Opening Night At The Attic...

Last night was an incredible night. One of the reasons I have been a little quiet in blogger land lately is because of the amount of work and the long hours I have been putting in at our new youth space for our student ministry. Now, when I say new, understand that it is a very old building and we are renting the upstairs portion...but it is new to us. Tonight was the "Grand Opening" even though we are having a big kick-off event in about a month. It was incredible to see what just a little money and a lot of hard work can do. We spent a little less than $300 and got a ton of stuff donated. I have dreamed of a youth space for student ministry for a long time, going back several years and even at another church. And while we are hoping and praying that this space is just temporary and that are church moves forward with purchasing a much bigger youth space in the next few weeks we are here for at least a few months and it is great.
Our space has a lot of stuff. It is over 3000 square feet and it has gaming systems, tvs, pool tables, air hockey, dart boards, and foosball. There are couches and bean bags to lounge around on and their is even a snack bar/cafe that we have set up for food and drinks. But the coolest thing that our new space has is smiles...One of our youth workers said to me tonight, "There is a smile on every face in here!" And it was true. Not because of any pool tables or games or even pizza, but because our students have a place that is theirs. And its because a few individuals in our church who love students and want to see God work in their lives have chosen to give generously to make this happen.
I am totally stoked about the tool that this building and even our future building are going to be. When people feel like they have a place where they are comfortable and that is their's they are more likely to want their friends there with them. We already saw that tonight as we had several students bring friends that have never been to our midweek worship service at the church before. God has taught me some cool lessons from this whole thing. He has taught me about his faithfulness in providing, he has taught me patience, and he has taught me not to give up on visions that HE GIVES...even if they take years and moves to happen. Tonight was incredible and the biggest lesson of all was probably a reminder about the smiles of students. Those smiles communicate that our students feel cared for, they feel loved, they feel safe, and most of all, through their joy they are seeing people who by their time, giving, ministry, and lives are saying to students that God loves them and has an incredible plan for their lives. The Attic, and any building like it is just a tool, but what a "Wow Tool" it is!