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by Missy Carmack, Youth Director
It’s been 7 years since I was offered the job as director of youth ministries here at Our Savior’s. Seven years!!! I had just graduated college, had taken extreme amounts of youth ministry and bible classes, and was offered the job at Our Savior’s. I was ready to conquer the world!!! (Well, actually, little did I know, the World was ready to conquer me.) What I didn’t see coming was that God would use the teenagers and the people of Our Savior’s as a step in my journey, to help me grow and continue to develop into the person God created me to be. In a few short weeks, I will be closing the door on this part of my journey at Our Savior’s, but I will be opening another door…one that is a part of my seminary education and the call that I have received to minister as an ordained pastor. The goodbyes will be hard, but it is the support that I have gotten over the years from this congregation that has allowed my journey to continue.
The teenagers here at Our Savior’s have opened my eyes to an understanding of what ministry means. Ministry does not happen because of a single person. Ministry happens between people all the time. At times in my years here, I have ministered to teenagers, but they have also ministered to me! I have been inspired each and every day that I am with teenagers in the past 7 years…inspired to be passionate…inspired to search for answers…inspired to be real and honest with who I am as a person...inspired to seek out God and learn from the Bible through all of life’s ups and downs.
So, I want to say Thank You to the approximately 500+ teenagers that I have seen, met, had coffee with, engaged in faith discussions with, traveled with, laughed with, prayed with, and learned with during my time here. There are so many significant ministry moments that will continue on with me: Sitting on the ledge talking about God until wee hours in the night while in Jamaica is something I will never forget. Seeing our entire cabin surround one student who is hurting and praying for her during MEA Getaway has been embedded in my understanding of what it means to be there for people. Witnessing letting go of a hurtful past and giving your life and worries to God because you are accepted by a group of students who are on the Colorado Trip with you has shown me what life is all about. Teenagers…truly, from the bottom of my heart….THANK YOU for showing me what it means to be real, to be genuine, to be passionate, to be forgiving, to…well…show me the power of Jesus and the ministry that you all do every single day. You have inspired me to continue on to where I feel God is leading me…to a new Journey in my life.
And to everyone who has ever supported these incredible teens and the youth ministry in some way in the past 7 years, I thank you for encouraging me, helping me, and supporting me in my life in more ways than you know. You have truly allowed me to leave this place touched and inspired to go out and serve the world in the way that I feel God calling me to do so. The ministry that is present and abundant at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church will continue to go with me on this new Journey of life. My journey has been enhanced by YOU…the community of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, and I hope yours has too. Where will your journey lead you, and more importantly, how will you allow this community to be a part of that? It sure has been a significant part of mine!
For Him,
Missy Carmack
Current Issue: July-August 2011
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