Youth are the right now of the church

The church I serve just had its Youth Sunday. Youth Sunday is when the youth of the church (usually the middle- and high-schoolers) “take over” the church service and lead the community in worship.

Growing up, this was always a great experience. Whether it was reading the Scripture, serving Communion or reading a homily, it was a change of pace from the ordinary worship experience. As a youth group, we would pick the Scripture, the theme and decide how the message would be structured.

For one Sunday, our understanding of who God was, how God had touched our lives and what it meant to be a follower of Christ was made evident in the community around us.

After some discussion the youth settled on the theme of “Molded,” (based on Isaiah 64) specifically speaking to how the church and God have shaped and molded them into the person they are today. This was just what the community needed to hear.

In church as well as in life, we can fall into routines and ruts that cause us to miss the movement of God around us. It takes an outside perspective, a new hearing, a reorientation of our mind and spirits to realign ourselves to God. This particular Youth Sunday did just that for the church.

I have never had a community react to a Youth Sunday the way the church I serve did a few Sundays ago. There was an energy.

The church got to hear how their tithe, donations, commitments, countless hours in vans transporting children and service to the gospel was being entrusted to the next generation. They heard stories of how summer camps, mission trips, hugs and peppermint candies were more than nice trips and simple gestures; they were implements of the gospel.

Youth today need to be an active part of the community in which they reside. While there have been dozens of articles and books written on this subject, I got to witness firsthand the impact a loving church community had on a group of youth.

I was proud of what the youth accomplished. I was humbled by their depth of spirituality and I was honored to be their minister. Their words and explanation of the gospel reaffirmed my call to serve the church and the gospel of Christ.

The church needs Youth Sunday to be reminded that the story of God is being passed to the next generation. When a baby is dedicated or baptized to God, the congregation generally is asked if they will care for the child and watch over her/him. They are to ensure the children now entrusted to their care will be taught the faith they hold so dear. This charge is not one the congregation waits to enact when the child is in middle or high school. The task starts immediately.

The story of God and God’s movement in the world is not confined to the four walls of a stained glass building. It is much bigger than that, and the church needs to be reminded of that.

A friend once told me he disliked the phrase “the children are the future of the church.” While that might be true on some levels, he wanted it to be rephrased as “youth are the right now.”

Youth want to make an impact on the church and the world around them now. This is the disconnect found in many congregations. Youth are not insurance policies for the future. Youth today are finding avenues to make a difference in the world with or without the church.

Middle and high school students (and younger) are growing up in a world that is different than any other generation. If you have a curiosity, you turn to Google, not a book in the library. Humanity has access to more information than at any other time in human history.

In the midst of all this, it is comforting to know the story of God, the story of the salvation of Christ and the movement of spirit has not been lost. This is something that cannot be manufactured, summarized in an article or found in a smartphone app. This type of connection is found when faithful churches entrust the story of God to faithful youth.

Do not give up on the next generation; do not lose faith. They are just getting started.

— The Rev. Evan M. Dolive, associate minister for family life at First Christian Church in Longview, is an author and blogger.