Making Right Choices - Nikki's Reflection on the UYWI Conference

This was my first year at the UYWI conference (the promo video is posted below) and I have to admit I went into it with my “bucket” empty, but ready and prepared for it to be filled with the tools that would challenge me in my walk and the ministry I know God has called me to.

The workshop that most challenged was called “When Consequences Are Not Enough: Helping Kids Make Right Choices”. In this workshop the speaker, Jeffrey DeLeon, discussed the issue of how kids (both urban and suburban) don’t think about the consequences or care about the consequences of the choices they make. DeLeon suggested that this issue, which is prevalent among too many American youth, comes from four things: 1) They live in an anti-consequences culture. In society today few people allow youth to experience consequences. 2) Short term vs. long-term effect. Kids too often focus only on the immediate consequences. They aren’t thinking of how the choice they make today can affect them for the rest of their lives. 3) Lack of experience. Kids tend to trust their limited experience more than facts. They aren’t aware, intentionally or unintentionally, of what happens when a bad choice is made. 4) Overprotective parents. I know it can be easy to blame parents for a lot of things that are really are to be blamed on the kids themselves; nevertheless, instead of allowing their kids to face consequences parents too often defend their kids for the actions they have made.

How do we get kids who don’t care about consequences to become bold in Christ as opposed to being bold in sin? One way we do this at Sunshine is through small group discipleship. One group that I’m excited about is a group of 11-12 year old girls. With the help of two other women, I will be leading a Bible study this summer, focused on helping them develop a vision for the future and make right decisions based on that vision. Through teaching the Word and living out the Word's precepts alongside our youth, we hope to help them see the world as Christ sees it, and to see themselves as He sees them. Instead of worrying about what other people think of them we want them to be focused on their identity in Christ. Hopefully, through this Bible study, the girls will continue forward making wise choices, stemming from their Christian convictions.