Post
Save the Vo-tech programs
This past summer, the pastor of my church took a group of twenty teens on a mission trip where for several days, these young people worked side-by-side with church youth groups from several other states.
The mission of this youth mission trip centered around home repair for some elderly and poor residents of a community in an eastern state.
Upon their return from a week away – sleeping on air mattresses on the floor of a school, the kids came back exhausted yet exhilarated. Their mission work meant rising early to head out with a team of their peers and an adult chaperone to replace the skirting on a mobile home, replace shingles on the roof of a house, and a variety of painting, caulking, and other repair projects.
A lot of church youth groups from many different denominations across the country do this. Youth groups from very rural communities like mine, where a pastor has more than 1 church to shepherd, to youth groups from big cities where it takes more than 1 pastor to shepherd the church.
The youth from the more rural churches spent much of their time teaching the youth from urban areas how to hold a hammer, use a screwdriver, and paint. The youth from the rural churches jumped in to the task at hand without concern about getting dirt on their jeans or sawdust in their hair. The youth from the urban areas stood back and were more than willing, for the most part, to find something to do that did not include power tools, nails or paint.
I’m not suggesting the “city kids” were lazy. Rural youth are more likely to be exposed to this sort of work and have a different skill set than those from urban areas.
As I listened to the stories these youth had to share, it became increasingly clear to me that those skills our rural youth learn and hone not only on the farm but in vocational tech, industrial arts, and ag classes in school are a lifeblood to our rural communities and economy.
Don’t lose those programs in your schools!
Add Comment