1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Good morning, everyone. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:06,000 Good morning. 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Good morning. 4 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,000 It's a pleasure to have you. 5 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,200 For those of you joining us here on Trinity Talks today, we have members of our youth 6 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:13,960 group leadership team. 7 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,960 We've actually just come up with that title just a few moments ago, the YGLT. 8 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:21,240 We have Zion, our youth director. 9 00:00:21,240 --> 00:00:22,240 So welcome. 10 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:23,240 Thank you for joining me. 11 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:27,800 We have Anna, who is a longtime volunteer and also a previous youth, I believe. 12 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:28,800 Right? 13 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:29,800 Yeah. 14 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:31,160 And then, Elliot, you're joining us here. 15 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:36,040 You are a youth volunteer and you have worked as a director of youth as well here at Trinity. 16 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:37,040 That's right. 17 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:38,040 So thanks again for joining me. 18 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,480 I was hoping that over the next, I'm looking at my clock here, but for over the next half 19 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:46,120 an hour or so, we can talk a little bit about what the youth ministry looks like here at 20 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:52,340 Trinity, specifically youth group, as well as learn a little bit about what encourages 21 00:00:52,340 --> 00:00:55,600 you as you work with the youth here at the church. 22 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:56,600 Sound good? 23 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:57,600 Sounds great. 24 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:58,600 All right. 25 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:04,200 So you know that the youth group meets every Friday and you meet between six and 10 o'clock 26 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,200 at night. 27 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:09,320 Now, Zion, how does a typical youth meeting usually begin? 28 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:11,920 Well, we pretty much always start with a game. 29 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:12,920 Like a game. 30 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:13,920 All right. 31 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,840 Well, if you've ever seen Trinity Talks before, we often also begin with a game. 32 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,000 So I think that would be a very fitting way to start. 33 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,920 As you see, as you sat down in your chairs, everybody, I gave you a paddle. 34 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:26,920 Is that what they're called? 35 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:27,920 A paddle? 36 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:28,920 Yes, they're called a paddle. 37 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,720 And there's a ping pong table downstairs that sometimes our youth actually play with. 38 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,880 And on each side of your paddle, you'll see the letter A and on the other side, you'll 39 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,080 see the letter B. Just show that to the camera, everybody. 40 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,160 Show your A. This is practice. 41 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:41,960 Show your B. Excellent. 42 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:43,960 I promise we didn't rehearse before either. 43 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:44,960 All right. 44 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,280 So we're going to play a quick game of would you rather. 45 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,360 Have you played that before with the youth? 46 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:51,360 No. 47 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:52,360 No. 48 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:53,360 All right. 49 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:54,360 So you can add this to your repertoire. 50 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,500 So I'm going to ask you some questions, A or B, and you're just going to choose which 51 00:01:58,500 --> 00:02:05,840 one you would rather, A or B. To begin with, we're going to start with an easy question. 52 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,620 Maybe you saw the daffodils coming up, so I was inspired by the weather. 53 00:02:09,620 --> 00:02:21,000 Would you rather live in only A, spring, or B, fall? 54 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,920 Two springs and a fall. 55 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:23,920 All right. 56 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:26,960 So you're just going to have to wait six more months and then you'll be a happy guy. 57 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:27,960 Too much rain. 58 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:28,960 Too much rain. 59 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:30,840 Well, April flowers bring May flowers. 60 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:31,840 All right. 61 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,520 We're just going to have to stay on the seasons train for a minute here. 62 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,760 Would you rather A, summer or B, winter? 63 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:39,760 All right. 64 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:40,760 Summer all around. 65 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:41,760 That's right. 66 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:44,120 Yeah, I was sort of expecting that one. 67 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:45,120 All right. 68 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,240 Now we're going to go to more of a youth kind of themed one. 69 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:53,040 Would you rather A, TikTok or B, Instagram? 70 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:58,200 All right. 71 00:02:58,200 --> 00:02:59,200 Elliott chose TikTok. 72 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:00,200 Are you on TikTok? 73 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,200 No, I'm not on either of them. 74 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,920 So I don't really know what, but I know you can make flashy videos. 