Each student was greeted by a handful of leaders whose sole mission for the night was to serve and celebrate our newly graduated students. A beautifully decorated room graced these students as they entered. To say they were excited is an understatement.
As they began to settle down after dinner, we led a presentation centered around the year 2000, their year of birth. We made jokes about Y2K, and “Oops I did it again”. Then we did a presentation centred around the grads themselves. We had their baby pictures side by side with their grad photos almost as a snapshot of the last 18 years of their lives. Speeches were said about each individual, which led to laughter, tears, and commissioning. This was a commissioning for them to remember three things:
1. They are doing better than they think they are,
2. they are more loved than they will ever know,
3. and life is less about them than they think it is.
This is a special grad class for me. I have walked alongside some of these students from the very beginning of my time at Village Church. In my mind, they are my ministry, and they always have been. I have had heartbreaks with this crew, and they are a group that I could never be more proud of. This describes the emotional experience of every youth leader. In the end, as we ate Krispy Kreme donutsand played some fun games, the last 5 years with these students began to play like a slideshow in my mind. God has been gracious and will continue to be. This is a grad class that will affect our church for many years to come.
We love you guys. Thanks for making these years so special. Congratulations Grads of 2018!