Where is about the only place where you can goof around, worship Jesus with fun, silly songs and still learn more about Him? Well none other than your local church youth group nation wide. If you are now attending youth group you could be anywhere from a sixth grade student going into middle school, to a senior just itching to get out of high school. Either way, I don't think you should take all of the fellowship with your peers and fun at church for granted.

I'm not going to show you pictures of funny gifs from a popular TV show or movie (not this time at least). Along with each point I'm sharing pictures of my youth group at the church I attend from the past couple years. This is the youth in action. Loving God, loving serving God and loving others. Here are the 7 reasons why NOT to take youth group for granted.

You Get To See Some Incredible Things.

That ark right there in the picture? Yeah, it's breathtakingly HUGE in real life. That's because the Ark Encounter was built with the same dimensions as God commanded the original one to be in the bible, "This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high." Genesis 6:15 (NIV). When you attend youth group, you should be finding out about awesome adventures that you have the opportunity to go on! From retreats to trips to the creation museum, there are many opportunities for you to learn more about God and to have fellowship with other believers!

It Goes By Faster Than You Think.

You know how when you get on a roller coaster and you are so excited to take the ride, but then it's over before you know it? Yes, I am comparing your K-12 days to a roller coaster; cliché, yes, but true. Yes high school seniors, I am talking to you. Take it all in, go to the activities you have time for and enjoy it while you can! I mean it just feels like we were goofing off in Sunday School yesterday! Or were you...

It Strengthens Your Faith.

There are three activities youth group usually consists of: fellowship (playing games, talking to friends), worship (singing songs and praises) and teaching (going through and discussing a book in the bible). When you are younger you probably thought as the teaching part as the "boring" part, which is okay. But when you are getting into middle school and high school youth groups, your youth pastor's job should be getting deeper into the word, and preparing you for when you leave the youth group. "Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them." Ezekiel 38:7. We are preparing for a spiritual battle.

When you need someone, people are there to talk and to pray with you.

24/7, 365 days a year. If you have a problem at school or home, struggle in your relationship with Christ, or just need to feel peace, God is always there and people of God are always there. A good place to start would be your youth pastor or a youth leader. There's also the option of going to a friend you trust with what you have to say. When go to people with these requests, there will be no judgement. Just requests, praises and hurt lifted up to God. A verse from my last article goes well with this statement, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6.

There are a lot more service opportunities.

I know this fact firsthand. For those of you in college and attended youth group, you can relate. When you leave youth group and go off to college, you are so busy all of the time and feel like you don't have any time to do anything else but study. Also, there sometimes aren't so many times where someone comes up to you and says, "Hey want to go volunteer somewhere today?" When in youth group, there are opportunities left and right to go and serve the Lord. For example, Kids Against Hunger (pictured above). You do it with friends, serve the Lord and others who are starving around the world. You also make a huge difference doing it. Sometimes your youth group will take trips to help people in other communities, or a mission trip!

Your Youth Pastor may be a dork, but they are there to help answer the hard questions.

At times they will be trying to steal your food with a fork that is made to be a back scratcher (as pictured above). But most of the time, they are either out in the field spreading the gospel, in their office working hard on a message to help us understand the Word more, or showing the love of Jesus by being, well themselves. They went to seminary, they know what they are the talking about! Ask them the hard questions, and they will use God's Word to answer it.

Have fun, you are young!

This is a great statement to close with. When you are young, just have fun! Unless you are a youth leader at your local youth group, you don't get to go back to youth group. There's nothing like it beyond high school. Enjoy it while you can!