by Jennifer Shih
Can you remember your teenage years? What was it like? How did you spend your time? Who did you spend most of your time with? Who made the biggest impact on you and who were your influences? Was it your parents? Maybe it was your siblings, classmates, a teacher or a youth group pastor/leader? Likely all of these people have made some impact on you, whether they had positive or negative influences. Perhaps the older people in your life made a positive impact on you because they provided you guidance and mentoring. Maybe classmates did not have the best influence on you. How did the people in your life affect and shape your identity?
Everyone has a different testimony of their teenage years. My teenage years came to an end about 10 years ago, but I can still remember the people who made a big impact on my life and why. Through middle school, it was my after school tutor who would patiently help me through Algebra in the public library. She stands out because she went beyond just helping me with homework but took an interest in mentoring and guiding me through those awkward middle school years, and this happened usually over KFC wedge fries or McDonald’s soft serve ice cream. In high school, much of my influence came from friends and my school community because they were the people who were prominent in my life. Many of those years were marked by people-pleasing, and striving to fit in and trying to be popular among my peers. Looking back, I wish that I had known Christ in my growing years or had the benefit of going to a Bible-teaching church, hearing God’s Word preached weekly. If I had been saved by the Gospel, I’m sure that I would have avoided a lot of heartache and wandering in darkness and sin.
It is a fact that young people can be easily influenced by the community and culture around them. And too often teenage years can be wasted pursuing worldly things and building an identity and foundation on superficial and fleeting things. One of biggest blessings that the youth at Lighthouse Bible Church has is the opportunity to grow up in the community of a local church, and the benefit of learning from older men and women what it means to follow Christ. Also, vice versa, one of the biggest blessings and responsibilities of the older members of the church is to walk alongside younger men and women, helping them grow in their faith and modeling for them godly character. This is the way that God has instructed the church to work together, as written in Titus 2.
Over this year, I have been really encouraged to see how the youth are really excited about Friday night Bible studies and our many youth retreats – because they get to learn from God’s Word and spend time with one another. Josh and Cesar have been leading the youth through studies on Romans and 1 John, respectively, and in small groups it’s been a really sweet time learning, growing, and praying together. The youth staff have the opportunity to meet more often with the youth, but you don’t have to be on staff to make use of the opportunity to get to know the youth. Each member of the church has the opportunity to make an impact in their life, and it can happen even over a conversation on Sunday. Keep in mind – the Lumos youth can be really energetic and excited about life or more quiet and shy – but in either case, they have an eagerness to learn and grow in their faith. If you haven’t had a chance to get to know them – I’d encourage you to stop one of them on a Sunday and ask them about their weeks, hobbies, likes, and dislikes, and what they’ve been learning. Or you can even talk about that Sunday’s sermon and share prayer requests. One of the practical goals and challenges we’ve come up with in my small group is to get to know the church better in order to practice loving the church better. So chances are, if you haven’t had the chance to introduce yourself to the youth – they might come to you on a Sunday and ask for an introduction!
Praise God for Lighthouse Bible Church and the work He is doing in the life of the church!
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)