Daily devotion – Walking with the Lord early in life.
The Wonder of Church Youth Programs and Support
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
(Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16)
Ephesians 6:1–4
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
I never had the blessing of growing up during my teenage years knowing the Lord as my Saviour. I also missed out on the joy and encouragement of being connected with a Christian youth group and having friends of my own age who loved Jesus.
Looking back, I often wonder how vastly different some areas of my life may have been if I had known the Lord and been connected to a gospel-preaching church during those important teenage years. I am sure that some of the worst decisions of my life would never have been made, and perhaps the chronic sense of isolation and loneliness that was often part of my everyday life as a young person would have been very different.
I say this because today I see a similar and sad pattern occurring. In these Last Days, many young people are succumbing to the pull of the world and gradually dropping away from youth groups—and eventually from church itself.
Sadly, youth groups in the past have sometimes been well attended as long as there was plenty of activity and minimal Jesus!
Here at Calvary Chapel Secret Harbour, our desire is to ensure that our children and young people receive the very best spiritual diet—the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Word of God, together with the fellowship and work of the Holy Spirit.
We want to provide programs structured for their age, but we also want our young people to understand that they are not simply the church of tomorrow—they are part of the church today. They have a place to serve, to grow, to fellowship and to use the gifts God has given them within the body of Christ.
For those who have children here at Calvary, I encourage you to make every effort to have your children involved in Calvary Kids and Calvary Youth. The friendships they build, the encouragement they receive and, most importantly, the biblical foundation they receive can make an eternal difference.
And if you do not have children involved in these programs, I ask you to join with parents in praying for our children’s and youth ministries—both on Sundays and Fridays here at Calvary.
How often I have wished it were possible to go back in time and walk with the Lord during those early years of my life. We cannot go back and change the past, but we can help make a difference in the lives of the next generation.
Maybe God has called you to play a significant role in the lives of the young people here at Calvary—through prayer, serving, encouraging or simply taking an interest in them.
The next generation needs Jesus, and perhaps God wants to use you to help point them to Him.