The world, and especially the church are continuing to navigate through the impact of Covid-19.
If I were to ask each of you how the pandemic has effected your specific church and community I’m sure I’d get a wide variety of responses. However, I’m also certain that there’d be some similarities.
I recently heard Pastor Rod Loy, lead pastor of First NLR in Little Rock AR. share a story from one of his mid week prayer services. He estimated that his congregation was roughly 50% of their normal numbers. His state restrictions are lifting but many still aren’t returning. He was open about the frustration this can cause and how the tendency for many of us can be to focus on the people not coming back more than the people that are. He went on to share that in this particular prayer service the numbers were down but the presence of God was up! He said the power of God was stronger in that service than any he had felt in quite some time.
I’ve heard many other pastors share similar stories over the past few months. I believe the events of the past year has been a sort of spiritual sifting. For those whose faith has persevered, we’re seeing an increased desire to go deeper.
This seems to be a trend in the Church overall but I believe this to be especially true for students.
In a shifting and uncertain world, there’s an increasing desire for something real and unwavering. As leaders and pastors we should be leading the way into the deep. Students are hungry for an encounter with God. Students are desperate for a mission. Students are longing to make an impact.
Acts 2:17 wasn’t spoken as a possibility, it was spoken as a certainty. Jesus said “I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
The largest flames a fire produces is when you first add an accelerant to it. I believe the season that we’re in is an accelerant being tossed onto our young people. We have so many different metrics to use to measure “success” in youth ministry nowadays but maybe we need to scrap them all and adopt a new one.
Are your young people seeing visions? Are they prophesying?
These are the questions we should be asking. The future of the church and our ministries will depend on how we steward this unique time that we find ourselves in.
The only way we can lead students into the deep things of God is if we’re going there ourselves. Let this time also serve as a challenging reminder to us as leaders that we can’t lead students to somewhere we haven’t been.
I’m praying and believing for an increase in the prophetic. I’m praying and believing for an increase in the miraculous. I’m praying and believing for greater urgency in evangelism.
Deep leaders will produce deep students. Deep students will change the world.
By: Chris Davis
Youth Pastor// Eastern A/G Baltimore, MD