So many wonderful things are happening in the lives of our young people, and we all rejoice as we see them growing into mature adults. Last week, there were fourteen of them involved in the Leadership Training Class, and on Sunday we saw just the level of their devotion and spirituality.
For more than fifteen years, we have had some young person whose primary area of work was to focus on our young people. We owe an immense, eternal debt to David Sproule, Josh Blackmer and Casey Haynes for all they have done.
When Casey left about eighteen months ago we had another look at this aspect of our work. Several things became immediately obvious. First, there are very few young men available who even come close to having the ability of those we have had. It is extremely difficult to find a young man who has the spirituality, maturity and wisdom to be entrusted with the souls of the “lambs” in His flock. Secondly, the “life expectancy” of those who work with youth is eighteen months. It takes some time for this person to become a vital part of the local work, and then they often move to another congregation. Every time this happens the hearts of the teens are broken. They have grown to love that person and now he leaves. This is not what young people need. In the third place, there is what happens after teens are no longer teens. Where is their place in the church? For years there have been weekly teen activities, sometimes several nights of the week. Then, they graduate, and they cannot find their place in the church. Where do they fit? No longer are others planning for their spiritual growth, and they often struggle.
So, how do you deal with these matters? There must first be a redirection of the entire youth program so that when a key person leaves, the group continues. It is not wise to have a youth program which revolves around one person. They need more than one person to teach them, to direct devotions, to counsel them and to be their friend. It is not wrong to have someone specifically working with youth, but the program must be larger than that. The role of the next person who works with our youth will be so different.
What has happened at Palm Beach Lakes is that so many have stepped forward to work with our youth. There are still teen activities, special devotions, camping trips, mission trips, trips to youth gatherings and a host of other activities. Think about it. Look at how many close connections are being formed between our teens and older members. When they get older those connections will still be there. The reality is that we now have scores of individuals working with our youth! We are counting on you to increase this number.