Here at Servants, our core purpose is to make disciples: learning to do all that Jesus said. I recently went to a discipleship conference where Archbishop Foley Beach spoke. He addressed eight characteristics of a disciple who follows Christ. A disciple loves others, not some people, but everyone. They have the Holy Spirit in their lives; they are serious about learning Scripture. A disciple knows how to pray and is learning to worship in a community, and of course, walks with Jesus. These were all great points and I could speak about all of them at length, but the one I want to talk about today is having a disciple: sharing with others in need.

 

I want you to think back to when you were in middle school or high school. Were you in a youth group at church or an organization at school? Now think back to the time spent there. Were there adults or teachers that helped in that group? What were the adults like? How did they make you feel? Was there one person who was always there to give you advice or just listen to you when they knew you were having a good or bad day?

 

In all of the groups that I was involved with during that part of my life, my parents were always there. At the time it drove me crazy. I couldn’t seem to shake them. I have this memory of my junior year in high school and my parents were chaperoning our drama district competition in Jacksonville. It was lunch time and I asked my mom if I could have my lunch. She said, “I need to set a few things up first.” Little did I know that she had brought enough food for the entire group (there were about 50 of us). I asked what she was doing. She told me last time we came most of the kids didn’t have enough money to buy lunch so she made sure we had enough so everyone could eat this time. Now mind you we did not have the money to feed everyone but that didn’t matter to her. She was going to make sure that anyone who needed it would have something to eat. At the time I was embarrassed. She had this giant table in the parking lot of the school set up with a sandwich and chip station. All of the kids loved it and it bonded us together. I saw my mother for the servant she was. She was blessed with the gift of hospitality.

 

I look back on that now and I want to be just like my parents in that way. They were always involved with our youth program at church even before my sister and I were old enough to be in ours. They would find a need where they were and jump right in. Once I was old enough I helped in our children’s ministry and as soon as I graduated from high school I got involved in our church’s youth group.

 

Now I know what you are thinking. I can’t work with kids that age. They are loud, smelly, and don’t listen. And all that is true some of the time, but the reality is that they are craving adult mentors. I loved my parents and they set a high bar of what service looked like, but there were other adults in my life as well. I needed an outside perspective. Someone to say the same things my parents were saying, but someone I felt like I could trust. Because who wants to take advice from your parents when you are 16?

 

Here at Servants, we have a group of young adults that desire to know who Christ is to them. They want to ask questions and really hear the answers. We also have a new group of young men who have no father figures in their lives and the women in their lives are doing all they can do to provide for their needs, so there isn’t a lot of quality time. They need men who are going to truly speak to their hearts and women to love them unconditionally. Who is going to show them what it means to be a man? Who will show them how to care for others, to serve others? Right now for most of them, it’s the youth in their neighborhoods and we know what that looks like. I pray each and every day that God would provide them with a positive mentor. Someone who is there for them when they feel like a failure or when they accomplish a new goal.

 

Why have I told you all of this? Nikki and I love our kids here at Servants but we can’t provide for all of their needs. And until their needs are met, we can’t teach them effectively about who Christ is, week in and week out. For some, those needs are food. For others it is time, and for most, it’s just an ear to listen. I pray that you will truly listen and pray to see if God is laying on your heart to help with our youth. No matter what stage you are in your life, your gifts are needed. God can use you. Think of that person who was there for you when you were their age. How would your life be different if they weren’t there? If there was no one like that in your life, how would that have impacted you differently? Now don’t think about what you would have to sacrifice to help, just listen to see if God is speaking to you to help and then go from there.

 

 

 

If you hear the Lord speaking to you through this, there are some immediate needs the youth have that you can help fill. First, come hang out! On Wednesday, March 22 the youth are having a movie night at the church from 6:00-8:00pm. This is the perfect opportunity to meet the kids in a low-key setting. Another way to help is to consider providing a meal for the youth group on any Wednesday between now and the end of the school year. With full bellies, their minds are free to listen and engage the Word. You can sign up here. Finally, if you have ideas for how to get involved, contact Kim at kim@servantsanglican.org or Nikki at nikki@servantsanglican.org.