75 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:08,280 Yes, we did it one time. 76 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:09,280 And you chose Instagram. 77 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:10,280 All right. 78 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:11,840 Why is that? 79 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:12,840 You can just do more. 80 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:13,840 There's kind of like TikTok. 81 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,840 There's like Instagram reels, which is basically the same as TikTok. 82 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:17,840 It just has more diversity. 83 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:18,840 Oh, Elliott's learning something here. 84 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:19,840 I don't know. 85 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:20,840 All right. 86 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:21,840 Okay. 87 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:22,840 Musical. 88 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:24,520 A musical question. 89 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,240 A, Taylor Swift or B, Ed Sheeran? 90 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:29,240 Oh, he's... 91 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:30,240 Oh my goodness. 92 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:31,240 Unanimous all around. 93 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:32,240 Sorry, Swift. 94 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:33,240 Don't come at us. 95 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:34,240 Projection. 96 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:35,240 Okay, great. 97 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:36,240 Okay. 98 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,640 This is one back to your high school days. 99 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:45,120 Would you rather prefer A, the arts or B, maths and sciences? 100 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,120 Anna Arts? 101 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:48,680 B, maths and sciences. 102 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:49,680 It's close though. 103 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:50,680 It's close. 104 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:51,680 Yeah, it could go either way. 105 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:52,680 All right. 106 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:53,680 It's divisive though, I must say. 107 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:55,400 We're learning so much about you. 108 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:56,400 All right. 109 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,320 Now we're going into the modern times. 110 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:00,320 Artificial intelligence. 111 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,080 A, is it good or B, is it bad? 112 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,040 It's kind of a black and white question. 113 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,640 That's such a nuanced question. 114 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,840 What's your gut tell you? 115 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:14,280 Right now? 116 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:15,280 That's right. 117 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:16,280 All right. 118 00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:19,280 Oh, Anna's the deciding vote. 119 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:22,280 It's so hard. 120 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:24,480 I guess, I guess. 121 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:25,480 Just not. 122 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:26,480 All right. 123 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:27,480 Wait, which one? 124 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:28,480 It's scary, but. 125 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:29,480 So A, good. 126 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:30,480 A, good. 127 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:31,480 That's what makes it easier. 128 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:32,480 Makes it work easier. 129 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:33,480 All right. 130 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:34,480 So there's pros and cons. 131 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,560 I'm sorry for that black and white kind of question, but anyway, we just had to go with 132 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:37,560 it. 133 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:38,560 Now we're going to go to the Bible. 134 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:40,520 We're going to go Old Testament. 135 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:47,720 If you could have an amazing power, would you prefer to have a super strength like Sampson 136 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,920 or be very wise like Solomon? 137 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:51,920 Wisdom? 138 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:52,920 Strength. 139 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:53,920 Strength and strength. 140 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:54,920 All right. 141 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,920 Because I think I would like the hair of Sampson as well as I would assume you get that. 142 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:00,920 You assume you get the whole package? 143 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:01,920 Yeah. 144 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:02,920 There you go. 145 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:03,920 Love it. 146 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:04,920 OK, and now we're jumping to the New Testament. 147 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,920 If you were present for one of Jesus's miracles, would you prefer to be there when he feeds 148 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,920 the five thousand or be when he walks on water? 149 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:21,920 See, walking on water would be really cool, but like I want to eat food, though it's fish 150 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:22,920 and I don't really like fish. 151 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:23,920 So I'm going to be walking on water. 152 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:28,920 You know, that was the same thought process I went through if it was candy. 153 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,920 So we've got feed the five thousand and two walking on waters. 154 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:34,920 All right. 155 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:35,920 Very cool. 156 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,920 Continuing along, this is a situation that I've been in for a long time. 157 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,920 This is a situational question. 