Category Archives: Affinity Groups

We Are LBC!

by Hansol An

As the school year begins, and with it the college football season, I’ve noticed a few teams using the slogan, “We Are…” followed by their school’s name or mascot. SDSU and USC come to mind but I’m sure there are others (schools tend to copy one another). The intent is to bring unity and solidarity to the fan bases of these schools with a short, memorable slogan that embraces being identified primarily as an Aztec, Trojan, etc. But having your identity defined by your support for a team has limited real-life value – bragging rights aside. Though many fan(atic)s are deeply committed to their teams, how important is it really in the grand scheme of things? For Christians, our identity is in Christ (Gal 2:20). As a believer we are a member of Christ’s body the church. We shouldn’t forsake the assembling, as the author of Hebrews warns. We and should be actively using our gifts to minister to one another within the context of the local church.

At Lighthouse, we have many things to look forward to as the fall season begins. Since our calendar year is predominantly scheduled around the traditional fall-to-spring school year, many of our ministries start up again during this time. Second Hour classes, GraceLife, LKC and Flocks are all back from the summer break. But for many, one of the most anticipated aspects of the start of a “new year” is the return of the collegians that were away on break and the barrage of new visitors from the local colleges.

From the beginning, LBC has always been a church that has been equipped to minister to collegians. When the church first started, about a third of the regular attenders were collegians. That has stayed fairly consistent throughout the past 14 years as the church has grown. God has allowed us to reach the campuses by supply many youthful members not too far removed from their own college days, who have a desire to minister to the collegians. But where many churches will segregate collegians from the rest of the church, the leaders of LBC have recognized that there’s no reason for that. There is no special designation for collegians because they are in a more transitory stage of life. LBC has always endeavored to treat collegians as adults, with the rights and responsibilities of being full members in the church. We understand that there are unique aspects of college life but there is no less a responsibility to be active in the church for a collegian, than a single adult or married person. If anything, this stage of life allows the most liberty and flexibility, which in theory should translate into more participation, not less.

Collegians should be challenged by their calling as Christian adults to be a faithful part of Christ’s body, not later but now. Everyone is important and God commands us to minister to one another. So consider how you’ll be a part of the local body this year. Get involved. Whether it’s LBC or another church, being present is half the battle. Collegian or not, we should show the world our identity in Christ through our service to his body. Maybe churches should adopt the slogan too. WE ARE LBC!

Beloved, Let Us Persevere

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

by Josh Liu

Ministry (and the Christian life) has often been likened to warfare. On one hand, you train, prepare, and discipline yourself for the task; you engage in a battle wrought with obstacles and opposition to your goals; you persevere until the end is won; and you seek to obey and follow your Commander into battle. On the other hand, you experience hardships and wounds that come from intense fighting; you are burdened with a weary soul that has been fighting for what seems to be an indefinite amount of time; you question about the end of the war; you lose sight of your Commander in the midst of the battle. Beloved, let us persevere. Let us behold the holiness of God, experience the abundant sufficiency of Christ, and hope in the victory secured by our Lord and Savior.

While reflecting over the past year on the youth ministry, I have been deeply encouraged by the staff’s faithful serving despite the demands of ministry and various trials and hardships each of them faced or are currently experiencing. Imagine joining youth staff and being required the following: “Train to be of above reproach character and to be an effective and intensive discipler. Challenge the youth to not waste their lives; teach them how to read their Bibles and pray; and equip them to evangelize to their friends. Encourage and support the parents to faithful parenting of their children. Constantly and consistently initiate, relate, and invest into the youth and families. Maintain deep personal devotions and fulfill your other church responsibilities. Immediately respond with joy and thanksgiving to all trials and suffering. Always exude with joy; overflow with energy and excitement at Bible study. Be a faithful and excellent worker at school or at your job. In all that you say, think, act, or do, be a godly, mature example.” And at the same time, you are experiencing a season of great trail, suffering, despair, discouragement, or persecution. In the midst of personal struggles and trying circumstances (and even without), the above exhortations accumulate and appear to be a goliath of a task. This may result in a burdened, downtrodden, weary staffer. As I reflected over the past year on the youth ministry, I saw the importance of camaraderie amongst the staff. I saw how God in His wisdom and grace gave the church–fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ–to support each other with loving encouragement and to persevere in God-ordained ministry.

