In my recent trip to the UK in the month of April/May which is the beginnning of spring, one of the obvious things I noticed was that many of the churches have congregations made up of predominantly elderly members. The UK church has lost its impact on the youth. The youths consider the church as irrelevant to their lives and their world. Church leaders are now working hard to win this generation back to the Lord and to the path of righteousness.
In Malaysia, the task of reaching the youths is increasingly challenging. To avoid losing the Malaysian youths, the church needs to....
1. Attempt new ways to communicate with and to the youth. Remove 'white elephant' programs.
2. Put a priority on the youth ministry. Release top leaders to minister to them and the necessary funds to have creative programs.
3. Build the youth ministry on the strong foundation of the Word of God and of prayer. The methods and stlyes of communication needs to be contemporary but the message is non-negotiable.
4. Teach them how to live out/ apply the principles of God to lead successful and influential lives for God. Blessings and godliness can dwell together.
5. Provide them with encounters with God so that they can experience Him personally. Faith must be personally experience.
6. Challenge them to biblical, radical discipleship. Equip and release them for works of service and ministry. If they are simply sitting in church, they will end leaving the church to join any organization that calls them to sacrifice for a cause[noble and sadly the ignoble too].
The youths face many challenges in their lives. May we come alongside and mentor them. Its time for us to raise up the Joshua's, David's, Timothy's of our generation. Neglect the youth and the future of the church will simply be reduced to a weak and uninspiring instituition which the world gladly ignores.