158 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:51,040 Would you prefer to live in a world where there was a no electricity or B, no indoor 159 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:52,040 plumbing? 160 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:56,920 Oh, we just changed gears right there. 161 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:58,920 A is no electricity. 162 00:05:58,920 --> 00:05:59,920 B is indoor plumbing. 163 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:00,920 Yeah, that's right. 164 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:02,920 No, I'm not giving up indoor plumbing. 165 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,920 Yeah, I feel like there would be more disease without indoor plumbing. 166 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:07,920 Yeah, yeah, right. 167 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:09,920 OK, so that's unanimous across the board. 168 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:14,920 And then I have one question left, and this is a Trinity based question. 169 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:21,920 Which service do you prefer, the 915, our early morning service or the 1115 service? 170 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:27,920 A, 915, B, 1115 and A, 915. 171 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:29,920 I could have predicted that, I think. 172 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:30,920 All right. 173 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,920 Are you an early bird, Elliot and Zion? 174 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:34,920 Would you consider yourselves? 175 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:35,920 Not really. 176 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:36,920 No. 177 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,920 I find I'm more attentive, I think, and like I listen better in the morning. 178 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:41,920 All right. 179 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:42,920 And why 1115 for you, Anna? 180 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:44,920 I'm not a morning person. 181 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:46,920 So it just fits better with your schedule. 182 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:47,920 Well, that's great. 183 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,920 So we just played a game and you mentioned that youth group always begins with a game. 184 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:56,920 To start us off, what's your favorite youth group game that each of you play when you 185 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,920 are at youth group on a Friday night with the youth? 186 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:02,920 Well, my favorite game is a game called SWAT. 187 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:07,920 It's kind of like a fast paced name game, but then you get to whack each other or swat 188 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,920 each other with like a pool noodle type thing. 189 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,920 So yeah, that was always my favorite growing up. 190 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,920 And so I brought it with me over to Trinity too. 191 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:16,920 That sounds fun. 192 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:17,920 Just watch out, Anna. 193 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:18,920 He's still holding his paddle there. 194 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:20,920 What about you? 195 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,920 My favorite, I don't know if we've played it this year. 196 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:29,920 I don't think we have, but my favorite is we dubbed it, never really had an official 197 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:31,920 name, but we dubbed it the trash can of doom. 198 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:36,920 And so you have like a trash can in the middle of the carpet area and everyone holds hands 199 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,920 and you have to try and get everyone else to touch the trash can, any part of their 200 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:41,920 body. 201 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:42,920 And then if they do, they're out. 202 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:44,920 And so it gets really like chaotic. 203 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:45,920 Oh, that sounds like fun. 204 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:46,920 Yeah. 205 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:47,920 Yeah. 206 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:48,920 What about you, Elliot? 207 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,920 So Anna actually took mine, but that's okay because I have many. 208 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:56,920 I'll say probably my favorite to be part of myself is mafia. 209 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:02,920 I love playing mafia and creating like scenes and stories and then having people accuse 210 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,920 each other of being the killer. 211 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:07,920 And yeah, it's fun. 212 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:13,920 But I think the youth would say from kind of my time as a youth group leader, like favorite 213 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,920 every single week, we used to play sardines. 214 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,920 I didn't play, but the youth would play and play sardines throughout the church. 215 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:22,920 And yeah, that was a real crowd pleaser. 216 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:24,920 Oh, that sounds like fun too. 217 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:25,920 All right. 218 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,920 So all three of you are right now in the leadership group. 219 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,920 I'm wondering if you can tell me a little bit about what your personal experiences were 220 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:37,920 in church as a youth or if you had those experiences in general. 221 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:40,920 Yeah, so I grew up not at Trinity. 222 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:45,920 I grew up in a smaller church, but we still had a decent like core group of youth group 223 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:46,920 members. 224 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,920 Like we had like 15 or so, but it was actually really good for us because we all got really 225 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:51,920 tight. 