Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Feb/96

Contributor - Jim Moerman

Title - The Joshua Club

Topic - Youth

INTRODUCTION

During his tenure as General Synod President, Harold Korver threw the bulk of his energies and Prescription For Leadership Recruitment in the RCA an attempt to identify young leaders for Christian ministry long before they actually start attending seminary. Interestingly, during my brief tenure as Regional Synod President, the Lord birthed a similar vision in my heart, which I had termed The Joshua Club.

BIBLICAL BACKGROUND

As you know so well, Joshua was a young leader whom Moses had pre-selected to succeed him as leader of the children of Israel. Joshua proved himself early on as one of the minority of spies who came back from Canaan with a vision for conquering it (as opposed to running from it!). He was identified early in his life as a young man of hope, leadership, vision, and courage.

As a young man, I have often reflected on and been encouraged by Joshua's predicament when God spoke to him in chapter 1, saying: 'Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them ... I will give you every place where you set your foot . . . be strong and resources into something called 'A courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land ... the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.'

HARD QUESTIONS

Who are the Joshua's of the Regional Synod of Canada? Who are the young men and women of hope, leadership, vision, and courage? To whom will the mantle of leadership fall after we're gone? Where is the next generation of leadership going to come from? Does the next generation have a vision for leadership in The Church, or do they perceive it as an antiquated institution for the elderly?

PURPOSE

The purpose of The Joshua Club is to identify those 14 to 22 year olds among us in The Church who are markedly gifted and to encourage them to pray and listen for the call of God and consider full-time Christian ministry as their vocational choice. As church leaders, we have often been guilty of directing our healthiest, most talented people into what we consider the lucrative/prestigious vocations-engineering, law, medicine, social work, and teaching, to name a few.

Why not start directing our healthiest, most talented young people into Christian ministry?.

We have done well at emphasizing the internal call of God but done poorly at emphasizing the external call of The Church at large. "The result," writes Harold Korver, 'many non-tested persons have come into the ministry and into leadership positions in the church. These persons have tried to define for themselves-often incorrectly their gifts for leadership and ministry. As a result, everyone suffers senselessly . . . a better approach would be to identify those among us in the church who are markedly gifted and to encourage them to consider ministry." (1995 General Synod Presidents Report).

MY OWN EXPERIENCE

The year was 1977. I was a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Alberta, living away from home for the first time in my life. Emmanuel Community Reformed in Edmonton, Alberta was my home church and Rev. Art Zeilstra my pastor. One Sunday evening, the Emmanuel youth group conducted a youth service and I preached my first sermon. In retrospect, I think it was terrible, but others saw potential in me and told me so! Then Pastor Zeilstra invited me out for a coffee and, dutifully, I went with him. (I had never been out for "a coffee' with anyone before!) After some small talk, he looked me square in the eye and said, "Jim, have you ever considered the pastoral ministry?' I told him that I had-but had never dared to mention it to anyone. It was completely an internal, subjective experience.

Oh, how releasing and exciting and vision-creating to have my secret thoughts augmented and encouraged from a significant external source! At that point I decided 'this must be a call from God.' It was a bee that never left my bonnet, and although I pursued a teaching career, I knew that I would one day be a pastor.

Because I was now convinced that God was calling me.

THE GODLY, THE GIFTED, AND THE GRACED!

How many other 14-22 year olds are there in the 49 churches of this synod who have some internal rumblings about full-time Christian ministry but those considerations are never "called out"? Plenty.

That's what The Joshua Club is all about-"calling out" the gifted and the graced into full-time Christian ministry, specifically the pastoral ministry.

How many 14-22 year olds with winsome personalities, above-average intelligence, and earnest commitments to Christ are being lured into the full-time service of mammon and never once challenged seriously to consider the call of God in their lives? Plenty.

THE JOSHUA CLUB WITH WHEELS

Here's the game-plan:

1. To write every pastor and consistory in the Synod of Canada, asking them to nominate between one and three young people in their church-male or female whom they believe God has gifted and graced with leadership potential;

2. Form a mailing list of these (100?) young men and women (complete with birthdays, home church, parents' names ...

3. Write a quarterly "Joshua Club" paper that addresses some area of Christian leadership, ministry, or call. Special features might include testimonies of how other pastors were called by God and His Church, real-life stories of what its like to be a pastor, (or a missionary, or a para-church worker, or..)

4. Annually update the Joshua Club membership list (ensuring that our pearls are not wasted on swine!);

5. Personally speak with each Joshua Club member at least once per year (this monumental task could be shared with Calvin Ver Mulm or a small select group of others invested with concern for the development of new leaders);

6. In conjunction with classis meetings, organize a regional Joshua Club party to informally mix with these developing young leaders, inviting at least one other local pastor to attend and give the key-note address. (As a logistical note, the party would ideally be at the home of one of the Joshua Club members.)

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