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McLean Pedersen
English 4
Mrs. Debock
28 April 2016
Real World Experience Narrative Writing
When I began my senior exploration I was not planning on picking the topic that I did.
For some reason I felt that the prayer in school was a tough subject because it would be hard to
find enough information to write a research paper. . However, it seemed as if God was calling on
me for this topic because I always ended up back at the same page on Ebsco reading current
events and problems about prayer in school. So, I decided that my research topic would be based
on prayer in school. I quickly learned that prayer in school is a bigger problem than I had
originally thought. Many schools were having major problems, to the point where some school
administrators were asked to leave their school, their work place. I had thought that my service
hours would be challenging because I honestly had no idea what, or where I would go. However,
once I began writing my second research paper I slowly found out that attending youth groups
and student ministries, as well as, shadowing the youth pastor was the perfect fit for my research
topic.
To begin this part of the project, I was struggling a little to figure out where I would
fulfill my service hours. I talked to a couple of youth pastors and a couple of preachers. I talked
to a man name John Schafer, currently the preacher at Discover Church, a small but rising
church, about maybe interviewing him on his thoughts about my topic. Well, unfortunately I
never really pursued that interview, and then, as God would have, I got to the gym a little late
and believe it or not there he was. We actually sat on a weight bench and had a conversation

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about prayer in school. I did not actually count that as part of my service hours, but he turned my
head in a new direction of where I could actually pursue the hours that I so dearly needed. The
following sunday I pursued and shadowed my pastor at my church, but while I was there I had a
conversation with a guy named Tom Hanks (no not the famous one, do not get to excited) who is
the current youth pastor of LC3 (the church that I have attended for about 12-13 years now),
about what I could do. He invited me to youth that night and said I would shadow him and
interview him. I was super excited, but I knew that that would only fulfill about four of the eight
hours I would need. So with the help of good friend Drew McCann I discovered a new youth
group called New Spring, which is located up near the old Hard Rock Park, which I enjoyed
greatly. I planned on attending that on the following Wednesday, which would be the answer to
my service hours.
I had many great experiences over the course of my eight service hours. The energy that I
felt at New Spring youth group is one that I could not describe. Chills were sent through my
body as every kid in the room was shouting, jumping up and down, and dancing to the music of
gospel. My youth pastor (Tom Hanks) let me shadow him and help teach the students at in my
youth group. We spoke about how it is never too late to turn back to Christ, which is a large issue
with students because after all the partying and drinking that they could never be accepted by
God. After a short message I was able to sit down with Tom one on one and interview him. He
talked about how the country was founded on freedom of religion, which intrigued me because
that was a big statement in one of my previous research papers Prayer in School. I told him
that it was understood that St. James was one of the few schools in Horry County that allowed
religious activity, and he struck back asking well is St. James breaking the law and turning the
head the other way. He continued to ask if the school syllabus said anything specifically about

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religion in school, or were many other schools in Horry County not allowing it because they did
not like it. I was unaware and felt unprepared about the questions that may come about in the
future. The syllabus did not state anything specifically about prayer in school, or at least I could
not find anything about it. That was the Horry County school syllabus, so that would be in effect
for every school in Horry County. I was quick to learn that my subject prayer in school is a
difficult subject and nobody want to deal with it because it is such a sore subject and no one want
to be the so called bad guy. Those were some of the encounters, as well as, the information that
I was able to interpret throughout my service hours, which helped me to find some answers and
evidence that I would have never found without my senior exploration.
Spending many hours in the churches with kid and youth pastors, I am ecstatic that I
chose prayer in school for my senior exploration. Throughout my real world experience my eyes,
ears, and heart were opened wide in, and I was able to receive and experience valuable lessons,
and as sore as a topic as prayer in school is, I am happy to say that it was my topic, and I fulfilled
my senior exploration to its fullest!