Everyone rises (from Jeff)

I’ve been reading through the book “Future Focused Church” from the team at Fuller Youth Institute, and I came across a quote that I loved:

Everyone in our church rises when we focus on young people.

This is a quote from a pastor who experienced it firsthand. It goes on to say:

"Twenty years earlier, this senior pastor’s church had decided to invest more resources in the discipleship of younger generations. There was initial pushback from some adults in the church who felt that would lead to fewer resources for others. It’s similar to the old adage that if a group of people are sharing a pie, and one person receives a larger piece, there will be less pie for others.

What actually happened when young people received a “bigger piece of the pie” in the church? Consistently, and over multiple years, the whole pie grew bigger. Attendance and giving increased. Across all sectors of the church, ministries and leadership were stronger. Young people were stepping in and using their gifts. There was a sense of energy and life in the church that encouraged all generations."

I’d love for our church to continue to wrestle with this challenge. Kids and youth bring so much life and vibrancy to our church. And they cause us to grow in our own reliance on Jesus.

Budget is one piece of the puzzle, but other, arguably more important, pieces are: the warmth of the congregation to young people, listening to kids’ leading, wrestling with their questions about faith, listening to what’s going on in their life stages, trying new things in the worship service, and encouraging them in every aspect of their life, to name a few.

We have a good start in this journey: I see us doing it as a church! It’s fun to watch us embracing them: Jeff Z. playing a finger jumping game with my son before the service; Dick doing pushups with his feet raised on a chair in Sunday school with the kids; Sharon spending countless hours with our kids; Bob praying in church with a crazy tie on. You are amazing! To use Fuller’s language, it keeps our church “Growing Young.”

Please join me in praying for ways that our church can continue to grow in our focus on young people and their discipleship, as they, and we, seek to follow Jesus.