What If?

The scene is repeated in some form across many of our churches. Groups of teens and young adults congregate, in parking lots, on church lawns or front steps. Sometimes they are noisy. Sometimes they are skateboarding. Sometimes they are smoking. They talk, they joke around, they run around, they listen to loud music.Some where unusual clothing, sport physics defying hairdos,

Adults are often intimidated by them. Usually someone tries to run them off. We talk about them in negative ways We strategize how to get them to change or adapt to us or to leave. .

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

What if we saw those kids not as a nuisance, but as an opportunity? What if we thought of them as the most important people in our community?
What if? What if we saw them as Jesus waiting outside our doors?

So many churches bemoan that there are no kids in their church. What if we saw that as our fault rather than the fault of parents, children or society? I do not know of a single church in our district who have no children or youth in their community. Even if the “kids” are not gathered on our lawns, but in a local park, at the strip mall parking lot or some local hangout, they still represent a mission opportunity.

What if we made it our mission to reach those precious children of God? Why, we might just change our communities. I know it would change us and our congregations.

What if you decided today to make it your mission?

Grace & Peace,

Mike