I believe there is validity in temporarily stepping back from serving in order to strengthen your walk with God, to biblically confront personal struggles and situations, and to be a faithful steward of responsibilities and resources. At the same time, I also believe we ought to come together to encourage and support each other. Many carry the above pressures, burdens, and discouragements while feeling alone. Let us come alongside each other and shoulder one another’s burdens.

At the beginning of September, the Lumos youth staff went on a staff retreat to Santa Monica, California. There, I read from Paul David Tripp’s Dangerous Calling, challenged the staff to examine themselves, and encouraged them to humbly seek support from the ones who are serving alongside with them–those in the midst of the battle with them. In the opening chapters, Paul David Tripp offered warnings and signs of one (a pastor) going down a destructive path of ministry that results in total defeat. I have condensed what I shared that weekend from Paul Tripp’s book to the following questions:

What do you say or think to yourself about yourself and your situation? Do you think you are in a different category from those who you minister to, or do you think you are in need of the same transforming grace of God? Is your identity found in the ministry you serve in, or in Christ who is your Lord and Savior? Is there a discrepancy between your personal devotional life and your public ministry? Do you believe that no one else has a more accurate view or understanding of you and your situation than you do? Do you measure your spiritual maturity according to less than biblical standards of maturity (e.g. theological or Bible knowledge)? (Tripp, Chapter 1)
Do you defend, reason away, are numbed to, or silent about personal consistent struggles? Do you seek godly, mature, vulnerable accountability? Do you humbly seek the evaluation of others knowing that you may be blind to your own sin? Has ministry administration and preparation replaced personal devotion and worship? Are you daily, deeply aware of your personal need of Christ’s redeeming work, or are you deluded by a sense of self-sufficiency or self-righteousness? Has ministry become only a source of burden? (Tripp, Chapter 2)

I have never heard my staff complain. By contrast, I see them joyfully serve and graciously sacrifice much for each other and for the youth. At the same time, I am aware of their extensive involvement in church and the various hardships they experience. During the staff retreat, I exhorted them to prayerfully and actively support and encourage one another. It was a blessed time of sharing, encouragement, prayer, and fellowship! The bonds we are forging as a staff go beyond the youth ministry; we are forming our bonds as brothers and sisters through the fellowship of Christ, ready and willing to encourage each other to persevere through trials and ministry. The Lumos youth staff has greatly ministered to me, reminding me by their example to remain steadfast and faithful like a good soldier. Their servant’s heart reminds me that ministry is not a burden or merely a duty. Their humility reminds me to daily focus on my need of the gospel, depend on God’s grace, and honestly evaluate myself. Their personal testimonies of God’s work in their lives remind me to never prioritize preparation and academia over personal devotion and worship.

May all glory, honor, and praise be given to God! In His sovereignty and grace, He uses broken vessels such as us to be “under-rocks” for each other, pointing to the true Rock of Refuge in the midst of tumultuous times. Beloved, remember that the ultimate goal is to know and love Christ more in all that you do. May the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord persevere you in life and ministry.

Sonlight Update

by Dennis Su

Recently we learned about Abraham and Sarah doubting God. In the lesson, the kids were taught that Abraham and Sarah didn’t trust God with being able to fulfill his promise of giving Abraham an heir, a child. This was illustrated by having the kids wait quietly for an extended period of time before we would continue the lesson. During this awkward waiting time, the intent was to raise doubts that the quiet waiting period was going to come to an end. As a result of Abraham and Sarah’s waiting, Sarah came up with a plan to take things into their own hands by having Abraham have a child with Hagar, her servant. It is Sarah’s behavior that reminds me about how we sometimes put ourselves in the role of God to accomplish things that we feel are right or are entitled to.

