John 17:20-26

NASB	NLT	VOICE
20 “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word,	20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.	20 I am not asking solely for their benefit; this prayer is also for all the believers who will follow them and hear them speak.
21 that they may all be done; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe You sent Me.	21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.	21 Father, may they all be one as You are in Me and I am in You; may they be in Us, for by this unity the world will believe that You sent Me.
22 The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one.	22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.	22 All the glory You have given to Me, I pass on to them. May that glory unify them and make them one as We are one,
23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.	23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”	23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be refined so that all will know that You sent Me, and You love them in the same way You love Me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.	24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!	24 Father, I long for the time when those You have given Me can join Me in My place so that they may witness My glory, which comes from You. You have loved Me before the foundations of the cosmos were laid.
25 “Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;	25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me.	25 Father, You are just; though this corrupt world order does not know You, I do. These followers know that You have sent Me.
26 “and I have made Your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”	26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”	26 I have told them about Your nature; and I will continue to speak of Your name in order that Your love, which was poured out on Me, will be in them.

Today’s message is about something that is near and dear to my heart. It is something that I have been incredibly involved in for many years and something that we must talk about all the time in churches lately. It is something that not only United Methodist churches struggle with, but something that is a common struggle in most churches.

I want to talk about Youth Ministry. I want to talk about the struggle we find in churches that have a small number of children or no children, even with no young families altogether. We are getting concerned about what the future looks like for the church as a whole and as a body. What do we do about this? How do we move forward? For those that do not know, I have a decade of ministry work with Youth and Children’s ministry, my way that ministry looks is atypical from the “normal,” but I have found success in what I did.

Most of us have grown up in a church, watched their family grow up in church, and even watched the third and fourth generation grow up in the church, but church attendance has been steadily declining over the years. If we had so many family members grow up in the church, what happened?

The truth is that they are still being the church, just outside of the church building. They out in their communities making a difference for the families, neighbors, and communities. They are sharing the same love that Jesus shares with them. The struggle that younger generations face nowadays is a blessing for some people. The flexibility of where moments of worship take place. The standard church setting has felt less inviting to younger generations. Why? It is hard to say, but I have seen that it’s through the older-styled environments, the lack of younger involvement in key moments of worship, and the missing opportunities for community, younger generations nowadays want to be connected, but lack a safe, inviting space to join.

We all want to see the next generation follow Jesus. Jesus prayed for all those who followed Jesus. Jesus prayed for protection from the evil forces of this world, unity, and holiness. This gives us our starting place for how we can shift our mindset from them learning from us to us learning from them. We need to start with how we set ourselves apart from others. It starts with us and learning where we are. I want you to answer these questions I am going to ask

• How many people want to make sure their church survives the next 5 years?
• How many people want to see young families in the church?
• How many people would want to host a family event this summer?
• How many people would sacrifice a day a week to help with the youth ministry?

We want to see this happen, but we rarely want to dedicate our time, resources, and energy to dedicate to this. We believe this will just happen the more we exist, but it does not. We need to find a way to offer something that protects the younger generations. We need to make sure that we provide something that brings the younger generations together. The younger generations want community, which is the main reason you see them on their phone a lot. It is not that they are being rude, dissocial, or rebellious – they are connecting. They are connected with their community at school, from sports teams, from after-school clubs – places where they can feel accepted and free to be themselves without the risk of judgment.

Where I have seen older generations struggle with this, is that they want to generalize who they truly are. They make preconceived judgments about and do not make an intentional effort to get to know them. You might see that they are interested in Fortnite, and you care nothing about it. You could decide not even to acknowledge them because of it, talk to them about it but decide not to care, talk to them, and get TOO interested, or just be able to connect with them emotionally. It is about learning, so the person truly is on the inside. Learning that what they do may feel ridiculous or stupid to you, but it’s important to them. You match their spirit and work towards bonding with them on a different connection than just the typical: “How’s school? Good grades? Got a boyfriend/ girlfriend?” There is more to the younger generation than these things.

The goal for Jesus, and what our goal should be, is to become one. Jesus wanted them to be unified as a powerful witness to the body of God’s love. How do you play that role in your community? In your family? Do you sit and judge people for being gay? Do you still love them as God’s creation even if you do not agree? Do you still talk to the person that had to get an abortion? I know these are heavy topics, but these are real things that younger generations are being looked down upon and verbally and physically abused about. Teens have higher chances due to anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations due to their environment and the overwhelmingness of social media. Are you helping them manage that or are you adding more to that? Are you sarcastic when you see someone after a long depressive isolation episode? My list could go on.

We need to do better, me included, for the younger generations. We need to pray for them. Not just the simple prayer, but prayer that God will intervene in their lives, show them their purpose, heal their hurts, and allow them to feel loved as God created them to be. We need to build them up. The younger generations are very self-conscious. We must make sure we celebrate who they are and encourage them to achieve the image that God created them to be, not the one that we hoped that they would be. We need to work with them in humility. Younger generations can smell from a mile away if you are not being your genuine self. The only version of you that they want to connect with is the real you. Not a fake you, not an authoritarian you (circumstantial), but you. They want to hear when you messed up and how you recovered. They want to hear when you got in trouble and how you felt. They need to learn how to feel normal in an abnormal world. They need to learn how to grow. They will learn from you more through your actions than your words. They will learn for themselves too, and we must be there to catch them when it does not work out.

Be generous with your time and money. Show them that you are willing to make an intentional and willing sacrifice to help them become who God created them to be. Avoid gossip. It is easy for us to talk negatively about someone without realizing it, and again, kids learn from us through our actions more than our worlds. Be mindful when you are talking about someone. We must remember to speak about what we know instead of what we assume. As I typically say, until we know – we do not. We must display how our faith looks to the younger generation too. Be authentic as well. Do not try to put on a faith walk that you do not typically walk. If you want them to do something, you do it too. Do not default to the “just do it because I told you too.”

And the biggest thing that we see in the church is true division. Divisions over beliefs. Divisions over worship styles. Divisions over extra activities. Divisions over who is allowed in. The church has become a focal center of political and economic issues, and unfortunately in the wrong direction. We must work to be better. To show how we can disagree while also be loving. To show how we can have different perspectives and be accepting. An example of this happened at my old church. We had a big forum about something significant that happened and caused a division within the church. My response was going to be – no response. I was just going to sit and listen and allow myself to make sure my youth group was doing okay. After a little bit, I stepped up and said something. What I said was, “I’m not here to offer my opinion. I am not here to say whether someone is right or wrong. What I am here is to be a role model for my kids. For that group is our next generation and I will be an advocate for them forever.” That was it. After this forum, I gathered everyone together and said, “No matter what, we’ll love each other, we’ll care for each other, we’ll fight for each other. We will do this as a family.” That is how we ran things, and that is how it worked.

I have covered a lot of things. I have shared a lot of perspectives. I have not included a lot of scripture, but God has spoken in this message repeatedly. What I want to leave you with is this. Be kind to the kids and grandkids around you. Work to understand who they truly are, underneath the surface of their exterior. For God did not look on the outer appearance, but on the heart. A lot of kids have a big heart that was raised with a rough exterior. Do not make judgments on that exterior. Learn to accept each other as they are. Learn to accept. They have learned a lot from you through the years, now allow them to learn for themselves. Help us to accept each other.

Next slice of manna: Manna for the Mind #238