For the past 26 falls, I have sent and prayed over students in the churches that I have served as they have begun new school years.  First, it was about 20 students from our church in the community of Cash in Hunt County.  Then, God took me to northwest Tarrant County to Saginaw, on to Denton before bringing us to Arlington.  In all those places, I have driven around to our campuses on the first day of school and prayed over the teenagers that God had placed in our care.  Those have always been bittersweet days as we finish up summers (where we spend much of the week with “our” students throughout the week) and launch the school year – going back to seeing our students mostly on Sundays and Wednesdays.  I have never enjoyed the first day of school.

But then comes the first Wednesday night of the school year – after sending our students back to their campuses to be in the unique places that God has placed them, we get to welcome them back to church and see them in the middle of the week again!  We listen to the stories, we learn about their schedules, we discover who their favorite teacher is and which classes they wish they didn’t have.  It’s this sweet reunion, of sorts, and one that has given me life and encouraged me for a long time.  We get back into the rhythm of the fall and seeing students less during the week, but we get to be in stadiums, gyms, athletic fields, and performance halls to cheer on and celebrate the things these students are investing in and the places they are making a difference.

The fall of 2022 was quite different, because this year I took my very own teenager to his school and dropped him off for his first day as a 7^th grader!  After 26 years of everyone else’s student being “my” student, I now had my very own teenager that allowed me to taste the reality of the day in an entirely different way.  For 26 years I have tried to empathize, or celebrate, with parents as they begin the journey of another school year, but now I have experienced it with my teenager.  But just as the first Wednesday with all of our teenagers brought such joy, the first with my own teenager took it to an entirely different level!

On this “first Wednesday,” I got to watch my son walk into our building and hug his friends!  I saw his smile, took in the high fives, and fist bumps.  I watched him catch up with his church friends and it reminded me of why Wednesdays are so important.  We relaunched our Wednesday night programming as “The Break” this fall and so far, I absolutely LOVE “The Break”!

Wednesdays are already a busy day, but with a 7^th grader it is the busiest yet (and, yes, I realize as all of our kids get older it only gets busier!), but in the midst of a really busy day and week I love that my son gets the opportunity to take a “break” and hang out with his friends, to play and laugh and relax with no pressure, to hear the Word of God taught from folks that I trust, and to sit around the table with his friends and share a meal.  I really do love what Wednesdays provide for our students during the craziness that is life for a junior high or high school student – I love that we get to provide a safe place for them to take a “break” and refuel for the journey.

I know the weeks are full of things pulling for your time and attention, but I hope you’ll join us this Wednesday for a “break.”  I really think it makes a difference.

Blessings.

Kurt

PS – “The Break” kicks off at 6:00PM every Wednesday night in the Student Center at First Baptist Arlington – come give it a try!