226 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:55,920 So that was definitely a highlight growing up was going to youth group every week and 227 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:56,920 seeing all my friends. 228 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:57,920 Nice. 229 00:08:57,920 --> 00:08:58,920 Nice. 230 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:04,920 I grew up at Trinity and I actually went to the youth group when I was a youth. 231 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,920 Obviously very different time then. 232 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:16,920 But I would say the main thing I took away from my time being at youth group was just 233 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:17,920 the inclusivity. 234 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:26,920 It was really a space where anyone could come and be welcome and really a space for a lot 235 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,920 of youth who were not church raised youth came. 236 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:36,920 And so I think for myself being church raised, having that experience and exposure and like 237 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:45,920 meeting other people and really, yeah, had an impact on just my own worldview as well. 238 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:46,920 That's really nice. 239 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:47,920 Thank you. 240 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:48,920 Thank you. 241 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:49,920 And Elliot, did you grow up going to youth? 242 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:54,920 Yes, I grew up at Little Trinity Anglican Church on the east side of Toronto. 243 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,920 And so youth group was on Friday nights and it was a big event obviously commuting from 244 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:00,920 Mississauga into youth group. 245 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:07,920 And it just felt kind of as Zion has mentioned it and Anna, it's felt like a family and the 246 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:08,920 culture of youth group. 247 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:14,920 It just felt like a safe space and a place where we could learn about Jesus, but also 248 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:15,920 be together. 249 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:20,920 So, yeah, I really, yeah, it was a difference maker in my childhood for sure. 250 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:21,920 That's amazing. 251 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:22,920 All right. 252 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:23,920 So what's the purpose? 253 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,920 Maybe Zion, you can answer this of the youth group here at Trinity. 254 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:27,920 And who is it for? 255 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:29,920 What are the ages? 256 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:31,920 At Trinity, we have two different age groups. 257 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,920 We got all the middle schoolers and all of the high schoolers. 258 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,920 And I think Elliot sort of just touched on it to our purpose. 259 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:39,920 I think we have like two main goals. 260 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:44,920 Firstly, we try to help all of our youth grow in their faith and teach them about how Jesus 261 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:46,920 loves them and teach them more about God. 262 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:51,920 And the second main goal is just creating a safe space where people can come and develop 263 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,920 these relationships with each other and have a safe space to come. 264 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:56,920 Yeah, that's great. 265 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:00,920 And like I said, it's really for anyone, whether you come to church or you don't, you're all 266 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:01,920 welcome at youth group, right? 267 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:02,920 For sure. 268 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:03,920 All right. 269 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:08,920 So why did you feel called to start working in youth ministry here at Trinity? 270 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:09,920 Maybe we'll start with you, Elliot. 271 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:10,920 Sure. 272 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:17,920 So I remember back in 2013, we had a ministry fair and I was immediately drawn to the youth 273 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:19,920 group table to become a volunteer. 274 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,920 And I really felt kind of just my previous answer that I wanted to help cultivate like 275 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:30,920 that culture of kind of a family for youth group at Trinity and be part of that and help 276 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:39,920 develop that and explore kind of the dynamics of youth group learning their faith and living 277 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:40,920 their faith. 278 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:42,920 So that was really what called me. 279 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:46,920 And it's kind of been a little bit of an addictive throughout the years, just getting excited 280 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:49,920 for youth group every single Friday night coming to youth group. 281 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:55,920 And so, yeah, it's been since 2013, it's been hard to shake. 282 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:56,920 And Anna? 283 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:04,920 Yeah, for me, you know, my experience in youth group was so positive and having those building 284 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,920 relationships with friends and then also leaders. 285 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:14,920 So I think coming back wanted to help create that for youth. 286 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:21,920 And also when I was in youth group, there was a lot of change that happened during our time 287 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:26,920 and like leadership and like the directors and like adult leaders as well. 288 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,920 And so I saw the toll kind of that that took. 289 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:37,920 So wanting to give the youth that were coming up help be part of the positive of that and 290 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,920 make it a good experience without those negative. 