The State of the Youth

The State of the Youth 

This fall and winter, in my opinion, has been a great, fruitful and an extremely fun time for the youth ministry.  I have seen many students change, grow, and continue to deepen their roots in Christ.  Students have realized areas of bondage, un-forgiveness and other areas of personal sin and have surrendered them to Jesus.  We have had many new faces come, some of whom have stayed and some we hope will come back again.  And we have had a core group that has become strong, consistent and who has also demonstrated selfless leadership.  It is my prayer, for all of them, that the seeds that have been sown by Sunday school teachers, VBS volunteers, pastors, youth leaders, and especially parents, would take root in their hearts, would grow and bear fruit, so that they can go out and plant seeds of Gospel truth in the lives of their peers.

As a parent or other caring adult in our congregation you might have wondered what our young people are studying.  I wanted to take this opportunity to give a bit of a ministry report and let you all know what we've been learning.  Last fall, the senior high students did a study on Wednesday nights from Dare to Share.  This study walked us through the foundation and substance of the gospel and helped us become more comfortable telling our friends about the hope we have in Christ.  In Nov. and Dec. we talked about how to honor God in our relationships.  At Sunday Night Live (Jr. High youth group) we studied about the overarching themes of the Bible - from Creation, to Kingdom, to Captivity, to the Cross, and the Church, and we recently finished up a Francis Chan study about surrendering all aspects of our lives - our "stuff", relationships, plans, and even our very lives to Jesus.    For Sunday Morning Discipleship we are studying the parables of Jesus.  The senior highers just started a new series for Wednesday nights.  It's called Not a Fan and contrasts just being a fan of Jesus with actually picking up our cross daily and following Jesus.  And the junior highers just started a study about friendships.  Overall, I think God is doing a wonderful work in the lives of our young people.

The other day, as I was analyzing my ministry, I was thinking to myself, “What could I teach or impart to my students that will have the biggest and most lasting impact upon their lives?”  As I pondered this question, I began to look back upon my own life.  What impacted me?  What was the biggest influence in my own relationship with Jesus?  Looking back, I think what has continually had the biggest and most lasting impact on my life is what I saw modeled in the lives of a few of my Christian adults in my life.  As a child, I noticed my dad, getting up early and reading the Bible daily. I saw that my mom’s Bible worn from lots of reading, and its words had an impact on her daily life.  I heard my youth pastor repeat over and over how we need to habitually feed upon Gods Word, and I saw that he "practiced what he preached."  I also listened as the lead pastor of my church preached verse by verse through the Bible as if it had the final word regarding life and action.  I saw people striving to live like Jesus.  Through this, as well as other influences, God drew me into His Word - caused me to hunger for it and read it for myself.  I began to look at Jesus through the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of John.  It is then that God began to disturb me, to shake me up, and to awaken me to realize that I desperately needed Him.  Not only did feeding upon God’s Word start a change in my life, it has continually, through life’s ups and downs, challenged me, convicted me, and deepened my love for Jesus. 

It occurred to me that I knew what I needed to try to impart to the students - something big and powerful that would have a lasting impact on their lives.  I want to show them how to feed upon the scripture, listen to what God has to say through His Word and then allow His Spirit to conform their lives to that of Jesus Christ.  You know what’s cool?  It doesn't take a degree, or extensive Bible training, or super spirituality to impart this to our young people.  Just pick up a Bible read it, and let them know how important it is for them to do the same.  Paul encourages young Timothy in his second letter, “ You… know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,  persecutions, sufferings….  …Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.   All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:10-11a - 3:14-17, NIV 1984).”     

~Trev 

• If you are looking for a Bible app for your computer or mobile device check out  https://www.youversion.com/ or the YouVersion Bible app on your device.  There you can find a ton of Bibles, Bible reading plans, devotions, video devotions and other great resources for free!
• If you want to learn more about how to read the Bible I would recommend a very easy to read and practical book called, Living By The Book  by Howard and William Hendricks.