A bunch of Bethel Youth dropped in on the Council meeting this week. This is becoming a wonderful annual tradition at Bethel Church.
After treating us to a fancy dessert, they asked me and the elders and deacons several questions. “What is it that you do, exactly?” “How old do you have to be to become a member of Council?” “Why are we allowed to take Lord’s Supper now, but when we were younger people like us weren’t allowed to do so?” “How long do you have to serve as an elder or deacon?”
During the conversation, my mind went back to when I was a seminary student. I completed an internship at a church, and among my responsibilities was co-leading the “Teen Club” for 13-15 year olds. One of the kids, Simon, had a hard time taking Teen Club seriously. He goofed around a lot and made being a youth leader quite a challenge. I think that was about the time I started losing my hair.
Today, Simon is a Christian Reformed minister. From what I hear, he’s a really good preacher, a gentle pastor, and a wise leader. God has a sense of humour, and he certainly knows what he’s doing!
Watching our youth ask their questions, I wondered how the Lord is going to use them in years to come. What will be their roles in the Kingdom of God? Will they become elders and deacons, so that I serve on Council with them at Bethel Church (and so that they can answer the questions of a new group of Bethel Youth)? Will some of them sense the call to pastoral ministry, and become Ministers of the Word like me? That would be very cool.
The Lord knows the answers to these questions. What I know is that I am grateful to have these youth in our congregation. And I look forward to seeing how they respond to the Lord’s ongoing call to them to be his disciples.
Pastor Bruce