Hey everyone! My name is Adam Hawks and I’m the new Youth Director at The River UMC. I moved to Richmond from Lexington, KY on Wednesday and have been spending the past couple days getting settled in. It was great to meet those of you I’ve already met and I look forward to meeting those to whom I’ve not yet been introduced.
It is the goal of this blog to keep parents regularly informed in regard to the youth ministry. A huge part of my job is to provide myself as a resource. Although I hope to have a significant influence upon your youth, it is my perspective that parents have the best opportunity to minister to their own kids. My goal is to post the lesson plan for the following week which will give parents the opportunity to engage their youth in regard to the topic of discussion. I hope it will also encourage parents to challenge their students to think more deeply upon the subject matter.
Now that I have discussed my intention for this site, allow me to better introduce myself. I believe that the ministry God has given me is who I am. Trying to be something I’m not doesn’t bring glory to God. I’ve tried to live in such a way that would impress others. That life was painful for me and for those I fooled. I’ve tried to have all the answers. What I found was that I had God tightly bound in a box of my own understanding. What I’ve come to learn is that God is a beautiful mystery. Seeking his face is the adventure that Christians should delight in. Turns out that it happens to be the adventure that most scares us. I’ve decided to trust in God for who he has made me to be and who he has called me to be. There are many things I don’t yet know or understand but admitting that deficiency provides Christ a pathway to reveal his strength in my weakness! I believe that the most significant ministry I will have revolves not around the words I say or how I say them but rather around the process of Christ’s transforming work in my life. He is STRONG and he has changed me!! And he continues to change me! I hope that all who look will see this process and God will be glorified!
Many people tell us how to live…but few are willing to show us how to live. People who have it all together are of no use to those who experience pain and weakness. Christ showed us how to live and how to persevere in weakness. Hebrews 4:15 says “for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” It was the strength of God that allowed Jesus to resist temptation. It was the weakness of his flesh that allowed him to be tempted in the first place. In allowing us to see the process of his temptation and resistance of Satan, Jesus taught us how to trust in the lord and to lean not on our own strength or understanding! This is a process we are all in and must have the strength of the Lord to endure! The glory belongs to God!
I look forward to the journey that lies ahead. I thank God for the opportunity to share in his love with each of you. I pray that he will draw us closer to himself. I pray that as he draws us closer to himself that he will draw us closer to one another so that we, as his hands and feet can reveal his grace and love to this community!
I’m very excited…God is so good, he is in control, and he loves us beyond measure!
Blessings!
Adam
