07/18/2023
This blog is dedicated to the next generation of missionaries, pastors, and church leaders.
Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Brazil with a group of seventeen high-school students and ten adults. I’ll be honest. I thought a ten-day mission trip with high schoolers would be … well … challenging. I thought our time would be filled with drama, complaining, negative attitudes, and the like.
To high school students everywhere: forgive me. I was wrong.
These students were on fire for the Lord, served with great attitudes, and joyfully accepted their ministry assignments in the midst of a tiring schedule, Brazilian heat, and cultural dissonance. When we had our debrief at the end of our trip, several students indicated a sense of call to pursue missions, and ALL of the students indicated a life-changing perspective of God’s Kingdom work around the world as a result of their hands-on experience.
So, what did these students teach me, a 56-year-old pastor who has been preaching for over thirty years?
They taught me that ministry is a matter of one’s heart, not of one’s age. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his much younger protégé, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Thank you, students, for setting an example for me to take up my cross daily and follow Christ. And thank you for showing this “older” preacher that God uses anyone, regardless of age, who is willing to surrender to Christ and obediently serve Him.
Second, the students taught me that ministry can and should be fun. Not always is this the case. There were hard things the students had to do. But the students reminded me that ministry doesn’t have to be a drudgery. In fact, quite often, it can be a delight. When Ezra read the Law to the people in Jerusalem, Nehemiah told them not to grieve, “for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b). Thank you, students, for reminding me of the joy of the Lord.
They also taught me the importance of passing the baton of faith and ministry. Bible colleges are facing hard times recruiting students for ministry and missions. Several within our Independent Christian Church movement have even closed in recent years. Where will the students come from who will carry the torch of the Gospel to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)? I was moved to tears of joy and gratitude when I saw this next generation taking their faith seriously and their desire to share it with others. Thank you, students, for accepting God’s call to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
The overall statistics of young adults leaving the church after graduating from high school is rather bleak (66% according to Lifeway Research). But what I witnessed this past week is that the future of the church looks bright, because, at least among these students, there is a surrendered obedience to be “a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth” (Acts 13:47). And to that I simply say, “So be it, Lord. Amen.”
