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Community Q&A
by Jennifer Denning
week of July 19
Counselor
Personal Space
NICK: If I didn’t have those relationships,
I would probably get in trouble
a lot more at school. They provide an
example for me. Even if there are kids at
my school who don’t do the right thing,
the people at my church help me out
and show me what I should be doing.
They have a positive influence on me.
Nick is an eighth grader in Raleigh, N.C., who attends public school.
He knows very few professing Christians in his school but has found
community in connecting with other believers in his church. Nick
has attended church all his life. He became a Christian when he was
7 years old. Here’s what he said about what it means to him to live
in community when ec magazine writer Jennifer Denning recently
took the opportunity to talk with him.
JD: Nick, what are some ways you
connect with other believers?
NICK: My church is small, and so is
my youth group. Because our church
is small, I’ve gotten to know everyone
there pretty well. I have relationships
not only with other teenagers but also
with adults as well as kids younger than
me. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the
adults by going out to eat with them
after church and talking to them. I can
relate to them a lot because the things
they talk about I like to talk about, too.
With the kids younger than me, I have
already been where they are now, so I
can understand them.
JD: Why is it important to you to
have close relationships with other
Christians? How would your life be
different if you didn’t have those
relationships?
© istockphoto / jacob wackerhausen
JD: Give an example of how have other
believers have helped you.
NICK: When my grandfather died last
year, my youth leader encouraged me
and helped me get through it. He came
to visit me and attended the funeral. He
talked to me about it at youth group.
Also, another leader at my church took
some of us young people through a
video series about the creationist theory
of the earth’s origin and taught us about
apologetics [defending our faith]. It
really prepared me for all the teaching
of science material that conflicts with
my faith at school. It helped me stand
up for what I believe at school.
JD: How have you helped other
believers in your community? Can you
give an example?
NICK: A friend in my youth group also
lost one of her grandparents this past
year. When my friend’s grandmother
died, I tried to comfort her.
JD: What advice would you give to a
teen who wants to connect with other
believers but doesn’t know how? What
could that person do to build solid relationships
with fellow Christians?
NICK: Try to connect with people and
work to become friends with people at
your church. Just be yourself and don’t
try to be all good and different just
because you’re at church. If you do that,
people will grow to know you as someone
you aren’t really. ec
Photos this section: © istockphoto / juan estey, tania oloy, viorika prikhodko, gina addison, & brandon laufenberg
Guidance counselor. Career counselor. Substance
abuse counselor.
You live in a society that is always seeking counsel. When
we don’t know what to do, we turn to our “counselors”—
friends, family, and sometimes, professional therapists.
We want to know what to do or how to fix the problem. At times,
you just want someone who will listen and counsel—a guide, adviser,
mentor, that person who will help you figure out what to do and
discuss what the next step is.
A good counselor, though, doesn’t just tell you what to do. A good
counselor helps to shed light on the problem and guides you to
the right decision. The best counselors don’t leave you alone in the
situation, but they also don’t coddle you. They guide, but you have to
be willing to make the effort.
Life is hard. But God didn’t leave us alone in the middle of this
messy life. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit, our Guide and Counselor.
If you are a believer, God’s own Spirit lives within you, guiding
you, giving you wisdom and power, and lighting the steps of your life.
It’s the Holy Spirit that enables you to do God’s work. The Holy Spirit is
at work in your daily life as your Guide, your Friend, your Counselor.
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