Made for More: When the Spirit Sends | Megan DelGrosso | Church of the Resurrection

11:18 Hi, everyone. My name is Megan Del Grosso, and I'm the student ministry director here at our Resurrection Leawood location. And I'm so excited to get to share with you today. My husband, Mike, and I moved here five years ago with our two kids, Caden and Victoria. And when we moved here five years ago, they were going into preschool and kindergarten. And now they are going into second and fifth grade and time has flown. And in that time, a lot has changed in our lives and a lot has changed in our student ministry. In 2023, the last time I got to share with you, we talked about passing our faith on to the next generation and what that would look like in our student ministry. And we dreamed about the growth potential and all the ways that we could support students here at Resurrection and in the community.

12:13 And we've experienced a massive amount of growth since then. In the last two years alone, we've grown 22%. We saw over 1,000 students this year between all of our programs that support students. Our students have gone on local serve trips and global serve trips. They are serving across our resurrection community and out in the community. We opened our brand new student center this spring. We've launched more small groups for all the students that have started joining us. And it's been an amazing time of growth together. This year was our largest confirmation registration that we've had since COVID. We also recently, in partnership with Adult Discipleship, launched a college ministry that has been growing and thriving this summer. We also got to add two new staff to our team.

13:11 Tori joined us last fall and is about to launch the Hangout, which is an afterschool program that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays where students from the community can come and hang out in our student center and build relationships with each other and get to eat at our awesome cafe. And this weekend, we get to welcome our newest full-time staff member, Grace. And Grace is joining us to focus on outreach to students, but also to welcome all of the brand new students who are joining us. Last year alone, we had 252 brand new students who joined us in our ministry. 252, that's a 41% increase from the new students that came the year before. It's a ton of students. And in the midst of all of that ministry growth and Ubering my kids to lots of activities, ice hockey and horseback riding and Girl Scouts and piano, God thought it would be a good idea to call me into ministry through pastoral candidacy, going to seminary.

14:17 And that feels like a lot. And believe me when I tell you, that is the last thing that I ever wanted to do was to be a pastor. And it's something that I'd avoided for years, but there was always this kind of underlying, constant dialogue in me that said, am I supposed to do that? Surely that can't be what God's asking me to do. But little nudges, probably from the Holy Spirit that were telling me over the last 14, 37 years, that that might be what I'm called to do. But about three years ago, we hosted a baptism service in our student center. And I sat and I got to watch 50 of our students be baptized. Some of them for the first time, some remembering their baptism. And as I sat and watched and experienced that with them, I knew.

15:12 I knew that God was calling me into something more. But I was a little scared. So I went home that night a little nervous, but with enough courage to bring it up to my husband, Mike, can say, I think I'm supposed to go to seminary. I think I might want to go to seminary. And I was braced for a reaction, a reaction that was, no, you're not. We can't do that. You can't do that. There's too much on your plate. That's probably what I wanted him to say. But in fact, what he said was, yeah, I know. And I said, how could you know? I didn't know. And he said, how could you not know. I think everybody knows. And now, three years later, I'm in seminary, but I was worried because what if I stepped out and I said that and someone said, you're not really called to that. You must have misread the situation. Spirit worked through the service that night, but also spoke through Mike to encourage me to step out in faith and try something that I thought God might be calling me to. And I wonder how different my life would look if I hadn't responded to what I thought might be the Holy Spirit's movement by saying out loud that I might be called to seminary.

16:38 We've been talking about the Holy Spirit the last few weeks, and when I was looking back on my life as I was preparing for this, I see the movement of the Holy Spirit all over my life. But especially then when God used someone that I trusted to nudge me, to encourage me, to take a next step. When the Spirit is stirring in you, when you feel that nudge, that stirring, who do you go to? In our story today, Samuel felt the Spirit stirring, but didn't really know what was happening. So he went to his trusted mentor, Eli, the person he could talk to. And two times in the night, God calls to Samuel. And Samuel's living in the church with Eli to learn from him, to be mentored by him and to grow in faith. And both times Samuel comes to Eli and Eli sends him straight back to bed.

