Today Casey and I got into a conversation on our way back from lunch that has really stirred my heart. It all stems off of a conversation that I had with a few of my senior girls over lunch just a few days ago. I'm really not sure how the topic came up at lunch, but somehow we started discussing the number of people who leave church after high school.
I proceeded to tell the girls a story that I really hadn't thought much about until this last week. I remember clearly when I was in high school I had a Bible school teacher one Sunday morning who looked at our class and said, "Statistically speaking 5 or more of you will leave the church after high school." I remember looking around that classroom and looking at all of my friends and thinking, who will it be? I remember looking at certain people and thinking...It won't be them or them or them. I remember thinking, that might be true in other church classrooms, but I know these people and that won't happen to this group.
Well it happened...
I think back to our senior night at Memorial Road in 2006. I think back to the 35 or so students that I sat with. I think back to my friends that I grew up with. I think back to my fellow classmates who sat in Mrs. McBride's 4 year old class and memorized the 23rd Psalm. I think back to the countless Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights together with my fellow classmates, and then I think about where a lot of us are today. And I remember my Bible class teacher who said, " Statistically speaking 5 or more of you will leave the church after high school."
I used to think there is no way that is true, but reality has set it. It scares me. It saddens me. It drives me to my knees in prayer. It scares me because I see the 130 kids that I work with here at Pleasant Valley and I look around the room and think no, that won't happen here, but in reality it very well could. It scares me because I care so much about these kids and I love them so much, and I don't want any of them to walk away from their faith in God. It saddens me because I see so many friends that I grew up with who were so involved in our youth group who have walked away from Jesus. It saddens me that they have turned away from the one thing that can truly fill their hearts and give them true life. And it drives me to my knees in prayer because I know that I can't fix this dilemma. I have no power on my own to change this tide. I pray that somehow God can use me in some small way to impact the teens that He has put in my life.
A few weeks ago I had a little bit of an emotional breakdown with God. The emotions are running high these days with the reality of me leaving and moving back to Oklahoma City in just a little over a month pressing in on me. I had stopped just to spend some time on my knees in prayer. Before I knew it there were emotions rushing over me. So many questions to lay at the feet of my God. So many tears. And my plea was simply this...God may you produce fruit from the work of these last three years. My biggest fear is that somehow I have failed to take these teens deeper than the surface. My biggest fear is that in three years that I have led these kids to believe that faith = showing up to church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. O I pray that God can take the work of these last three years and draw these kids deeper into Him. I pray that these teens that I love so dearly will know that He is enough for them. I pray that they will know that He is their answer. I pray that they will know that His word is true and full of life. I pray that they will know that loving God does not simply come by showing up to church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, but that it must penetrate EVERY aspect of their lives. I pray that my teens will cling to Jesus tightly! I pray that my kids here at PV will not be a part of the staggering number of youth that leave the church after high school.
When I don't have the answers I must fall to my knees and pray. So please join me in praying for our teens and children. May we ask God to use us to draw them deeper into Him.
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