God is calling young people by the thousands. Like never before, we see at youth conventions, youth rallies and local churches that young people are responding, coming forward in large numbers and standing at the altar saying “yes” to God’s call for laborers.
For the youth with people skills and abilities, their natural talent will open doors of opportunity for them. But at the same altar, a larger number of other young people are saying “yes” but don’t know the next step or see an open door of opportunity. This is where there is a tremendous opportunity for seasoned ministers to help and mentor young people who are feeling a call to God’s service but are struggling to find their place to fit in.
These young people may look unqualified on the outside, but God looketh on the heart and so should we. If we allow these youth to walk alongside us gaining experience and learning to accept responsibility, the grace of God is able to develop them into giant fighters for His Kingdom. By sharing our vision, experiences and insight, they can gain a foothold and take a giant step forward in getting into the harvest field.
At the age of 20, I graduated from Bible school with no clear direction, vision or apparent open doors. Actually, I never considered missions – it seemed too foreign. But a minister friend encouraged me to apply for the Impact Team, a group of young people in their 20s who wanted to help minister in Europe. Global Missions had never sent out a team like this before.
I am so thankful and indebted to Rev. H. Myre, who was then regional field supervisor of Europe. He had a vision for using young people and daily poured himself into us and challenged us. He opened our minds to new opportunities and believed we could, by the grace of God, be a great asset to God’s Kingdom. This exposure on location bred a burden that passionately kept me there over 15 years.
Let us enable our youth to pursue the grace of God in their ministries.