17:35 The third time God calls to Samuel. He goes back to Eli because that's his trusted mentor. and where else is he going to go? And he felt this stirring, but he didn't know what it was and he didn't know what to do with it. So he went to the person he trusted. And that third time, Eli realizes that Samuel might be hearing from God. And this is what scripture tells us happened. A third time, the Lord called Samuel and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, here I am, you called me. Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, go and lie down. And if he calls you, say, speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there calling as at the other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, speak, for your servant is listening.

18:32 Eli challenges Samuel to step out of what was comfortable, of what he knew, and say, I'm here and I'm ready to hear from you, God. And God speaks to him. And when he does that, Samuel finally heard God speaking to him. And it starts this ripple effect, this chain of events that changed history forever. Samuel goes on to be a significant part of our Christian history as the last judge of Israel, anointing a shepherd boy who would eventually be King David, Samuel was kind of a big deal. But what would have happened if Samuel didn't have Eli as a mentor? If Samuel didn't have someone he could go to, Eli's willingness to pause, to listen, and to share his wisdom, it shifted how Samuel engaged with God.

19:30 Eli's willingness to show up and care for a child that wasn't his, but he mentored on purpose. It changed the world. And there's probably been someone like that for you too. Someone who stopped and paused and listened and cared about you and helped you know God. Who is that person for you? Who is the Eli in your life? For me, there have been multiple over the years. Sometimes it's been my parents or my friends, maybe a boss, someone from inside your church community. But there's one person that made a really significant impact on my faith development as a teenager, and her name is Lindsay. And Lindsay was maybe six or seven years older than I was. And we went to the same church. She was my babysitter when I was in elementary school. And as I grew up, she was my counselor at church camp. And at least my memory says she went to all of our retreats and trips and events, but she was also in undergrad and seminary. So my memory might be fuzzy. But what I remember for sure is that she was patient when I was learning how to use AOL instant messenger and constantly pinging her all the time while she was in school. She saw me and she cared about me. She was willing to wrestle with big questions, big faith questions that I had.

20:54 She taught me a lot about faith and ultimately was an important part of my development personally and spiritually. She was someone that I knew without a doubt that I could come to. She made church feel safe. She made faith feel accessible. And it made asking questions a little bit less scary. Lindsay didn't have to do that for a kid in her church. She chose to. and it made a difference. We all need that, a Lindsay or an Eli, someone who chooses on purpose to show up for us. Now, years later, I want that for my own kids and I have Lindsay and my kids have Liv. Liv is their babysitter and she takes them out to eat and she loves them and answers their 10,000 questions. Liv is doing for my kids what Lindsay did for me and what a beautiful legacy that is.

21:51 Liv grew up here in our student ministry, and she also had a great mentor. She actually had a team of amazing mentors, but one of the mentors is named Emily. And although Liv is now off and graduated and going to be a junior in college, she and Emily still have a relationship together. When I asked Liv about her relationship with Emily, she said this, Emily didn't just treat us like a group she had to lead. She took each and every one of us under her wing and treated us as her own, showing us each individually the love and support we needed and continue to need. And I asked some of the other students from that class as well, what their thoughts were about Emily. And they all said similar things. She supported them beyond Wednesdays. She checked in with them about dances and dance competitions and wrestling matches. She showed up for them more than once.

22:53 I saw Emily at multiple of their grad parties and she's still showing up today. I want that for my kids. And I'm grateful to be part of a ministry that has so many Emilys to care for our students. Knowing all that, I wanted to sit down with Emily this week to talk about why she serves. And I learned that when she started in student ministry, she started just serving pizza because she was asked by someone. And I was curious if she felt qualified to be a mentor. Let's hear her response. I mean, I don't have a background, although I grew up in the church, you know, no seminary, no anything like that. Saying yes has been probably the best choice I've made for myself as well as hopefully for the kids that I serve with. The Student Ministries gives us everything that we need.

23:50 And it's okay to show kids that we don't know everything. And it's an opportunity that I have grown deeper in my faith alongside them. Because some of these kids know more than I do and have dug deeper than I do. So just say yes and show up. You'll never regret it. I feel like I get more out of it than I can ever give. and so selfishly it fills me up so much and so it's just although sometimes getting me out of the house when it's dark at night is very hard and once I'm there and with the kids it makes all the difference in the world and it's just been such a blessing you know it's fun to be another adult in their lives that gets to show up and and be a part of their lives and to love them and care for them and to be there if they need another one in their corner.

