[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 09/Jul/2023]
We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
Psalm 78:4
Can you remember back to your childhood? Was there someone who was particularly influential in your life, who perhaps shaped your values, and helped you to see the world in a particular way? Maybe they spent time listening to you, or just being around – a consistent presence. That loving and caring investment at an early age is invaluable, and has an immeasurable positive effect on a person’s direction in life, as well as their well-being and self esteem.
As a church we want to be part of shaping the next generation – teaching the values of Christianity, and stories of the Bible, and what it means to follow Jesus. We want them to know that through Jesus we can live the best version of our life possible. The earlier that is done the better, as research has shown that only 5% of Christians became Christians once past school age. This means that if we want to see people come to know Jesus, we would be stupid not to put virtually all our resources; time, volunteers, paid staff, etc, into our Children and Youth work. If we are not putting the majority of our focus as a church into the next generation, making church as accessible and attractive to them as we can, then the church will soon die out.
We have an opportunity to shape a young person’s life. In a dark and messed world, where the truth has been exchanged for a lie, we have the moral imperative to guide and nurture our young people, so that they might live a full and exciting life with and for Jesus. This is probably the greatest gift we can offer!
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Last week’s reflection: Is Love All You Need? by Helen Ruffhead
Contributed by Martin Shorey; © Martin Shorey