By Pastor Philip Chemel, National Youth Pastor
Jesus told His disciples that, “unless they convert and become like little children they will by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven”[1]. By this, He was teaching His followers about Humility. We can by extension also say that, this makes the child an important person in the life of the church.
The church over the years has said that, children and the youth are the future leaders of the church. But the question is how can they become leaders if we (the church) do not take pains to groom them into proper leaders? As stewards of God’s gift, it is our responsibility to bring up children and the youth in the way of the Lord. As rightly stated, “we are to train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”[2]. How then do we ensure that the children and the youth in our care have had the requisite training to take up the mantle of Leadership?
It is said that, “majority of Christians today came to know Christ at some point in their formative years (teenage years). If the goals of the churches are to reach these people for Christ, it stands to reason that; energy, money and resources must be made available to minister to this group of people”[3]. In a fast paced and changing world, young people need role models who will help steer them in the right direction. This is where the church comes in.
“Young people are constantly asking themselves these important questions: who am I and what do I want to do? Know that, at the heart of these questions is the desire for acceptance into society”[4]. Society is always bombarding our young people with information that tells them that love is conditional. However, as a church we are to model the love of God that is demonstrated unconditionally. The bible says that, “when we were yet sinners Christ died for us”[5]. He first loved us even when we did not love Him. This is the kind of love we are to demonstrate to our young people at all times. Giving them the acceptance they so crave for is the duty of the church and if the church is not able to offer that to young people, they tend to find them in other things and places.
As adults, most of us are starved of affirmation and this is no different from the young people in our churches. “Giving affirmation is not a one time emotional shot in the arm but its about seeing what God sees and is doing in the lives of the young ones and expressing it to them”[6]. Jim Burns in his book uncommon youth ministry, defines the art of affirmation as “catching our young people do something right and celebrating with them. It is looking for those opportunities to affirm character and growth in Christ”[7]. Once we are able to do that, we win their trust and they feel a sense of belonging. We need to affirm them privately, publicly and also perpetually.
As stated earlier, the young people of today are looking for role models, and if the church is not able to provide them with the sort of role models who will help them in modelling their lives after Christ, they will naturally gravitate towards musicians, athletes and other celebrities to fill the void of role models. “Discipleship is not about programming but a modelled relationship with Jesus Christ. Our young people do not need adults who act like kids but adults who care enough to open up their lives for them to see Christianity at work. Young people are able to see through our shallow relationships”[8].It istherefore important that we develop authentic relationships with them to win them over to Christ.
We are always surprised at the number of young people who are in pain, burdened, broken, disoriented and suffering. Disrupted homes, loneliness and guilt seem to be the norm among the young people of today. They are therefore looking for healing and hope and as a church, if we are to make an impact in the lives of these hurting souls, then we have to offer hope and healing to them, and be the place of comfort at all times. The church cannot sit back and wait for the government or some other organization to provide hope and healing to our young people. Clearly this will not work. Christ said that “without me you can do nothing”[9]. Any youth intervention which is not Christ centered is bound to produced worldly centered youth. We have to talk about it, teach it and offer it on a daily basis. In so doing, they will find refuge in the church giving us the opportunity to disseminate the love of Christ to them.
The saying that, they are the future leaders is presently a cliché. The reason is that, we say it but we do not walk the walk. We more often than not underestimate the intelligence of our young people. They have a wealth of knowledge that we should strive to tap into. Engaging them gives them a sense of responsibility. It makes them look forward to each day and also gives them a sense of accomplishment after the project they are working on is done. Paul in the book of 1Timothy told young Timothy that he ‘should not let anyone despise him because he is a youth’[10]. This is what we quite often do. We despise our young people thinking they have nothing to offer whereas the opposite is rather the truth. They have a lot to offer and they do offer them outside the church in schools, having fun with friends and in their work places.
It is important to note that, if we decide to get our young people involve, then we have to be conscious of how we proceed. Being smart and astute, they can easily see through our façade if we start to micro or remote manage them. We are to ensure that the responsibilities we offer them are meaningful to the church and it has purpose. ‘They are not cheap labour.’[11] The roles will have to geared at developing their gifts and talents and just not to be saddled with duties adults are unwilling to perform. The goal is to develop them to take up leadership roles. So as we identify their potential, we give them responsibilities that will help them develop those gifts and talents and we also offer guidance. Whatever roles and responsibilities we give them has to be timely. i.e. it should be time bound, it should have that sense of urgency to it. This excites them and also gives them a sense of purpose.
The role or responsibility has to be challenging. It should not be too difficult that it will scare them neither should it be too easy that, they can do without relying on the strength of God and not feel a sense of accomplishment. Children and young people of today are not all about music, fashion and social media. They are looking for a ‘spiritual challenge or awakening. And many a times we see this at our various youth camps. What they lack is the moral compass to guide their lives.’[12] The role of the church is to help transform the lives of young people into that of Christ. The unfortunate thing is that, we sometimes forget this all important goal. We most often than not get too caught up in programming and the details of church such that, we miss the most important legacy of all: seeing our youth and children becoming compassionate and lifelong followers of our lord and master Jesus Christ.
‘They are looking for guides and mentors who themselves are seeking to know God. It is out of the overflow of our lives that we are able to mentor them and also provide guidance. We cannot pour into their lives if we are empty ourselves’[13]. It is therefore important that as a church, we strive to seek God and also model a Christ centered environment for our children and young people to grow in.
They will come with questions and it is in asking these questions that they learn. The church should not feel intimidated when our young people seek knowledge. The last 10 years has seen an increase in availability of knowledge and young people of today are desperately in search for the truth. it is therefore important that we make God and the Church relevant in the lives of our children and youth. If we do not reach out to them by the time they attain the age of 13, we may be fighting a losing battle.
It is my prayer that the church will build capacity in this regard to ensure we provide spiritual leadership and guidance to our future leaders without whom the church will not have a future. It may seem a big challenge, but we have two options, ‘either to behave like the Israelites who got scared by the sheer size of Goliath or have a heart of David and say our God is so big we can’t miss’[14].
[1] Mathew 18:25
[2] Proverbs 22:6
[3] Burns, .J. Uncommon Youth Ministry (Ventura: Regal, 2001)
[4] Ibid, p.45
[5] Romans 5:8
[6] Ibid, p.46
[7] Ibid, p.46
[8] Ibid, p.48-49
[9] John 15:5
[10] 1 Timothy 4:12
[11] Ibid, p.51
[12] Ibid, p.53
[13] Ibid
[14] Ibid