24:46 I love that for my kids, I just want more people to love them and more people to show them the way that caring and stepping outside of your faith and not just in the church, that they are so much bigger of a world and ways to serve and to use your faith in the real world, I just think is so important. Emily was willing to step into a small group of students where she didn't know anyone. Her daughter was in a different small group. And I wonder, would those students be as connected to church as they are if Emily hadn't chosen on purpose to show up for someone else's kid? When we say yes to God, our impact multiplies in ways that we can never expect because God does things through us that we could never do on our own.

25:45 It's not just Liv that Emily shows up for. Emily now serves a group of eighth grade students. And this week I got to sit down with two of her students and her daughter Ivy and hear about their experience with her. And I learned that they have known each other since preschool. They told me about this candy challenge they did on the serve trip. They did karaoke together and they have all these amazing memories that they never expected to have when they were running into church in preschool. When I talked to Luca, Xavier and Ivy, I wanted to know what they had to say about Emily thinking that she wasn't qualified to be a mentor. Let's hear what they had to say. I feel like my faith has gone to the next level since Emily has been our mentor. I like that she's really fun and makes us feel included and checks in on us.

26:47 I like that she always makes us feel welcome when we come into youth group. We'll always say, hi guys, how you doing, or from her or something like that. And I think it's cool and she's really kind to us in youth group and gives us candy too. I like how open she is to being a mentor for other people and not just focusing on me. Like sometimes I don't want her to be just focusing on me and her being able to go out and help other kids that may need it. I think anybody can be qualified if you're fun and like you just, I don't know, it's just really, I don't think you have to be qualified necessarily for it, you can just do it. Yeah, I think the same and like anyone can try it and see if they like it There are other people too. It's not just gonna be them leading a bunch of kids There's gonna be other people that you can lean on for help if you don't know what you're doing and Even if you both are starting new if one person Knows how to do something better than the other if one person can and handle energy of kids better than the other ones and use each other to figure things out.

28:02 Four years after Emily said yes to serving pizza, we get to watch this clip of a student saying that his faith has gone to the next level because of Emily. Emily, if she hadn't said yes to serving pizza, if she had given in to feeling unqualified to lead, I wonder what might be different. Luca and Xavier's mom wrote to me sharing about how grateful she is for Emily. She said, especially during these middle school years, any positive adult in their life is such a gift to me as a parent. She is a devoted, intentional mentor and truly knows my kids. That matters. Eli chose to have a relationship with Samuel. The scripture doesn't tell us that, but you don't just accidentally mentor a young person.

28:58 It takes intention. Eli choosing to mentor Samuel launched a chain of events, a ripple effect that we're still talking about thousands of years later. And the same thing is true with Emily and Lindsay and Liv. because mentors can help us recognize the voice of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in a way sometimes we can't identify ourselves. Sometimes we need someone else, a trusted mentor, a trusted person to help us see God in our lives. In Resurrection Students right now, we're experiencing a resurgence of students wanting to engage in their faith. And a huge part of that is because of the amazing mentors who are taking time to pour into our students, to serve them, to show up and to get to know them.

29:52 This year, one of our seventh grade small group mentors found out that their group didn't have Bibles. So she came to me and said, is there any way that we can get Bibles for our group? They had 20 girls in their group and I bought 30 Bibles. At the end of the night, when we had given them out, I was ready to receive the 10 unused Bibles. but the girls had actually made plans to take those 10 Bibles and give them to their friends who also didn't have Bibles. And I wonder what would have happened if those mentors hadn't showed up and they hadn't listened to the spirit stirring in the girls when they were speaking. If they hadn't shown up for the little moments, the times they wanted candy and the dance parties and where they're a little squirrely, They might have missed this opportunity to share Bibles with them and with other kids.

