COMPASSIONATE CITIZEN

A “compassionate citizen” is someone who contributes to their community and is kind to all of those around them. They show tenacity and excitement in serving others and encourage those around them to do the same. An instance in my life where I was a compassionate citizen occurred during my church’s VBS. My church, Shadow Mountain, always puts on a huge Vacation Bible School that reaches thousands of kids every year. I decided to volunteer in the form of the praise team. The praise team, nicknamed Team Barnabas, was not only responsible for setting the tone and encouraging kids to worship but we were also tasked with making frozen lemonades for the rest of the staff. I learned quite a bit while volunteering, and I know I was impacting the kids at camp as well. One of the main lessons I learned there was how to be a true leader. You can get up on stage and make it all about you, or you can engage with the audience and help them worship. I will admit, jealousy of my fellow team members was present for a time, but I had to learn to let it go. Once I did this, I was able to put my whole heart into what I was doing and maybe assist in leading a kid to the Lord. There were a few responsibilities put on us as well. The biggest one was memorizing songs and dance moves, but further than that, we had the responsibility of demonstrating a servant’s heart. It was important to note that everyone was watching us, looking to us for encouragement and refreshment. We had to have cheery attitudes at all times in order to do our jobs well, and this was no easy task. At the end of everything, though, it was all worth it just to see the kids so excited to worship God. I can’t wait to participate again next year.