The students were inspired by Romans 12:2, says Julie Musselman, the church’s youth director. They lived together Sunday, November 8, through Saturday, November 14.
“The goal was to counteract society by giving up our cell phones, TV, Internet, and other technology that distracts us from spending intentional time together – to put ourselves aside for a week and serve one another,” Musselman says.
Each morning, students ate breakfast together, with one member of the youth group leading a devotion. They then attended school. After classes and following extra-curricular activities, students reconvened back at the church for free time, which generally was spent playing board games, ping-pong, snacking, and doing homework.
The kids took turns preparing and cleaning for dinner and then gathered again for the meal. “This was one of the highlights each evening,” Musselman says. After the dishes were cleaned, the group met for worship.
A different activity was planned for each night:
• Sunday – High school students led the junior high group in worship. They later watched and discussed the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.”
• Monday – A guest speaker shared about his experience living in intentional community in Fiji.
• Tuesday – Developed strategies for breaking free from hectic lifestyles.
• Wednesday – Attended a Young Life meeting.
• Thursday – The band Foster, which includes several members of the CHIC band, led a community wide worship service that drew up to 60 students. They also explored the question, “What if we really cared?” Students told Musselman, “It was just like being back at CHIC, only less people.”
• Served dinner at a homeless shelter and spent time with guests.
• Saturday – Scrubbed the church and raked leaves for a woman in the community.
The teenagers also led the church’s regular worship service on November 22 and shared about their week. The high school group told the gathering they had learned, among other things, that technology can leave a person feeling isolated, how to decide what is important, that people were made to be social, and the world didn’t revolve around them.
“Many of the kids claimed our week together to be the best week of their life,” Musselman says.
