I always think of pop 70s & 80s 'change-the-world' music when I think of the clique "children are the future." No one can deny the validity of that statement, however, it doesn't really emphasize anything in particular at all. What are children the future of? One could reply, "well, everything." And again, the response is boring, but true.
Since I work with teenagers all the time, I deal with the struggle of fighting over resources for those who don't have or give much money. The first thing that I or anyone would probably say in defense of teenagers, "Hey! They are important, too. They're the future!" I've thought a lot about how I could breathe new life into this cliche and here it is.
Students are unique from adults in many ways (oh my gosh, another 'duh' statement). But in the context of the church and its mission to reach the world or in our case, Elizabeth City, there is one HUGE advantage that students have over adults. The advantage is so lopsided that if average students were to truly start engaging their culture and peers they could produce a much larger, more impacting and widespread movement than any average adult could ever dream.
The method behind this theory comes from a very practical way of thinking. Let's suppose I didn't work at a church, or have 90 students to influence, nor 500 contacts on my cell, 1,000+ friends on Facebook, 1,500 email addresses, any of that. Say I was an average Joe who works in a medium size business in a cubicle office with at the most 50-75 co-workers. Even if I were to utilize the power of social networking (Facebook), I would be relegated to words on a screen for many people. My attempts to share my faith would compete with FB game app posts (such as Cafe World, Poker, Snake, the new Oregon Trail, whatever).
But let's take the average middle or high school (or even college) student. Give them the obvious Facebook page, texting prowess and the ocassional email. "Yeah, so?" you might be saying.
Here's the advantage. The average middle and high school student has somewhere between 400-600 fellow students around them, ALL THE TIME! College students, WAY MORE! Those hundreds of students are there day-after-day, year-after-year. The average student will get to know other students by way of sharing classes, sports, clubs, marching band, the bus, and more. As stated before students have little to no money, but that's an advantage, too!
Where an adult may have to back down from sharing his faith for fear of losing his job, a student will hardly ever face the fear of suspension for the same reason!
Statistically speaking, students are more valuable than the average adult because they have a bigger pool of peers to pull from while, at the same time, impacting the current city, school and community (oh and don't forget that they will obviously impact the future of the church, too). It's my (and the adults that serve with me) job to inspire students to realize that.
Think of it, your dad is limited to how many people he can reach. You have much more potential just because you're young and are blessed with a bigger mission field. Don't let that slip away! Before you know, you'll be on the flip-side with adults who are trying to reach the teens with limited success.
Get fired up! If you know the hope that God has given you, share it! You've got nothing to lose and the world to offer to God through lives being added to the Kingdom! There has never been more reason to celebrate being broke and in school now is there?
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