Post BUMP--Reflections from the Intern

It's been a long and incredibly rewarding week of BUMP. I don't think I've ever worked so many hours in a week before and been so grateful for every bit of it. The time I spent in this church, this community, and with this group has been so incredible for me.

When I first got here, I was very excited to serve this church but I wasn't sure how great of a leader I'd be. After all, I'm only a few years ahead of the kids I'd be leading and several years junior to the pastors and youth pastors coming to serve and already serving here who have had plenty of experience in ministry. I wanted to do a good job facilitating the relationships between this church, the incoming leaders, and the students themselves. Most of all, I wasn't sure how God would be able to use me, busted and incapable as I am, to be a good example to the people I'd be working with. 

On the first Sunday when they got here, one week ago today, I was nervous about running the orientation. I had all the usual self-conscious questions: Would I forget to cover anything? Would I be comfortable speaking in front of them? Would they respect me? Would the leaders respect me? Would I honor God? As I watched them all come into the church, I remember feeling overwhelmed by how many of them there were, and (oddly enough) how young they all looked. I'm probably not allowed to think high schoolers are young, but they reminded me of myself when I was doing BUMP and it felt really weird being on the leadership side of the whole thing. I remember praying that God would use us all and show us something really cool that we'd all need to see this coming week. 

I also remember one of the most fundamental lessons I'd learned in BUMP coming back to me: to rely on God for all my shortcomings. He works best when we're outside of our comfort zones, and we can do all things through him when we are not enough. God was pushing me into a new place, and I decided I'd follow him into the week.

And boy, what a week. God gave me everything that I needed. He gave me the respect of the church leaders and of the BUMP leaders. He gave me the connections I desired with the BUMPers. He gave me leadership experience and allowed me to learn from the other leaders. He gave me the wisdom and flexibility to deal with the ins and outs of each day. And most importantly, he gave me the words to say throughout the week, the confidence to lead, and the feedback to improve myself.

There was so much encouragement this week, too. I haven't been very involved with BUMP or urban ministry since I started college, so it's been great to get back and see what God shows you. Our first day of Day Camp, I was able to get to know a little girl named Malea. She was saved that first day, and she made me a craft which meant a lot to me. It reminded me how a little love and attention can go a long way, especially in the life off a child. I also got a lot of encouragement working in South Philly helping a church plant. So many people approached us asking about the church and asked a lot of questions as we walked around, and we even prayed with a few people on the street (and had one guy pray for us!) It was awesome to be reminded that God is at work in everyone everywhere, and it was an awesome thing to be reminded of.

I think the best thing was forming relationships with the BUMPers and the leaders here. At the beginning of the week I was overwhelmed, and by the end I knew all their names and was playing 16-square with them in the basement of the church.