Sarah was getting old and the reasons for her physically not being able to have children were stacking up. It was through her own judgment that a more fitting plan than God’s was created to fulfill both her desire and in her own strange way God’s promise. Although Sarah was ultimately not known for consistently being lacking in her faith, this one incident serves as a reminder for Christians that we are under the umbrella of God who promises us an inheritance through Christ and that our trust should be in Him and nothing else.

Through Christ we have been put in good standing with God, being given the promise of so much (Ephesians 1:3-14). We are still sinners and are subject to a world that is full of temptations and like Sarah, we will find ourselves in circumstances where our way may seem better than God’s. But if we are set on knowing that God’s promises are perfect without error and trustworthy, we can rest in knowing that His plans will be carried out in His own timing and not our own. As the kids were waiting, some began to question whether the time of silence would end. In the case of Abraham and Sarah, who carried out their own plan apart from God, it was God’s perfect plan that resulted in His fulfilled promise through the birth of Isaac born from Sarah at the age of 90.

Amazing God

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Whenever we approach the beginning of a new year for Grace Life Family Ministry, thoughts flood my mind about the things we could cover together. There are so many issues that could be hugely beneficial for our families. Many topics have been suggested such as the importance of good communication, how to love your spouse, God-centered marriage, biblical parenting, etc. While these practical issues and more should be addressed by the church, it is important for a ministry to first consider laying down a good theological foundation to build upon. It is important to help young families understand how they ought to live, but it is also more important to explain clearly why they ought to live that way.

I have had many conversations with people about different convictions I have held and know the frustration that results when you talk to someone who is simply not thinking from the same theological framework and reference point. Try convincing someone about the sin of homosexuality when they don’t hold to the inerrancy and authority of Scripture and you will quickly learn how frustrating it can be to make a point. Even in the church, with so many who would agree that the Bible is inspired of God, and so inerrant, infallible, authoritative, and sufficient, there are still too many who don’t understand some of the more fundamental doctrines prescribed in their Bible. So in counseling I have learned over the years to keep stepping back until the basic theological framework is understood so that practical matters are addressed with greater stability.

Last year, Grace Life covered a series titled “What Do You Think?” The purpose of that study was to examine sin’s effect on the mind and how that trickles down to everyday decisions. In Christ, God has illumined our hearts and minds and made it possible for us to understand Scripture rightly. Instead of depending on intuition and worldly wisdom, we can have the mind of Christ and think God’s thoughts after Him. Through our meetings together, we looked at the importance of developing a biblical grid through which we should filter our thoughts and convictions.

This year, we will be walking through the theme “Amazing God.” That adjective is often appropriately associated with grace because of the beloved hymn, but grace is only amazing because God is amazing. The purpose of our times together will be to gain a greater biblical understanding and appreciation of the God we serve and live for and then to take those ideas and connect them to our lives in a practical way. In other words, how should we live in light of who God is? I’m super excited for Grace Life this year and hope it will be a blessing for all who come out.

Loving Diligently

by Larry Wu

As LBC members, we are required to follow the MVP statement. Our passion statement is Matthew 22:37-40, which says, “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” The word “neighbor” in Greek means any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet. What does it mean to love your neighbor? We as Christian should be known by love, but what does this mean?

During the summer, we had the blessing as singles to spend time with collegians and youths. We also had the special privilege to listen to sermons from our singles staffers. The sermon by Kevin Tse “Loving Diligently” helped us understand what our passion statement really means. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (Romans 9:9-11). There were three points to Kevin’s sermon: 1) You must love genuinely; 2) You must love familial-ly; 3) You must love diligently.

