Unleashing Youth's Potential

Kids do funny things in church. When I was a boy, I tried in vain to understand some of the lyrics of the hymns we sang. For example, I had no idea what "sheaves" were. I had seen my mom hang laundry on a clothesline, though, so for years I sang, "We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheets."

While preaching years ago, I was talking about the text where the apostle Paul urges, "Do not give the devil a foothold" (Ephesians 4:27). "This is a vivid picture," I explained. "It's as if the devil is trying to climb up a ladder onto the throne of our hearts."

Soon Scott Velasquez, a wide-eyed little boy seated near the front, could contain himself no longer. He shouted, "Push the ladder over! Push the ladder over!"

Not bad advice, actually.

On another Lord's Day in December, the church had placed a nativity scene next to the Communion table. As I finished preaching, a little girl walked forward and laid a folded piece of paper onto the straw in the manger. A few adults looked annoyed by the distraction, but no one felt too upset later when we unfolded the paper and saw these words printed in pencil lead: "I love you, Baby Jesus."

Some spiritual truths remain hidden to the "wise and learned," but God has "revealed them to little children" (Matthew 11:25). Maybe that's why occasionally it takes a child's involvement in a Sunday school class, a Vacation Bible School program, or a dynamic youth group to rekindle a parent's dormant interest in the things of God.

Consider Isaiah's startling prophetic picture of the Messianic kingdom: "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them" (11:6, emphasis mine).

Sometimes it's hard to think of kids as leaders. While in high school, I coached a basketball team for fifth and sixth-grade boys. (More accurately, I attempted to coach them.) I planned defensive strategies and sketched out plays on a clipboard. But as soon as the games started, the boys did their own thing. I watched in exasperation while they ran around the court, ignoring my instructions and shooting the ball at every opportunity. Coaching them was like trying to herd cats.

It's hard to lead young people at all, let alone shape them into leaders. But the church's future is in their hands. When God called him to be a prophet, Jeremiah objected, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the Lord told him, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you" (Jeremiah 1:5–7). Likewise, the apostle Paul told Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).

I'm glad the church where I grew up encouraged me to develop whatever leadership ability God had given me. They invited me to lead songs on Sunday nights. (I eventually learned the words.) They listened patiently to my questions. They even endured my first shaky attempt at preaching a sermon when I was 15 years old.

And remember that little fellow named Scott Velasquez? Today he's a youth minister serving along with his wife Leah in a dynamic, growing church in Victor, New York. As far as I know, he's still doing his best to push the devil's ladder over.