[mikegug]

Originally Posted by Ican

Edit: Also, I'm a guy. I'm just lumped in with the good kids group that is mostly girls.

Oops. Sorry, dude!

[Becky]

Originally Posted by Ican

I'm not saying I need church to do things for God. But isn't that one of the things the church is suppose to help with? Correct me if I'm wrong.

I know no Christians are better than others, but I guess more like I can actually tell they love God and that they actually try...The other it seems more like church is a social gathering for them and just another club to be in. I really don't want to seem like I'm saying I'm better than them. That really is not what I think.

Where you are right now, is exactly where God wants you to be. Your parents have confirmed this. So the question you should be asking yourself is, why does God have you at this church, at this time in your life? Start asking God that question. And start praying for the kids in your youth group, by name, every day. I find it helpful to pray Eph 3:14-21. Except instead of "you" insert the name of one of the other kids.

Now I know that it feels like the kids in your youth group don't really care much about God. There could be many reasons for this, including maybe they don't really know Jesus. They might see Christianity as just a religion, which is common among teens who have grown up in Church. For a lot of them, it IS just a social club, a chance to see friends. That's NOT wrong. Its sad that they don't understand who Jesus is and why He is so worth serving and worshiping... but if they don't know Him that way, then following a bunch of dusty rules will feel pointless.

I knew you were a guy the first time you mentioned gossip
Its important to understand that gossip is, unfortunately, rampant among Christians on almost every level of spiritual faith in Christ. As a general rule, teen girls gossip. Adult girls do it too, but they are more refined about it (such as calling it a prayer chain!). Its, honestly, not something that says very much about their relationship with God, or their character... but rather it says more about the lack of actual teaching in the church and family about this topic. People don't go through a lot of details with kids as they grow up about what gossip is and why its wrong.