To love genuinely is to love sincerely without hypocrisy. This means that you are not loving someone because of favoritism or expecting what they can do for you. This love means that we must self-sacrifice and put their interest above ourselves. To love familial-ly is to love between believers. This is where believers have a special relationship with each other by showing humility and grace. To love diligently is to love people you don’t socialize with. To socialize with the one that is difficult to love, one that doesn’t fit a friend mold or even totally the opposite of who you are. This love is the love Jesus showed the world, and we should strive to imitate this love to the outside world.

As we have opportunities to know other affinity groups, we should be asking ourselves: Do I only socialize with my own affinity group? Am I trying to know other affinity groups? As I deeply reflect in my soul and on the message, I am pushing myself to give that extra love to someone else that I don’t know right now or other affinity groups. As we meet difficult people to love, it is during these trials that we can find our love for God shining in the ways to love them. You will be surprised by the love you can provide and the spiritual growth you gain.

Lumos Update – Summer Youth Retreat

by Josh Liu

At the beginning of August, the Lumos youth ministry had its annual summer youth retreat! This year’s summer retreat focused on the theme of “Holiness.” The staff took the youth to Lake Elsinore, California–just north of Murrieta. While it may not have been the typical youth retreat many of us are familiar with (e.g. cabins, ridiculous (gross) games, complete isolation from society, cafeteria food), it was a blessed time of studying God’s Word, deepening friendships, and enjoying exciting activities!

On the first night, Friday night, we had dinner at the church–good ‘ol Costco pizza. We joined College Life’s praise time and retreated to the youth room for our first session. To introduce the theme and first message, we briefly examined the awe-inspiring and sin-exposing holiness of God from Isaiah 6:1-7. Then, I preached on 1 Peter 1:13-23, “Be Holy: Set Apart and Clean.” Through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ has justified (redeemed, declared innocent, imputed His righteousness upon) those who by faith have submitted to Him as Lord and Savior. In that sense, God has sanctified the genuinely saved believer–set him apart for the Kingdom of God; he was once in Adam but is now in Christ (cf. Rom. 5:12-21; Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:49). Thereafter, God is continually sanctifying the believer–setting him apart from the world (sin), which will be completed at death or at the return of Christ (cf. John 15:19ff; Rom. 8:29; 1 John 3:2-3; Phil. 1:6). In the midst of that progressive sanctification, God has commanded believers to be holy, to actively participate in becoming more like Christ (not like the world) and to pursue purity. The obedience to this command is a result of treasuring Christ’s precious blood, which paid the penalty for sin. After our first session, we packed up and drove to our hotel in Lake Elsinore.

At the hotel

We began Saturday with our second session at a park. Cesar preached on 1 John 2:15-17, “For God So Loved Worldliness?” It was a great and challenging message, one that I wish had been recorded! One cannot love both the world and God; one cannot both pursue sinful desires and Christ; one cannot both persistently consort with sin and live in obedience to Christ. To pursue and invest into worldly treasures will prove futile–it will all pass away–and it will prove fatal–the world stands against God who is the final judge. After our second session, we headed over to the lake and rented jet skis! Kristen and I piloted the jet skis while the youth rotated as passengers. While at the lake, Roger and Grace Alcaraz made a surprise (planned) visit! We got back to the hotel and had In-N-Out for lunch.

Cesar preaching at the park

After lunch, we drove over to UC Riverside for a low/high ropes course program! We played some fun games, tried some low-ropes obstacle courses, and tackled high-ropes challenges. Many of the youth completed a rock-climbing wall and tried Giants Ladder, parallel beams that increased in gaps between each beam and required a partner. They all worked well together and had a good time! After, we had dinner on our way back to the hotel and had our third session at another nearby park. I preached on Romans 12:1-2, “True Spiritual Worship: Total Self Dedication.” When one is gripped by the holiness of God, goes to Him in faith and repentance, the result is worship through the total dedication and sacrifice of self. I challenged the youth to consider how they are worshiping God with their lives with what they treasure and pursue. Afterward, we hung out and had free time.

