That’s Encouraging
Well, I’m back from the National Youth Workers’ Convention in Sacramento. What a great weekend! I return encouraged and rested and looking forward to what the future holds for the junior high and overall student ministry at West Houston Church of Christ. That being said, I want to share my encouragement with as many people as possible.
We are in a unique situation as youth workers, parents, volunteers. We are in a position to reach out and touch people every day. I think we take it for granted that our children are/will be Christians because we make them attend church every Sunday. The fact of the matter is that believing attendance translates into faith is us fooling ourselves. Thinking that the number of kids present means we have fostered a healthy ministry is not a guaranteed truth. I can know every word of the Bible backward and forward, but that doesn’t mean I believe a word it says. It just means we’ve filled seats and filled our heads. It means we have exercised our power and authority over our youth and made them go where we want them to go.
Now, you’re wondering where the encouragement I was talking about comes in. Well, here it is. We have an opportunity to make a huge difference in the lives of our youth. Think about it. Parents, you are with your kids at home, running errands, driving to and from church. I know things can get crazy. Our schedules get full and we run from place to place focused on the tasks at hand. But what if we took the time to talk about faith with our kids during those times. Sure, it’s easier said than done. Maybe we don’t always know what to say. But at least we’d be saying something. Kids and teens can tell what we value as adults by two things: 1)what we spend our time DOING and 2)what we spend our time TALKING about. Sure, maybe we don’t know what to say about faith, but, if we take the time to bring it up and talk about it, we send the message that WE CARE ABOUT FAITH AND GOD AND WHAT OUR YOUTH BELIEVE IN. And then, after we’ve done that, let’s act like what we just talked about is actually what our lives should be like. Youth workers/volunteers, the teens know we are there at church with the purpose of spending time talking to them about God. So let’s make the most of it. In fact, let’s not only talk about it when they expect it. Let’s ACT like it. Let’s take 2 minutes to email them throughout the week and ask how they are and how God is working in their lives. Let’s pray that God uses us to show his presence.
We talk about role models and heroes. Our youth spend their days watching the every move of sports stars and musicians and actors they never meet. We are the ones they see and talk to daily. The encouragement we have is that we are the ones in a position to make a difference. We say that God is always with us. If we can believe that God can give words to Moses when he lacks the ability to articulate his message, why can’t we believe he can help us talk to the people we have personal, close relationships with? We have an chance to share with our teens the most important message they will ever hear. And, as their parents and adults they trust and look up to, we should be encouraged that God has placed us right where He needs us to be.
