by Josh Liu
Since the summer began, the Lumos youth ministry has been taking a break from its usual Friday night Bible studies to join the combined Wednesday night Bible studies with the collegians and singles. The summer schedule allows a bit of a break for staffers to recuperate and to manage church summer activities (e.g. mission trips, park days, youth retreat). During the school year, many of the students are overwhelmingly busy and often unavailable; during the summer, many of the students become freer. To take advantage of this time, the youth staff have been hosting various activities. We have had birthday surprises, sleepovers, and pre-Bible study activities. During those pre-Bible study activities, we have gone hiking, worked on a scrapbook, played board games, and even made plastic yarn from used plastic shopping bags! It has been great getting to spend more time together!
As the summer draws to an end, we officially welcomed two new youth to Lumos as they moved up from the Sonlight elementary ministry: Matthew and Megan. I have personally known and served Matthew and Megan through the children’s ministry. It is quite exciting to see them grow and enter this next stage of life. I know that they have long awaited the moment they could join Lumos. To welcome them, some of the youth planned a welcome party. By tradition, the new youth were greeted with a human tunnel to run through–there was a lot of cheering and excitement! We began with lunch, which Janet helped prepare. After lunch, the youth sang a song that Jessie rewrote lyrics for. Then, Zach led a time of games (the “couch game”). It was encouraging seeing the youth care for and serve others. It was also fun hearing them share their own experiences when first joining Lumos and other memorable events during lunch.
We ended with a brief devotional. During the devotional, I asked the youth what the M.V.P. of Lighthouse was–they knew each part and their respective Scripture references! I explained the purpose and goals of Lumos, that we are seeking to make disciples of Christ through the vehicle of the local church because we love God and love people, all of which is appropriated to the unique circumstances and experiences of youth age students. As with the other affinity groups and ministries, Lumos is not independent of the local church. It is merely a means of furthering the purposes of the local church as set forth in Scripture. Our hope is that the youth see Lighthouse as their church family. Also, in challenging the youth to consider whether or not they are part of the family of God, we looked at Matthew 5:1-16. I briefly reviewed the characteristics of those who belong to the Kingdom of God (vv. 1-12), and the activity or purpose of those who belong to the Kingdom of God (vv. 13-16). I reminded them that Lumos (which means “light” in Latin) is here to challenge those who profess Christ as his or her Lord and Savior to be a light representing Christ the King to others–family, friends, other youth, classmates, and so on. We also communicated that we the staff are committed to serving, encouraging, and walking this life with them. Might I encourage you, church, to do the same, especially with those who are growing up in our church family.