Evan at Graduation

In case you didn’t know, I graduated high school last Saturday.  I had a great time with all of my family and friends that were there, and I even got my diploma!  Today, we were picking up a vehicle from some friends and they congratulated me on my graduation.  My mom said, “Yep, he’s all growed up now.”  (She normally doesn’t talk like that.)  That got me thinking about something.

We have a tendency to associate major events with maturity.  Graduation, age, driving, first job, etc.  Many times, those things do indicate (and should) a greater degree of maturity.  Unfortunately, that’s not always true.  I know some people who are 15 that are more mature than some 30 year olds I know.  I know some 15 year olds that are more mature than some senior citizens I know too!  Age ≠ maturity.  Just because I’m graduated doesn’t mean I’m mature.  (Some days that’s more true than others!)  We have to mark that difference in our minds.

This matters in ministry too.  Many children’s ministries reject teenage workers because they’re afraid of immaturity, when in reality many of those teens may be more mature than some of your adults.  You can’t completely base that decision off of age- it needs to look at both personal and spiritual maturity.  I wouldn’t be writing this post today had someone not looked past my age to what I could contribute.  That’s not to say I’ve always been perfect, but both I and my church have benefited from my volunteering.  I appreciate that someone took the time to do that.  Who can you welcome in, to grow both them and you?  Who do you need to say goodbye to?  It’s an intriguing thought.

Hey! This is Evan Doyle, and I’m the teenager on this blog. As Ryan has already mentioned, I am the Technology Director for KidzMatter, and for the Children’s Ministry at our church. I have grown up in Ryan’s children’s ministry since day 1, so we’ve known each other for quite some time. I got started working in ministry in 2003 at the age of 12 running the PowerPoint for our Sunday morning Kids’ Church. At the time, the computer we were running only had a floppy drive, so imagine trying to fit a PowerPoint with pictures and text onto a 1.44 MB floppy drive. Not fun. Since then, we’ve had 2 new computers, moved our entire song library from PowerPoint to MediaShout, and some other fun stuff. But that’s not my entire life.

I am also a home-schooled sophomore in high school (only 2 more weeks!). In 2004, I attended teen camp in 7th grade and felt a strong calling to Children’s Ministry. This has allowed me to take advantage of some amazing opportunities with Ryan. So I’ve taken on a volunteer position with KidzMatter, working in the office on Tuesdays. You may also remember meeting me at the KidzMatter booth at CPC, in both Orlando and San Diego this year. Another position I hold is as the Technology Support guy. If you’ve ever submitted a Trouble Ticket, I probably responded to it. In addition to all of this, I also hold a part-time job at a local Long John Silvers/A&W. So all in all, I have a very busy life.

Ryan, KidzMatter, and the other blog posters here have very much become like friends and mentors, and help me to grow as God would like. I look forward to sharing with you through this blog, and hearing your comments and advice. It is an honor to be given this opportunity, and to be mentored by such great people. See you again soon, and have a great day!