On Sunday, we joined Faith Bible Church’s worship service at 8:30am. While Chris Mueller was away, John Pleasnick preached on “Sanctification: Set Apart by God” (http://media.faith-bible.net/series/gospel-greatness/sanctification-set-apart-by-god). It was an extremely helpful, encouraging, and challenging message, and a great way to end our sessions. After service, we drove an hour north and had lunch at Portillo’s Hot Dog in Orange County. After lunch, we surprised the youth with Knott’s Berry Farm! While at Knott’s, Cindy Tran made a surprise (planned) visit to hangout with the youth as she leaves San Diego for the LBCLA church plant.

It’s been such a joy to be part of the youth ministry, to share in the youth and staffs’ lives and to extol the greatness of God through His Word to them. Personally, I am constantly encouraged and challenged by these individuals to pursue Christ harder, to love, worship, and know Him more, to live a life set apart and pure for God’s glory. I thank God for them and look forward to sharing more of our lives together (and more retreats)!

Children’s Ministry – Sonlight Update

by Dennis Su

Summer is winding down and that means a new year of Sonlight (elementary age children’s ministry) is just beginning. With that comes change. Some staff are moving on to different ministries or have relocated entirely, and new prospective staff are in the process of observing to confirm their interest or have already committed. We’ve promoted two of our oldest children to Lumos (youth ministry) and are excited to get a new batch of young ones from Sparklers. Each year we also see change come in the form of curriculum. To give some background, children’s curriculum is often created by different providers and can span multiple years, focusing on different themes for an entire year. In years past, we’ve gone through curriculum put out by Children Desiring God and this last year, Answers in Genesis. This year we’ll be using curriculum created by Generations of Grace (http://www.generationsofgrace.com/). It’s exciting to know that we’ll have new resources to aid in teaching the kids and to provide our staff with new ideas on how to share God’s truth.

This year we’ll be studying the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. We’ll take a short break to focus on Christ’s resurrection during Easter and on Christ’s birth during Christmas. Every few weeks we’ll also be having a review of past lessons to help us remember what we’ve learned and to re-emphasize the major objectives of the lessons. At the end of the year, we’ll be reviewing the MVP (mission, vision, passion) of Lighthouse.

Despite all the changes happening in Sonlight including any new curriculum, it’s important for us to constantly remember our objectives in Sonlight. In particular, to share the gospel and impart the sinfulness of man. To say it another way, we need to be God-focused. While the excitement of a new curriculum is refreshing and something to look forward to, it’s more important that what we do teaches the kids the holiness of God and that He is the one who sent his Son to be our Savior, and to exemplify God’s work in our own lives.

Braving the New World

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Anyone who has been at Lighthouse long enough understands that many of the doctrinal positions we teach are not necessarily the most popular. I suppose this is expected because we don’t formulate our beliefs based on how we might best be accepted by others. The Bible is our authority and we seek to be faithful in teaching it – in season and out of season. Through our years in ministry, some have ridiculed us for our teachings. Others have objected vehemently. Sadly, there have been fellow believers who have criticized us for taking biblical stances on issues like the sanctity of life, the authority of the church, and the biblical roles of men and women. As time goes by, I am sure it isn’t going to get easier to stand for God’s truth. In fact, it seems it will get significantly more difficult. Even still, since we are believers, it is essential that we hold true to the Word of God because of its inerrancy, sufficiency, and authority.

There are many contemporary issues that completely stand against the principles of God’s Word, but perhaps none has been more prevalent recently than the widespread societal acceptance of homosexuality. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was initially instituted by President Clinton in 1996. The act was initially created to protect states from having to recognize same sex marriages of other states. In effect, this Act essentially barred the federal government from legally recognizing same sex marriages and giving gay couples the federal benefits of marriage. The Supreme Court also refused to review a lower court’s invalidation of California’s Prop 8 law, which prohibited same-sex marriage. By refusing to review the case, the Supreme Court let the lower court’s ruling stand that Prop 8 is unconstitutional. Needless to say, this was a monumental day for the LGBT community.

