Make A Donation
Click Here >
youth in the church and world
In the middle of the chaotic summer of 2020, I find myself one early Saturday morning at the recently opened pool that we use in the summer. Perhaps due to my vocation (youth ministry), I really enjoy and learn from observing and listening to young people.
In the middle of the chaotic summer of 2020, I find myself one early Saturday morning at the recently opened pool that we use in the summer. Perhaps due to my vocation (youth ministry), I really enjoy and learn from observing and listening to young people.
In the middle of this chaotic summer of 2020, I find myself one early Saturday morning at the recently opened pool that we use in the summer. Perhaps due to my vocation, youth ministry, I really enjoy and learn from observing and listening to young people.
Starting this reflection about youth in the church while an Old Testament king is on my mind might seem like a strange place to begin. My “today” mind is full of the images I am enjoying on social media of young people participating in summer mission immersions, camps, service projects and other summer activities. But my “writing” mind is thinking about what King David, has to offer us about youth in the church and the world. David, who is buried in the city he helped establish, once stood as a young man, among his sheep, in the shadow of a giant enemy, with his best friend, Jonathan, with his music and poetry and indeed, with his God. That part of his life, along with his leadership, his goodness and his … not so goodness, is all part of his legacy.
Starting this reflection about youth in the church with the death of an ancient, Old Testament, king in the back of my mind is a strange place to begin. My “today” mind is full of the images I am enjoying on social media of young people in the middle of summer mission immersions, camps, service projects and other summer activities.
This is what happens when we follow Jesus’ example. We “tap” those who are younger but demonstrate willingness or speak a prophetic truth (like the young people in this photo). We end up standing on some steps, readying ourselves to step out and feeling shaped by those who are below us and above us on the age spectrum.
Minute for Mission: Youth in the Church and World
Vikita Sihali was a “young” young adult at the 2013 Presbyterian Youth Triennium. She serves her home presbytery, Amatola, in the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa and her home congregation as a youth leader. She shared the following words with the presbyteries of Northern New England and Boston after the Triennium:
