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Who Does It Take?

Who does it take to impact the next generation?

Who does it take to make a difference for the future?

Who does it take to ensure that what God has done today goes into a greater level tomorrow?

I believe more than asking what it takes, WHO is the greater question for us to ask and to answer. Too many people want to outsource the raising of the next generation to others. Parents rant at schools who fail to fashion their children into their wishes. Older batches comment about how the new students of their alma mater aren’t made of the same stuff. And when we see a kid going crazy – whether they’re children acting bratty in a grocery or teenagers who go off the deep end – we often breathe a sigh of relief that they’re not ours.

New Reality TV/Comedy Show: Whose Problem Is It Anyway?

Pastor Steve Murrell has a great blog about the consequences of a selfish, generation-centric attitude that doesn’t look beyond its own time. I’m grateful for the many people I know who willingly work so that their lives have an impact in the next generation. Yesterday, while our church was focusing on discipling the next generation, I saw many instances of this.

  • There was a businessman who came up to me after one of the services. He works in a company whose objective is to help people get out of poverty. He said he had part time jobs with flexible time that we could recommend to students and volunteers so they could free up their schedule to do more campus ministry. He was taking what he has and using it to disciple the next generation.
  • In another service there was the student leader – president of the supreme student council of his university. Being an upperclassman he didn’t have too many years left. But he was asking how we can design curricula (plural of curriculum, not Dracula’s sister)to reach the students in his university for Jesus and develop their skills for life. I look forward to working more with him this year. And he’s just one of many students who’ve been discipled and decide to
  • There were the parents praying to God for their sons and daughters, asking for His grace to raise them well. You just knew that for every parent represented there, there countless hours of talking, relating, and discipling. They’re not perfect by any means, which is why they acknowledged the need for God’s grace. There were also plenty of uncles and aunts, lolos and lolas, kuyas and ates who through different circumstances have taken on the responsibility of raising their relatives. These people impact the next generation everyday.
  • While preaching at Victory U-Belt, I watched as the campus missionaries and students from their Leaders Camp arrived. Over 450 student leaders were there, having saved and earned money to go. Like clockwork, you could see the campus missionaries immediately . Some were unpacking the equipment, others were making sure all the students were safe, some even had counseling sessions to attend to. After seeing them at work in the camp, I marveled at how energetically and eagerly they got to it. But then again, these are the people who quit their jobs and rejected regular income, in order to disciple more students.
  • At the end of the three services in U-Belt, many of the members signed up to express their intention to learn more about campus ministry and maybe partner with some of the campus missionaries. Most of these people aren’t extremely rich and many of them need financial breakthrough for themselves, but they’re willing to set aside a portion of their income each month to make sure high school and college students get discipled.
Reaching the next generation cannot be outsourced. They need a whole family, biological and spiritual. They need a community. As the African proverb supposedly goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
“what we have heard and known,
    what our fathers have told us. 
We will not hide them from their children; 
    we will tell the next generation 
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders he has done.”
Psalm 78:3-4

 

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1 comment
  • This is amazing Pastor Joe!
    Thanks for pursuing the next generation, God is your great reward! – I know that greater things are ahead of you, both you & your wife.
    I saw you both yesterday @ Chatime The fort, I’d like to have a picture with you sana kaso nahiya ako, hehe. I guess I’ll just see you around BGC since I work nearby. Thanks and keep on inspiring others! God bless the works of your hands! 🙂

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