Hurricane Isaac & Preteens

This is sort of a part 2 blog post. Part 1 – An Inside Look at Isaac, included some pics near my home of Isaac’s aftermath and a “take away” lesson. In this post, I am writing some thoughts swarming around my head comparing preteen ministry to hurricane Isaac.

Unpredictability
Hurricanes often follow a steady path, which makes it easier to predict the impact zone. However, Isaac was an unpredictable storm. It wobbled west, north and would then sit still for hours.  As a result, New Orleans wasn’t sure what part of the storm would hit them. Would we get the bad or good side of the storm? In case you’re wondering, we got the bad side 🙂

Preteens are also unpredictable. One minute they are really talkative, excited and high energy – the next minute they are quiet, depressed looking and lethargic. They speak their mind, often showing their lack of a filter between thought and words. One week the group wants to go deep with God, and the following week they just want to goof around.

If you lead preteens, always expect the unexpected.

Preparation
Those that were most prepared before Isaac hit, experienced the least of amount of inconvenience in the aftermath. We stocked up on water, non-perishable food and supplies and were prepared in the event of no electricity or evacuation. As a result, when we went without electricity for 4 days we were okay. Of course it didn’t hurt to have parents nearby who also had electricity!

Preteens are about to morph into adolescence and they need to be prepared for the road ahead. They’ll be tempted with tougher issues as they hit the teen years. The better we can prepare them for those years, the better decisions they will make. We maximize our efforts when we provide both parents and students with opportunities to prepare themselves for the road ahead.

Here are two great resources to help you do this: Preparing for Adolescence (Focus on the Family),  Passport to Purity.

Safety
When our electricity went out for days, it was great to have multiple safe places as a retreat from the 100+ degree heat. We slept at my dad’s house one night, mom’s house two nights and visited my cousin (he had a pool). They all had electricity and we spent some good quality time together.

Preteens need a safe place. Yes, the family should be the #1 safe place for preteens. And sometimes that is the case, but often it is not. Either way, they benefit by having an emotional, spiritual, physical and relational safe place. And that place can be and should be your preteen ministry. They want a place to know others and be known, to celebrate others and be celebrated, to pray for others and be prayed for, to accept others and be accepted.

Preteens want a place to do life together with God in the picture.