291 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:42,920 Yeah. 292 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,920 And with you volunteering for so long, and I know it's been several years now, you've 293 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,920 given them that consistency to have having someone that they rely on and someone that 294 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:51,920 they know will be there. 295 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,920 So that's wonderful to see to see this long term. 296 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:58,920 And then Zion, you've come into this brand new this year as youth director. 297 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,920 So what what called you into working with this population? 298 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:06,920 Well, I've always loved working with young people like when I was young, I volunteered 299 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:11,920 in Kids Church and I've worked here at Camp Trinity for like five five summers. 300 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,920 I think I've worked at a couple of other summer camps as well. 301 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:19,920 And I also used to be a soccer coach working with a whole bunch of different age groups. 302 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:23,920 So I've just I've always enjoyed working with young people because it's just really exciting. 303 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,920 They always bring the energy and you never know what they're going to say or what they're 304 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:28,920 going to do. 305 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:30,920 So, yeah, I have a lot of energy, too. 306 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:33,920 So it just works well to come and hang out with them. 307 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:40,920 And then also, I think I like the opportunity to be a good role model in some of these people's lives. 308 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:41,920 That's great. That's great. 309 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,920 And I think I've heard very positive things about the youth group this year. 310 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,920 So I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit about what a typical Friday night looks like when a youth shows up. 311 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,920 We mentioned you start with a game often. 312 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,920 What else can a youth expect when they show up on a Friday night? 313 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,920 Yeah. So our first game is normally like 45 minutes or so. 314 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:03,920 So we we let everyone get all their energy out. Well, not all. 315 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:07,920 That's right. We try to get some of their energy out. 316 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:16,920 And then after that, we move into lesson time, which we've done like lesson has looked mostly like me going up and talking for a few minutes. 317 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:21,920 But we also we also watch some videos occasionally, too. 318 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:23,920 We've had a couple of other speakers as well. 319 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:33,920 And then after our lesson time, we go into small group to help the youth like unpack sort of what they just heard and have the opportunity to ask more questions. 320 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:38,920 And then we have snack time, which is like one of the highlights, I think, for the youth. 321 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:45,920 And then with whatever time left, we either play another game or we just hang out with each other until it's home time. 322 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:47,920 That sounds great. It sounds like a lot of fun. 323 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:55,920 I was wondering then if you could tell me a little bit about maybe some of your favorite memories from youth group that you've had over the years. 324 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,920 What are some stories that stand out in your minds? 325 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,920 Do you want to begin with that, Elliot? Sure. Yeah. 326 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:11,920 I mean, there's many, many stories and and favorite memories, but many of mine are around youth retreats. 327 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:22,920 So having that time, you know, usually once or twice a year to go north of the city, usually, and to spend like solid full weekend with each other. 328 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:28,920 And that's usually involves worship and teaching and time together games. 329 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:38,920 And usually there's some really beautiful moments of kind of youth kind of coming to Christ or kind of sharing, opening up that kind of that really builds connections, 330 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,920 often with other youth, but often with the leaders as well. 331 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:46,920 So I really find that that kind of like cultivates a real closeness in youth group. 332 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:53,920 And it's often a highlight of our year is it's a youth retreats as it was this year. Great. Great. 333 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:58,920 And how often, sorry, do you go on a retreat? Is it usually once a year, sometimes twice, sometimes once? 334 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:04,920 Yeah, I think in the past it's been once or twice, but this year we went on one. Awesome. Great. 335 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:09,920 And the pictures looked great. I wish I had a picture to show everybody because they looked really fun. 336 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,920 What about you, Anna? Yeah, I mean, I was going to say retreats as well. 337 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:23,920 Again, they're always just such a fun time. But also say honestly, just being in small group is always really good. 338 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:30,920 With my group, I always like to do like weekly check ins and see how the youth's weeks has been. 339 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:37,920 And so over time, now they like get excited to do the check in and share what's been going on in their lives. 340 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,920 And that's really cool to see and like that they want to share with each other and then meet with me as well. 341 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:48,920 And that they, yeah, they just want to be in each other's lives and share their own lives. 