30:53 Our students are choosing to show up for others. We see that they're taking Bibles into their school. But the question is, who is showing up for our students? I want to invite you to be one of those people for our students. You don't have to be qualified. you might need candy, but we'll provide the candy. We need adults who love Jesus and like teenagers and are willing to show up for someone else's kid. Whether it's handing out pizza or serving donuts, welcoming them, writing birthday cards, or leading a small group with a mentor team, or joining us at the Hangout for our afterschool program, our students need you. And there's a lot of them. Remember how earlier I said we had 252 brand new students this year.

31:51 To really have enough mentors to support 252 students, we would need an additional 50 mentors, like five zero mentors. But this year we only had 10 new mentors. and I am not a mathematician, but I do know that that math does not math. Mentorship matters and it's really hard for 10 people to intentionally invest and care for 252. We need adults who love Jesus like teenagers and are willing to show up for someone else's kid. Before we close, there's one significant person in Samuel's story that we overlooked a little bit. And that person is his mom, Hannah. None of this story would have happened without Hannah making an intentional decision to prioritize faith for her child.

32:49 Hannah's choice to have Samuel grow up in an environment where he was being mentored and cared for and taught about faith and experiencing faith, That decision, it was the catalyst for everything else. Hannah sacrificed time with him so he could be mentored by someone else. And then she got to watch him change the world. All because a mom said, this faith stuff, it matters. And I need help. I need someone else to pour into my kid. I know I can't do it alone, but I'm gonna prioritize it. Hannah knew that faith didn't happen by accident, so she intentionally involved him so he could choose and experience faith for himself. And that's a challenge to all of us who are parents. Part of the job of a parent who follows Jesus is to honor those vows we took on behalf of them during their baptism, to raise them in church, to expose them to faith, to provide them with mentors who aren't us, who see them, who care about them, and can answer some of those big questions with them.

34:03 And students, we want you to join us too. We have a lot of fun and food and you heard candy. We have basketball and a slide and lots of games and some really good faith discussions and life discussions and dance parties and karaoke too. Our goal is to create a safe, authentic and inclusive community where everyone belongs and has the opportunity to choose to grow and live out their faith. And we want you to be a part of it. I might be biased, but I think the group of students and mentors is pretty amazing. But I think you would hear it better from Luca, Xavier, and Ivy.

34:48 My advice to them would be to just come and try it out. And all the adults and kids are really welcoming. Yeah, I think just like try it out, see if you like it. If you like it, great. and come in. If you don't, then maybe find some place that works for you. Just say yes at first because you never know. You might make friends for a lifetime or you might get some really amazing relationships with the people around us. I have all these adults that are now in my life that I can depend on and that aren't just my mom from coming to youth group and learning their names and learning about them. It's so much fun. Just say yes. Just say yes. I mean, there's just, there's so many different ways that you can, you can hand out candy, you can serve. I think we do coffee and stuff like that. You know, there's just so many different ways. I mean, I definitely did not feel like I could be leading kids in their faith journey, but just showing up for kids is showing them your faith. and just show up and have fun.

35:57 Hannah opened the door for Samuel to grow in faith by prioritizing his faith development. Eli mentored Samuel, cared for him and helped him experience faith and God. And Samuel answered God's call and went on to impact the world. Each person followed a nudge from the Holy Spirit. I don't think I'd be here. right here, standing right now today, if Lindsay hadn't taken time to pour into me and to mentor me. Emily never planned on being a mentor. She was just going to serve pizza. Imagine how different it would be if she had chosen to go grocery shopping or sit in her car. There's someone like that for you. Who was that person for you, who mentored you, who poured into you? and who are you doing that for? Are you that person for someone else?

36:54 It takes courage and faith and a little bit of vulnerability to open ourselves up to what the Holy Spirit might be saying, to step out and try something new that God is calling you to. But you can do it, whether it's mentoring students or something else. What I know for sure is that the Holy Spirit is always nudging us to move forward in our faith. Sometimes we just have to listen and be courageous and vulnerable enough to take that first step of faith. Will you pray with me? loving God, we thank you for those who have poured into our lives and pointed us toward you. Help us to listen to your voice. Help us to trust where you're leading us and help us to faithfully show up for all the people you place in our paths. In your name we pray. Amen.