Next Gen

The very first time I tried my hand at woodworking I went to my Italian neighbour who lived across the street from our childhood home.   As a builder he knew a thing or two about putting together a wood project.   Many years later I met a true wood craftsman -- a Dutch immigrant who had a way of turning a piece of lumber into a work of art!   He passed on to me a love for building furniture and for many years my woodworking hobby resulted in furniture I built for our home, our family and friends, or to be auctioned off to support Christian ministries.   I am indebted to my Italian and Dutch teachers.

Whether it was learning how to do woodworking, rebuild a engine, panel beating on a car or motorcycle, or landscape a yard, I am grateful for the many men and women who have poured into my life passion, skill, and courage to do things I've never done before.   The same is true with my faith and ministry.   There have been boy's club counselors, youth group leaders, pastors, college lecturers, and seminary professors who passed on to me a knowledge of Christ, a love for the gospel, and skills for ministry.   It was a personal challenge from my pastor that as a 16 year old I felt the Lord calling me into a lifetime of employed ministry as an ordained pastor.  Over the years I have attempted to do the same -- pass on to others what has been passed on to me.  And now many others are doing woodworking, building engines, fixing cars, grooming gardens, finding Christ and faith, and engaging a lifelong call into church ministry.  As in a race, the baton is being passed on to the next gen of others who will run ahead of me.

The apostle Paul knew about the strategic importance of passing on to others faith and ministry skills.   He writes to his son in the faith:  "My son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.   And the things you have heard m say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:1,2)   Paul is thinking of Christians who will take the gospel legacy and invest it into the lives of the next gen.   It begins in the home when parents pass on to their children gospel truths (see Deuternomy 6:4-9).   And it is more than just knowledge of God; parents pass on to their children ministry skills:  how to pray, how to read the Bible, how to share their faith with others, how to live decent and moral lives, how to build Christian character, and more!    A wonderful resource to guide parents in how to instill a gospel DNA in their homes is Organic Outreach for Families: How to Turn your Home into a Lighthouse.

Beyond families, we need to think of the next gen of Christians who will continue on the work of the gospel in and through our churches.  This is what God reminds us as churches in the words of the apostle Paul who stressed that we need "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...." (Ephesians 4:12)   Sunday School teachers need to see their task of preparing their children to engage in gospel ministry -- how to live out their faith in every area of life.   This is equally true for every ministry or program in the church, including Sunday Worship.   This is true for pastors, elders, youth leaders, ministry leaders, small group leaders, and every other teacher or leader in the church.   Everything we are doing as churches is preparing God's people for works of service.   This is how the whole body of Christ is built up.   This is how the church grows -- grows in impact and in reaching the lost for Christ.  

Studies in Australia have shown that there are 50,000 youth and young adults who drift away from the Christian faith annually.  Over the course of 10 years, that rounds up to a missing 500,000 students who were Christians or had Christian heritage.  While the NCLS Research has shown that CRC churches are known for a greater retention rate of our young people than other denominations, this is not a time for us as churches to be complacent.  We need to be passing on the faith to our children and young people and equipping them for a lifetime of service in God's kingdom and in the church.   Pastors and parents need to be challenging their youth to consider full-time gospel work as a marvellous opportunity for their children.   Some of our youth will become our next gen pastors, youth leaders, and ministry workers.   Every elder should take a younger man as an apprentice and teach them ministry skills.   That apprentice model can be duplicated in every ministry of the church.   When that is done there will never be a shortage of pastors, elders, and/or volunteers in the church to do the work of ministry.  All it takes is passing on to others what you have:  your knowledge, your ministry skills, and your passion for the Lord's work.

Who might you pour into a passion for the gospel, a skill to do ministry, and some courage to do things they've never done before?  Who might be that next gen person in your life?