. If she knows that, she can face the world like a champ, and the rest of the issues don't seem quite as scary or huge.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds
Hebrews 10:24
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