The Middle School in a Metaphorical Nutshell.

I got an email from my parents today asking if I would post an entry about some of my first impressions about the church and students and provide a sort of demographic about the students in the middle school. I think that is a great idea and I will do my best to provide as good of description as possible despite my still limited knowledge of such matters.

Sunday mornings appear to be the high attendance time for the middle school. We had around 50 middle schoolers (I think) on Sunday morning and around 30 on Wednesday night. Because of the Sunday evening Parents of Teens meeting I have yet to see how big the turnout is for Sunday night Bible studies. I'm gonna name the leaders so I get an accurate count...Ray and Ashley, Joe and Jessica, Rico and Shelly, April, Keith and Ann, and Dan and Sarah. There you have it, 11 leaders. Not all of them attend both Sunday and Wednesday events, but between them all every event is sufficiently attended. 

I'm learning that not every youth group is like what mine was in Iowa. I think that out of my highschool youth group, 90% attended our church school. Here at Cornerstone, I think there are about 397 schools represented, or at least it seems that way. There is one small Christian school in the area that a few students attend, a large number of public schools, a "couple two tree" (Scranton talk for "two or three") private schools, and then a large number of homeschool students.

Ethnically, the area is predominately white and the church attendance reflects that with only a few students being Black or Asian. As far as personality is concerned, the middle school is very diverse. There are some students who seem to be able to go all night without saying a word, some who are eager to answer any question I ask, some who raise their hands during my "message" to ask their own questions, and some who like to talk, just not about what is going on at the moment.

Externally, there are teens who dress conservatively, some who dress on the edge of fashion, some who wear black and have chains hanging from their belt, some who love Salvation Army stlye clothing, some who have earrings, some who would have earrings if their parents would allow it, some who wear tight jeans, and some who wear jeans big enough to hold several people at the same time.

Most unique, in my mind, is this kid affectionately called, "Bug Man." Bug Man is in 7th grade, stands about 3'6" and loves bugs. He knows so much about bugs that he has literally taught a lesson or two at the local library about bugs. He has "Bug Man" business cards which advertise himself as a "pet insect expert" marketing towards  "teaching - birthday parties - insect and spider care sheets - bug keeping containers - bug craft kits - and free consultations." He also makes and sells "customized weaving crafts, coasters, bookmarks, placemats, and zipper pulls." He likes to catch caterpillars or various other bugs, put them in a bug-container, and bring them to church to show other students and teach them about his new pet. Bug Man is awesome. I'm glad he's a part of the middle school.

That's all I have for ya. Tomorrow night the middle school is having a big open gym night to just hang out and run around and play games. It should be fun. 

Hopefully this has been informative and somewhat interesting at the same time. I leave you with a picture of Parker and a pillow with his name written all over it.