INTRODUCTION
Kathryn is thirteen years old and attends St. Joan of Arc Secondary School. She has been attending Watermark with her family since the church was planted in 2010 and is a regular at youth group. As the eldest of four children, she takes on the responsibility of making sure her siblings don’t do stupid things. She decided to become a Christian when she was ten and got baptized at Watermark in 2017.
While many may know of Kathryn’s artistic talent, fewer people know that she was named after the Star Trek character Kathryn Janeway. Before the pandemic hit, Kathryn was an avid gymnast. She is naturally flexible and claims she got her flexibility from her grandma who can still do the splits. When asked about her favorite subject in school, she replied, “Is recess a subject?”
CHALLENGES AT SCHOOL
Although Kathryn attends a Catholic school, most of her classmates do not believe in God or follow Jesus. To them, being Catholic is about rules and isn’t all that fun.
One of the challenges Kathryn faces is that many of her friends like to swear for fun. However, Kathryn doesn’t think it’s the right thing to do and tries not to use bad language. As a result, her classmates used to make fun of Kathryn for not cursing, but they don’t seem to care as much anymore.
Kathryn shared that resisting peer-pressure requires self-control. As a Christian, she tries not to sin as much. She knows that the penalty Jesus paid for her sins was costly, and she doesn’t take it lightly.
She said, “Just because you’re saved, you can’t just start sinning, like killing people, and still go to heaven.” Kathryn recalled a topic on Faith and Deeds from Youth Group in which she learned about what it looks like to have genuine faith in Jesus and actively follow him. Although we are not saved by our works, our behavior should reflect our faith and salvation in Jesus.
BEING A CHRISTIAN
At the young age of thirteen, Kathryn already realizes that being a Christian is not easy. She explains that we all sin every day, even in subtle ways such as having hatred in our hearts.
In contrast to what her classmates view about Catholicism, Kathryn claims that Christianity is not about following rules. She understands that the Bible tells us to live a certain way for our own good.