After having lived in the US for almost a year now, there’s one observation that I’d like to share: the pace of life is so much higher than it is in Europe.

My son is in first grade and I am amazed at the schedule he’s almost forced into. Spelling homework four days a week plus extra math homework on the other days. We’re supposed to read with him every day. Then there’s sports, music lessons, school activities, you name it. If I want to schedule a play date for him, we have to book it weeks in advance. I can only imagine what it’s like for teens, how hectic and crazy busy their lives must be. 

Is youth group competing with all the other activities? And if so, is youth group one more thing students have to do, where to have to be active? 

Maybe we should consider making youth group as a place of rest, a place where teens can exhale, relax, leave the hectic pace of their lives behind them. 

Maybe youth groups should be ‘slow clubs’ where the pace is leisurely and students can reconnect with their souls again.

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Maybe if we did that, students would make coming to youth group a priority instead of another activity they have to do. 

What do you think?