I’m spending a few days this week at a youth conference. I brought three teenagers with me who are eager to worship and grow in their faith. As I write this post, they are standing and listening to Lacrae, a well-known Christian rapper. And they’re with a couple thousand more teenagers who are shouting and praising Jesus. It’s awesome.
I just came back to my seat a little bit ago. I was in a room full of teens who were giving their lives to Christ. I got to pray with a couple teens who were rededicating their lives to Jesus. It was awesome.
It reminded me once again that we have and lot of hope for the future of the church. God is still in the business of calling out a people for Himself, including the next generation. And that’s awesome.
It sure seems like a lot of teens are taking their faith seriously. They’re taking worship seriously. And I bet if we give them the opportunity, they’ll take service seriously.
The preacher tonight said something I’ve heard before, known for awhile, and firmly believe. He said that youth are not the church of tomorrow. They’re the church of today.
Thanks, Chris for the good work you are doing. Especially with the teens. I agree with you and the preacher that the teens are an integral part of the church, both now and in the future. Give them something to buy into, service and responsibilities, and they will grow and mature into faithful servants for years to come.
Thanks, Wayne. I don’t always get this right, but I’m grateful for a handful of youth at our church who are really serious about their relationship with Jesus.
Having been able to call you & Abby my friends for close to 20 years (yes, it’s been that long!), I have always taken your retrospective on ministry close to my heart. So many people today forget the importance of engaging youth today… not when “their ready”… because, they ARE ready. Ready to serve, ready to praise and ready to lead… and the faster the church realizes this, the faster one of the greatest ministry tools available to the church can be put in place to steer the course to the future. That is only accomplished by putting the youth of today in service to the church… today.
Very true, Jerome. Even the youth who don’t seem ready and willing to serve often just need an opportunity and a little encouragement.