As a Christian looking at contemporary cultural trends, in some ways, it seems this day was inevitable. It was only a matter of time before a ruling was going to be made in favor of same sex marriage. As society continues to veer the issue more and more towards civil rights and not moral choice, I am sure more rulings will be made in the future in support of the LGBT community. Homosexuality is becoming more and more ordinary in the United States and this is reflected in our media. You can hardly find a sit-com on television today that doesn’t feature at least one homosexual couple.

So how should the church respond? Should we hit the streets and picket in protest? Should we go door to door encouraging our neighbors to fight in the next election to reverse the trends we are seeing? While it is helpful to exercise our freedom to vote, as Christians, we understand that our greatest hope is not found in governing bodies and political authorities. The hope for this nation is not found in propositions and laws. As always, we need to view all of this biblically since God is our ultimate authority. Cultural and national trends change from age to age, but the Word of God will always stand (cf. Matt. 24:35).

The Bible has always been clear about the sinfulness of homosexuality. Some have tried to write off the passages dealing with homosexuality by cleverly citing cultural and historical context, but it is undeniable that regardless of the culture or age, God’s Word is consistent in deeming homosexuality as a perversion of His order for creation. Marriage God’s way was instituted and designed to be between one man and one woman (cf. Gen. 2:24). The simple fact is that since God’s Word will not change on the issue, the church also should not change on the issue. The convictions of the church do not ebb and flow with cultural trends. Society doesn’t ultimately dictate what men should believe. Our authority has always been Scripture.

This of course means that the church and popular society will be increasingly at odds. Individual churches may compromise these convictions and bend to societal trends, but God’s Word will remain an immovable foundation. This doesn’t mean that Christians should treat homosexuals in a disrespectful or hateful way. Believers should always seek to speak with grace and tact (cf. Eph. 4:29). Love is still the rule for all true believers. But it isn’t loving to look the other way when someone is living in violation of God’s law. It isn’t loving to tell people everything is ok when you know they’ll need to stand before the Lord one day and give an account for their lives against His perfect standard.

The gospel is truly at stake. What needs to come first is our love to God, and it certainly isn’t loving not to call sin “sin” when God came in flesh to die on the cross for the sins that men commit. Before all else, God’s glory needs to be in mind and our desire needs to be to put Him first above all things.

True love demands that we help people understand the truth of the gospel – that there is a loving God who is eager to forgive and save if men will turn from their sins and turn to Him in faith. True love dictates that the gospel should be preached respectfully and graciously since everyone who preaches it is a fellow sinner in need of grace. What this nation needs is for Christians to express and demonstrate the love of God more and more by telling others about the hope of the gospel. But as our society moves farther away from a biblical worldview, we should not be surprised if the opposition to the gospel becomes more and more severe. The point is that Christians need to remain committed to the truth of God, but this is only going to get harder and harder.

Single Life Update – Grace Life Date Night

by Janet Shih

In June, the Singles ministry had the privilege of planning a Saturday date night for the Grace Life families ministry. Our church families were given the opportunity to sign up for a date night with food and entertainment fully provided by the Singles. Children’s programs were also available so parents were able to enjoy the night without distraction. Those in the Singles ministry were found throughout the church: playing with babies, talking and interacting with the older children, preparing food in the kitchen, serving food and drinks to the tables, and enjoying fellowship with the families in the sanctuary. Some of the highlights of the night included a video encouragement and musical performances from some very talented men and women in the Singles Ministry, who were able to portray marriage as the grace of life in song and lyrical rap.

