Supporting Our Youth

We have ten youth going on a mission trip this summer, leaving May 30, and as we do every year, we need your support. We need you to pray during their time of preparation. We need you to pray every day while they are on their trip. We need you to prayerfully consider helping with the costs. It is a genuine privilege to be able to send our youth every summer on some project to serve the needs of others.

But there's something more important than money (but less important than prayer!) that I am asking from you on their behalf.

More than just helping them get there, I want you to consider the formative value of this trip on our youth. These trips are great for getting youth out of their comfort zones and normal routines, which then makes them more open to the Spirit's work in their lives. Putting our youth on a mission trip is putting them in an environment rich in opportunities for "spiritual growth spurts." The money we give to get them there is money putting them in a place for God to be uniquely at work. Praying for them while they're there will certainly results in more of God's work in their lives.

Even more important is what we teach the youth by the level of enthusiasm and support we show to them, not just in prayer and gifts, but in the encouragement we give, the questions we ask them, the amount of personal interest we show them in their lives. By being enthusiastic and interested supporters of their trip, and of their spiritual development, we teach them invaluable lessons about life priorities, the proper role of the church, the importance of serving others, and so on.

In other words, HOW we show support of their trip, and TO WHAT EXTENT, will teach our youth foundational truths that can help them develop in the right directions. If we show lackluster support of them, we teach them that sacrificing in order to serve others isn't really important. If we show enthusiastic support of them, we teach them that this is the kind of Christian life that really matters.

Give if you can. Pray, because you can. But also - make sure the students know that you are personally and enthusiastically interested in the opportunities they have to serve and to grow. Let them know that we care deeply how they develop as believers. Let them know that we are committed to God's priorities for their lives. Find some way with the spoken word, a written note, a shared prayer, any way to show them their trip is important to us.