Today, I spent an hour in our local mall (if you’d call it that), sitting quietly, observing the teenagers that walked by. Sort of like “people-watching.” I did it for a Cultural Observation Project I’m doing for a class, but it became much more of a required assignment.
I didn’t know where any of these kids came from. I didn’t know anything about their family lives. I didn’t know their struggles, their joys, their passions, or their hardships. But I saw pain. I saw apathy. I saw a lack of care for who they were and what they stood for. I could see by the way they dressed, the way they talked, the company they kept, and the focus on themselves they kept. I did, however, keep the constant thought that God is there somewhere. God is in the suffering. God is in the turmoil. I didn’t know exactly where to find Christ when I looked at these teenagers, but I knew He was there somewhere.
Our society is telling our teenagers the complete opposite of what Christ is telling them through ministry leaders. Society tells them to be happy at whatever cost. Their parents tell them to be happy as long as they’re being good, at whatever cost. Jesus tells them to be the Church at whatever cost. With these three messages hitting them from every different angle, teenagers are justifiably confused.
Through this project, I realized that youth ministry is needed now more than ever. We have an entire generation of people that are blinded to the Light by what they see in magazines, on television, and out in our society. The hierarchy of importance is skewed greatly by their perception of the world. In their world, self-acclamation is greater than the worship of their Savior. Material possessions are more important than the blessings that are unattainable through financial means. Outward appearance is more vital to their existence than the inner self that is known by God. Physically intimate relationships are more important than spiritually intimate relationships.
To go and sit in pews, sing songs, listen to a sermon, and give an offering is one thing. Youth ministry is completely different. Whereas we have this lost generation of sheep, we have a vital generation of shepherds.
Overall, I learned that it is very tempting to give up on youth ministry because the odds seem completely unable to be overcome. However, I hold fast to the truth that while we were sinners, Christ never gave up on us.