I was particularly encouraged to see those in the Singles Ministry so willing to serve the families at Lighthouse. I distinctly remember many people asking what they could help with throughout the course of the night. As I reflect on how everything turned out, I am encouraged by the all of the efforts put into planning and all of the many hands that worked together to make the night a success. The night was not simply a time to showcase talent or run a program, but it was a creative and practical way to serve, love and encourage those in our church family with the resources, gifts, and talents that Christ has given to us Singles in this stage of life.

As the year continues on, I’m excited to continue to run alongside the Singles ministry. I am reminded of Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthians to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). As a Singles ministry, my hope is that we would continue to labor tirelessly not just for big events like this, but in every part of our day-to-day life. I hope that we would continue to serve in ways that considers the needs of others more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4) and do so joyfully, knowing that our service is pleasing in the sight of our Lord.

Reflections on Lumos

By Elisabeth Ko

I was probably not the best student at church when I was a youth. It was a dreadful thing to go to church on Sunday mornings, and all I could think of during the sermon was how much longer I would have to sit there until the service was over. In middle school and high school, my small group leaders had to bribe me with food in order to convince me to stay and talk about the sermon that morning. Even then, I would not be that attentive, giving shallow answers and not putting much thought into the message we had heard just minutes ago. During retreats, I was busy trying to make excuses so that I did not have to participate in various activities and games.

This is probably why I get so encouraged and amazed when I see the youth at Lumos today. First of all, we do not have to bribe them to make them stay after the message in order to catch their attention or keep them focused. They are eager to learn, ready to open up their Bibles and start absorbing whatever is being taught. When we ask questions about the sermon, they try to give much thought into what they are sharing, and think of ways to apply what they have learned into their lives.

We adults think we are busy with our lives with work and ministries, but the youth are just as busy, if not busier. I was surprised to learn how little they were available (learn how difficult it was to match their availability) because they are so busy with school, extracurricular activities, and homework. They often come on Friday nights as tired as the staff. Yet, they keep their excitement when it comes to learning about God’s word. Even when the messages go until late at night, they do not complain, but stay attentive, or try their best to stay attentive, and are very much willing to share about the message during small group.

I may be biased in saying this since I’ve been in only two Youth Groups my entire life, but I would have to say that LBC is blessed to have Lumos youth. Especially in this day and age, when teenagers are bombarded with social media that lure them into sinful, worldly living, it is truly a blessing to have youth who passionately desire to learn about God’s word and live according to His wisdom. Josh Liu and Cesar Ruiz have been going over Romans and 1 John, respectively, which are both rich with the gospel message and application for Christian living. This can be quite intimidating even to adults, but the youth actually desire to be challenged in their walks, reflecting on whether if their faith is genuine and their lives are pleasing to the Lord. They understand that they are not perfect and that their hearts can be deceitful. They see their sins and desire to be changed and transformed. They recognize that following the things of this world is futile and foolish. They try to keep Christ as their priority in life. When I witness their lives and testimonies, I am constantly reminded of 1 Timothy 4:12. The youth know that being a youth does not excuse them from living a responsible life. It has been a joy to be able walk alongside them and to take part in pursuing holiness by both teaching and learning from them.

But we as the staff must understand that whatever growth we witness in them is all due to the grace of God, not a result of our works and effort. I have learned this over and over again throughout the times that I’ve served in Youth Group. I have come to realize more and more that there is so much we can do, but it is God who gives the growth. Yes, the youth have the desire to grow and they are attentive to our teaching, but that will not be possible without God working in their hearts (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). The staff is simply called to plant and water the seed, that is, the gospel, in the youth. In the end, even in times when it seems like our work is mounting to nothing, we must patiently trust in God, that He will work in them regardless of whether we will see the fruit or not.

Like other youth staffers, I also would like to encourage the church to get to know the youth and reach out to them. They can be shy at first, but they will surely be encouraged by your initiative/intentionality, and I am sure you will have plenty of opportunities to be encouraged by them.

LBC Beacon

A Ministry of Lighthouse Bible Church