342 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:55,920 It sounds like there's these relationships are formed and built and cultivated through those types of more intimate conversations. 343 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,920 I think that's something that girls, small groups do especially well. That seems to be a real highlight. 344 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:03,920 I don't know if the guys get as deep, but the girls seem to really, really gravitate towards small groups. 345 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:09,920 You never know. As I am coming in just this year, what memory stands out for you, perhaps? 346 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:14,920 Yeah, I was also going to say the youth retreat, of course. I mean, it's just really special. 347 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:20,920 But if I have to pick something else, I'll go with the youth gala that we do. 348 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,920 I know Elliot's been doing it annually. So I was like, all right, let's keep that going. 349 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:26,920 Is that the Christmas gala? Yes, the youth Christmas gala. 350 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:31,920 So we decorated the parish hall here and we threw on a good event. 351 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,920 Actually, sort of behind the scenes action, we were watching the registrations pile in. 352 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:40,920 And this year there was 80 registrations and my mom said that she would cater for us. 353 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,920 And she's like, how am I going to feed 80 people? 354 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,920 Yeah, but in the end, we had a really successful time. There wasn't enough food for everyone. 355 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:55,920 And one particular moment at the youth gala that was my favorite was at the very end 356 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,920 when we were all playing Just Dance and there's just a room full of people dancing. 357 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,920 That was really fun to watch. That's great. 358 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,920 All right, so those sound like fun times, but we know that youth also face some challenges 359 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,920 like any generation does. But what, from your experience in working with the youth, 360 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:16,920 who you say maybe are some of the challenges that are facing the youth at this time? 361 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:24,920 And feel free, anyone can just maybe jump in and just share that. 362 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:30,920 I can start. I think it's interesting with this generation growing up with social media 363 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:35,920 because, you know, even like even me, I'm not that much older than some of them, 364 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:42,920 but I'm like, I don't know, seven, seven, eight years older than some of the grade sixes. 365 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,920 And they already have phones, not all of them, but some of them already have phones 366 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,920 and they already have social media. And I think it's just it's really easy to compare yourself 367 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:57,920 to what you see online and on all these different types of medias, which can be harmful 368 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:00,920 because a lot of what people post, right, they're not posting. 369 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,920 They're only posting their highlights of their lives. 370 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,920 So it's hard for people to compare and see how awesome everyone else's life is. 371 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,920 And then you're constantly looking at that. 372 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:15,920 And I think it can also is one of the things that's contributing to so many mental health issues 373 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:18,920 that youth have to deal with these days. 374 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:20,920 Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. 375 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:25,920 Yeah, I think I think social isolation, isolation, as I mentioned, is a big one. 376 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,920 Social media is a huge contributor to that. 377 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,920 And I think, you know, even if it wasn't for social media, I think just so many youth 378 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:38,920 that feel out of place, maybe in the world or in school that are coming to youth 379 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,920 and hopefully feeling a little bit more connected. 380 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,920 But, you know, through small groups, they do open up and share about some of the concerns 381 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:52,920 they have with, you know, friend groups and just feeling connected to people. 382 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:57,920 And it's such a tricky transitional part of life that I think that's natural and always has been. 383 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,920 But and everyone experiences it differently. 384 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:02,920 So I think that continues and social media certainly. 385 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,920 Yeah, Zion's correct. It hasn't made it any easier. 386 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:07,920 It's made it more difficult. Right. 387 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:13,920 Right. Well, I'm just wondering then how you have also maybe been encouraged by this generation. 388 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,920 So every generation brings its own. 389 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,920 And I don't want to paint everyone with the same brushstroke, but everyone, every generation 390 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,920 brings its own strengths and gifts and learnings to us. 391 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:30,920 So from your experience working with them, what have you learned as leaders from them? 392 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,920 I personally have learned. 393 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:38,920 I kind of remember my early days helping out with youth group that, you know, you think that maybe 394 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:44,920 one tactic or one approach to something or a topic is going to be universally kind of accepted 395 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,920 and a good tactic. But obviously, youth are so different. 