Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/93

Contributor - Jonathan Gerstner

Title - Finally Beloved

Topic - Youth

As I travel around the Reformed Church in Canada, I am struck by the deep concern for the youth of the church. Our Ontario churches have covenanted together for years to maintain a Christian camp. Our British Columbia churches and our Alberta churches have maintained and planned their own youth camps, as has our sole congregation in Manitoba. Almost all the counselling at these camps has been run by volunteer labour. How often I hear expressed in our congregations a desire that more of the youth would be present in worship. The youth are clearly an intentional priority for all of us.

Given such a high level of concern for the youth in our fellowship, one is faced with a serious question. Why then are many of our youth drifting away from our churches? We are thankful that some of those departing are finding homes in other evangelical churches. Unfortunately many are drifting away from the body of Christ entirely. How can the Refon-ned Church in Canada channel its good intentions for youth ministry to help keep more of our youth in our fellowship?

Youth and the church.

When we see youth drifting away from the church, we need to ask ourselves critically what the church is offering our youth. This question should first be asked to us as parents. Are we showing our children that church is an exciting place where we go to worship the living God, our personal Lord and Saviour? Is there an air of expectancy in our car as we approach church on Sunday? If so, we are presenting a contagious atmosphere in which the love of worship can grasp our youth. If not, and if we are conveying the maintenance of an empty ritual we should not be surprised when our youth consistently act out this attitude and simply stop attending church.

Unfortunately, even when we are expressing enthusiasm and a sincere spirit of worship we may not be welcoming youth to, stay part of our church. Few of us would feel comfortable worshipping in another language or in styles from another age. Sadly this is where our youth often find themselves. Though only a generation apart, they may, for example, find much of the most meaningful musical expressions of faith of a prior generation totally alien. Even those who by God's grace catch our love of the Lord, may find themselves drawn out of our services to worship styles more attuned to their generation. One possible solution is to begin alternate worship services in our churches. When churches encounter language difficulties, they are wise to start different services in each language. Similarly a congregation serious about reaching the youth should explore alternate styles of worship in additional services or other programmes of the church.

The above observations assume youth of the church who have some exposure to Christianity. However, if we are serious about reaching youth, we will need to expand beyond a focus on the youth of the church and seek ways to reach unchurched youth. Nothing is more encouraging for youth than to see other youth at their services. Services and programmes targeted at youth will help us be faithful to the great commission inside as well as outside the church walls.

Resources to expand youth ministry are plentiful. The Lord has blessed our fellowship with many gifted youth pastors, and churches should consider adding staff in this area. Classis Ontario has hired Rod Schutte to serve as its Classis youth consultant, to assist the able volunteers who head up most of our youth ministry. The RCA provides training opportunities for youth leaders as well, primarily through Rev. Keith Krebs, the denominational minister for youth. The Emerging Synod of Canada staff will be glad to help churches plug into denominational and parachurch opportunities in their region. But we must not forget that our prime resource are the youth themselves. Many of them are bilingual; understanding their own culture and our Reformed traditions.

Youth and conversion.

Reaching youth is based on the understanding that the youth need to be reached. Our Reformed understanding of baptism makes clear that our children are not born innocent, nor are they in a state of limbo until they reach a certain age. Rather they are born dead in trespasses and sins and can only find new life outside themselves by believing in Christ as Lord and Saviour. Their baptism is a sign that their parents and the whole church must work to bring them into that living relationship with Christ. Only after conversion is one a living member of Christ and called to come to the Lord's Table.

When we see young people drifting away from the church, we need to ask if the church faithfully called them to that personal relationship with Christ. We need to see that church attendance is a means to conversion and, a path of growth in grace for those already converted. Church attendance is not an end in and of itself. If parents stress church attendance apart from stressing the need for personal conversion of their children, one can expect only disaster. Either the unconverted youth will stop attending church and cut himself off from a possible means to this conversion, or the unconverted youth will keep attending, live his whole life as an external statistic of the church but be equally lost. Conversion to a living relationship with Christ and public confession of that relationship needs to be the centre of our youth ministry, as well as our ministry to the whole congregation.

I was recently visiting a church of a sister denomination, and left with the unmistakable impression that the pastor thought that every individual in the congregation had a living and vital relationship with Christ. This type of unspiritual assumption can rob the children of the church of their God given covenantal right of being called into a living relationship with Christ. May our Lord prevent us from failing into that trap.

Youth and the sovereignty of God.

In writing these observations about youth, there is always the danger that some dear believers may be unintentionally hurt. There is probably no greater sorrow than seeing one s children reject Christ and refuse to come to a living relationship with Him. Those in this situation must reflect before God and confess if there are ways in which they hindered their children from being converted. If we confess our sins to Christ, we can be assured that we are truly forgiven.

This introspection must not stop with the parents. The whole congregation vowed at the baptism ceremony to help bring the children of the congregation to conversion. If we as congregations made it harder for the area over the youth of the church to come to a living relationship with Christ, we too must confess our sins to Christ if we expect His pardon.

However, godly parents must also guard themselves against false guilt. All parents are sinners, including those whose children are converted. David was a man after God's own heart, yet his son was Absalom. Isaac was an examplary man of faith, and yet his be loved Esau rejected the ways of the Lord. Romans 9 is not only the classic text which teaches that God is sover eign and in control of all things, it is also the inspired cry of anguish of a man seeing most of his ethnic kinsmen rejecting Christ and going into a god less eternity. In Paul's struggle he points out that ultimately God does have mercy on whom He will have mercy. God does allow some children of believers to reject the Gospel. We must leave this mystery with God, and not blame the godly parents for the rebellion of their children.

I thank God that the youth remain an intentional priority of the Reformed Church in Canada. The inspired apostle reminds us to become all things to all people that we may by all means win some. So may our churches willingly become young with our youth, allowing them a central role in shaping the programme of our congregations, that we may by all means win some of them to the eternal youth of new life in Christ.

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