Archive for December, 2009

By Richard Ross

Students who have seen Jesus high and lifted up tend to shout, Send me! They know arising to join Him in bringing His kingdom on earth will be the greatest adventure of their lives. Increasingly, students awakened to Christ will be open to going to the front lines of kingdom expansion while they still are young.

Envision it becoming normative in your church that almost every student serve full time in domestic or international missions for a summer, semester, or year, around ages 18 or 19.

Working in concert with established missions and missionaries, students on such missions adventures could take the good news of Christ in our lifetime to the last groups of people on earth—both in the U.S. and around the globe. They could have a part in planting indigenous churches that disciple believers and continue to carry the good news of Christ in their cultural context.

Developmentally, eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds crave a grand adventure. They are ready to do the hard thing and go to the hard places. This is the perfect time for an assignment so challenging that it requires all they are and all the Spirit supplies.

Though students need leaders to guide them in strategy, they can be effective in sharing Christ. They tend to share their faith without fear. In almost every region of the world, youth are fascinated with American students and are motivated to talk with them. Even adults find youth far less intimidating than adults who share their faith. The proliferation of students on missions adventures in the U.S. and worldwide could result in immediate increases in people coming to know Christ.

Society increasingly is using the term GAP year to refer to a student who takes time from university studies for an extended trip or some immersive experience. Increasingly, universities are granting admission to high school graduates, but not requiring them to register for classes for one year. That period might easily become an extended missions adventure. Those who name this adventure a GAP Mission Trip can understand GAP to mean Go And Proclaim.

Envision parents opening savings accounts at the birth of babies that eventually will fund these missions adventures. (Envision that for now, parents of all ages of children and youth open accounts).

Currently, students in smaller churches can sell candy in the church lobby or write support letters to fund their ten-day mission trip. Such plans are inadequate for raising the $6,000+ (summer) or $25,000+ (year) that might be needed for missions adventures. Family savings seem to be the only viable plan.

Parents who open a missions savings account at the birth of a child will have no problem saving what is needed over a period of 18 years. And, they may be pleasantly surprised at the number of relatives and friends who want to insure that savings are adequate. Grandfather might say to the family gathered at Christmas: “You know we are going to sell this big house to move into something more manageable. We think there might be some funds left over when we do. For all you children with missions savings accounts, we want to add $1,000 to each so we can be a part of what you do for the kingdom some day.”

Wise pastors can present a small check to parents during family/baby dedication. He might say, “We, your church family, want to be the first to contribute to your son/daughter’s future missions adventure. We invite you to go to your bank tomorrow and use this check to open a savings account for that purpose. Then, as Christ leads, we invite you to contribute monthly to that account for the next 18 years or so. Other relatives and believers likely will make contributions as well. Then, when the Spirit tells your son/daughter it is time to go, all will be in place financially for this grand adventure.”

The funding of students to do full-time missions should measurably increase giving to existing missions offerings. When a church becoming more alive to Christ sends its own members to do direct missions, both their special missions offerings and their regular offerings tend to go up.

Parents who experience the thrill of their own children serving alongside missions organizations will always have more interest in the financial support of those ministries. Also, the students who have seen God at work in North American and international missions always will have a bond with those movements. Those bonds can lead to missions giving for a lifetime.

Is money tight for you this Christmas? It is for me. I have several friends who are feeling the crunch of the loss of a job. They are either unemployed or under-employed. It is frustrating for those of us who like to buy and give gifts to be unable to do that. We know that gits are not what Christmas is about . . . but being able to give gifts is . . . well, fun. Maybe you would like to do something special for your youth group, but you just don’t have the ability. Maybe it is harder this year for your teenagers to buy gifts for an Angel Tree child or contribute to a food box for a needy family. Maybe the tightening of the belt that many of us are having to do at Christmas this year is a blessing. In a culture where kids are looking for a new iPod Touch under the tree instead of a dolly, maybe we need to revisit ways to celebrate Christmas that are a little less commercial.

As you teach your youth group this Christmas, emphasize gratitude and contentment. I know, some of your kids will get the new iPod Touch for Christmas. Extravagance may not be a great way to celebrate Christmas, but our Bible study on simplicity may not penetrate heir adolescent brains. However, ask them what a person really needs to be healthy and happy. Help them to think through whether new gadgets and toys really make a person happy. Encourage them to be grateful to God for the things he has given them and content with what they have. Of course, it is a great time to mention people that lack those things a person really needs.

Encourage youth to give . . . to parents, family, and friends. But encourage them to find ways to give that don’t cost money. Often gifts that are given from the work of your hands or the sweat of your brow mean more than gifts that are given from your wallet (or your parent’s wallet). Encourage students to think of things they are good at and give those things away. One student might bake sugar cookies, while another prints and frames a picture of the family he has taken. A third student might offer his brother help with his homework for Christmas. Maybe it would be a good thing for us to practice this as well by thinking of some gift we can give our students that would be a gift of love from our hands, not our money.

Ultimately, Christmas is not about gifts. it’s not really about family meals or love between each other. Ultimately, Christmas is about the love of a Savior, lavished on us when we were lost in our sins. Ask your students how they can share THAT gift . . . a gift that is not their own, but comes from Jesus.

The holiday season is a time of incredible joy. Between special events at church, families spending more time together, and the general sense of celebration in communities, Christmas takes on a very special place in the hearts of youth and adults. But Christmas may not be a great time for everyone. Christmas can be a time of serious depression. Some reports indicate that suicides increase during the holidays. And substance abuse may increase as well. Why?

Christmas can be a time of difficulty for a lot of youth. Some teenagers may associate Christmas with the loss of a grandparent, a parent, or someone else who is close to him or her. Christmas may be a reminder of the absence of someone they held dear. Because some teenagers lack the cognitive skills to process their loss, emotions may be overwhelming.

Some teenagers lack close ties with their family. They may desire to feel surrounded by the love of family, but find themselves in a home where they are abused—or worse yet, ignored. Single parent families can be lonely places for some teens during the holidays because the single mom or dad works extra hours to try to provide a special meal and presents for children. If the family has gone through a divorce in recent years, Christmas may accentuate the sense of loss the teenager feels at the fracturing of his or her family.

If you know that teenagers in your group have lost someone recently, or have lost someone around the holiday times, ask them how they are coping with the loss. Don’t try to force them to talk about things they don’t want to, but invite them to talk about their feelings of frustration, loss, and pain. If you know one of your students has a challenging family situation, spend a little extra time with him or her during the holidays. Talk about how to build new Christmas memories and new traditions each year.

Pay attention to the moods of the teenagers in your group. Yes, teenagers are usually moody. But if a teenager who is usually happy seems to grow sullen, or if a teenager who is often quiet suddenly stops showing up, find some ways to offer him or her support.

As your group celebrates Christmas with progressive dinners, gift exchanges, angel tree gifts, or food baskets for needy families, keep in mind that for some of your students, Christmas is a time when they need special love and attention.