396 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,920 The way they learn, the way they think, the way they approach things is all unique. 397 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:58,920 So it's really important to see how things resonate with each person individually 398 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:05,920 and have those one on one conversations set apart from kind of, you know, just the group conversations or discussion. 399 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:12,920 And it's amazing. I've also learned like how especially this generation, how innovative and, you know, 400 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:18,920 tech savvy, but also just kind of creatively thinking this generation really is. 401 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:23,920 And I tend to learn new things apart from the kind of, you know, updating the slang. 402 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:29,920 I learn new things about kind of how to navigate this modern world from them basically every week. 403 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,920 So, yeah, it's a pretty impressive coming to youth group and seeing the creativity and innovation 404 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:34,920 in some of these youth. 405 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:36,920 Well, that's encouraging as well, isn't it? 406 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:45,920 I think I would say on one like thing, I think social media and just like the internet in general has done 407 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,920 is brought more exposure to things. 408 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:56,920 So like the differences of personalities and different struggles that people may have 409 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:03,920 and just different ways that people do think and act. 410 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,920 I'm just thinking of like neurodivergent people and things like that. 411 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:15,920 And so I've seen a real kindness from the youth to those people in how they, you know, welcome them in 412 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:20,920 and treat them and like more understanding of those differences as well. 413 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,920 That's great. It's great. Thanks for highlighting that. 414 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:32,920 And I also think that this youth, these youth do a great job of enjoying the ordinary moments in their life. 415 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,920 Like when they come to youth group, you know, we're all just playing and having fun. 416 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:40,920 And not to say that they're always on their phones, but you know, sometimes when we're having a good time, 417 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,920 all of a sudden they whip out their phone and they got to record this moment just because, you know, 418 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:50,920 it seems like just kind of an ordinary fun time, but they just they always want to document everything 419 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:51,920 and save these memories. 420 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:57,920 Yeah. Well, that's that's encouraging as well to see that this is something that they consider memorable. 421 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,920 They want to connect with other people about. 422 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,920 And I'm really hearing a theme of connection and relationship in general from the youth here. 423 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,920 Now, if anyone is out there and would like to get involved in youth ministry here at Trinity, 424 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:16,920 be it a volunteer or be it being a youth and want to come out on a Friday night, how can they get involved? 425 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,920 Well, to the youth, we we typically meet. 426 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:23,920 So if you're in grade six to eight, we meet from six to eight p.m. 427 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,920 Pretty much always here at the church. 428 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,920 And you can just show up any time. 429 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:30,920 You don't have to register in advance or anything. 430 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:36,920 And then if you're in if you're in high school, then we meet from eight to 10 p.m. 431 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,920 And same thing. You can just show up whenever whenever you feel interested. 432 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:46,920 We're always hoping to have more people come out and build some more relationships with some of the people that we have. 433 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:54,920 And we also have I think we do have a really inclusive group of of youth that, you know, are welcoming to to newcomers. 434 00:23:54,920 --> 00:24:03,920 So that's really great to see. And then to people who are maybe older than youth age and are interested in in volunteering. 435 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:11,920 Please feel free to reach out and we can have a chat about that and see if yeah, if we can make that work and you can come and volunteer on Fridays. 436 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:19,920 If you also want to contribute in another way, but you don't really feel like coming out to the youth group is your thing, 437 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:27,920 then maybe you can also bake us a little a little gift because something else that the youth have taught me is that they are a very hungry group. 438 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,920 They're hungry and we know snacks happen every every week. 439 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:35,920 Yeah, every week we need snacks, no matter how many snacks I buy, we always run out. 440 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,920 I love leaving it on that note. So that's great. 441 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:45,920 So an inclusive, welcoming, relationship building, consistent Friday night is for the youth here at Trinity and any youth who'd like to get involved. 442 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:52,920 And that is not not because of the amazing leadership that has has supported that. 443 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:58,920 So thank you very much for supporting the youth here at Trinity Zion and Anna and Elliot, as well as all the other volunteers. 444 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,920 You're just representing some of the amazing people who support our youth here. 445 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:16,920 So thanks for joining me.