The Mexican President, Felipe Calderon, at a recent meeting of heads of state in Latin America, said, “Hope must be offered to young people who don’t believe in anything.”
Even the President of Mexico realizes that young people need help. The interesting thing is that there are many people in the church (even in our Seminary) who think that youth ministry is a waste of time.
My students have to deal day in and day out with people telling them that they are wasting their time studying to minister to young people.
I tell them that there is a great need out there for people who really care about young people and who want to invest their lives influencing the next generation. It’s an ongoing struggle for them, but I know that they are committed to offering to these young people something to believe in.
It’s been a great week. I can’t wait to hear what my students say on Monday when they come back from their churches where they work. I know that they will be used this weekend as they offer hope to the hopeless generation here in Mexico.
(Photo of Mexican President and the President of San Salvador at a recent conference)
I cannot overemphasize the importance of youth and children’s ministry here in Mexico. Our church is in the process of opening up a mission church in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of town and last night I went with some of the jovenes of our church out to do door-to-door evangelizing (basically letting people know abt the new church in their colonia). We also were inviting them to a service we were going to hold that night. Anyway, by the time the service started the only people in the church were a group of 20 kids all under age 10 and later a group of 6 teenage boys came in. Afterward I spent some time talking to the teens (ages 16 to 20) and saw how much they were longing for *something* to believe in. I went away feeling sad b/c I really don’t have the time to spend with them (not for lack of ganas but b/c I have 20 college age pastors-in-training to disciple!). And so today I’m praying for workers to be sent into this harvest because the fields here are certainly ripe…