when we talk about growing the body of Christ by numbers i think it's vital that we not overlook those who are in attendance on sunday mornings. weather you've walked through the doors for the 1st time or have returned....the key is you're there. what should be the obvious way to grow i feel is often overlooked by some. our children....our youth.
now, our church has a great childrens' ministry and for many adults it is one of the contributing factors for making mt. olive their home. what we, the church need to remember is that these children grow into teens, the youth! it is from here the "teenage" mind set that they will leave not only their homes but their home church and go out into the world. it is my opinion as a church we need to be highly aware of our actions and attitudes toward them as we send them off into the world. THEY are our future. THEY are the future of the church.
as we look toward the future, we need to be cognoscente as to how we're impacting them. not just how the youth pastor and volunteers are but how we as a congregation are doing.
- do we know them?
- do we know what interest them?
- do we know anything about their relationship with the Lord?
- do we consider them in service?
- do we lift them up?
- do we get involved?
- do we allow them to be teens? foggy? confused? excited? weird?
but they're getting there.
I work with them...and I'm excited about their future, our future, and they're excited about the future of their church...at least they want to be.
we have so much going for us. new building finally off the blue print and coming to fruition before our eyes, preschool in full swing, VBS that's awesome year after year! but...we need to keep the momentum.
our youth have HADs (hopes & dreams) and believe it or not they have HADs for what is to be their new space. we as youth leaders have asked them about it and how they feel. have you? i've seen tears of joy & thanks roll down their cheeks at the mere size of the space allotted for them and their activities. i feel we'd be remiss as a church if we didn't tap into our former "teen" years AND have a conversation with them to see what vision they have for mt. olive.
making a space or designing a service comfortable for us is relatively easy. factoring in "what will interest the kiddos" ...well that can be tricky! trust me as the youth night services are constantly needed to be tweaked!
this i do know...right now those who attend our youth are in love with the Lord! the relationships run deep. interestingly many who attend DO NOT attend or call mt. olive their home. :( YET they do attend youth group and they're growing in faith and service! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!
i also am saddened when i look around at the congregation on sunday morning and see young kids who could attend youth but choose not too. i know i've personally invited them to join in. however it's their choice not to. ....why? hummm i don't have an answer ...but can only speculate. some i've talked to attend youth elsewhere simply because that's where "their friends go".
again, it's not always about numbers. we've had the numbers...they've been up and they've been down. it's about investing time, interest, energy. we have an awesome youth ministry program, led by a young man with a passion for igniting a spark that fuels the flame of Love for God. we have adult leaders who take time away from their own families to get to know and mentor these goofy kids.
i want to invite you to do the same. andy & i first became involved when our kids were babes. we did so by providing a meal every once in a while. as our children grew so did our involvement*. i challenge you to do the same.
get to know the youth....get to know the future of our church...i'm s ure they'll surprise you! for they are oh so on fire for the Lord. they'll rock out praise in their band! and they're sure to rock a worship like you've never seen....different? sure! AWESOME...yep! they're teens ...they do things a bit differently!
check it out!
* ask me sometime WHY i got involved! i'd love to share my story!
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