YOUNG ADULT
INTENTIONALITY AND COMMUNITY
I’m always fascinated when God seems to pick a theme for a phase of my life. You know what I’m talking about—those weeks when it seems like every sermon, personal prayer, and Facebook newsfeed quote is all centered on one subject, as if God has a divine lesson plan, and He is preparing you for the exam. In my life, over the past two months, that lesson has been about what it means to be a servant. Now, more than ever before, my friends are drawing on me for support. Both churches I attend have had “ministry fairs”, where the different needs of the church were advertised, and signup sheets were available next to bowls of shiny, alluring candy. I’ve also been blessed to be a part of even larger movements such as The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference, and the Adventist Global Youth Day. As commonplace as events like these may seem in the church, they all have an extraordinary detail in common: in order for them to come into existence, someone had to go out of their way to make themselves aware of the needs around them. My friends could not ask for help unless they knew help was needed. My churches’ signup sheets would mean nothing without a header explaining why everyone was signing. Events such as Global Youth Day would be useless if all we had done was gather the youth in a place without any goals in mind.
We were blown-away by the range of service projects going on around the world by the youth of the church. Something we highlighted was how well each group catered to the needs around them."
Let’s talk about Global Youth Day for a moment. If any of you were watching the all-day broadcast made possible by an incredible team of volunteers all across the globe, you might have caught my friend Eden and me reporting for the Florida division. We were blown-away by the range of service projects going on around the world by the youth of the church. Something we highlighted was how well each group catered to the needs around them. For instance, in Miami, a team was passing out water at a marathon. In Canada, a team was passing out hot chocolate. I’m pretty sure that if the Miami team had been passing out hot chocolate at the marathon, they wouldn’t have been nearly as successful in meeting the needs of the people around them. Another great example of catering to specific needs is the group that surprised me the most—they spent the day collecting batteries. I still don’t know what they were doing with them. However, someone had obviously taken the time to look at their community needs and had somehow found that battery recycling was something worth doing.The key here is intentionality. As servants of the kingdom, we are called to live our lives with intentionality. As children of a Sovereign Father, we realize that we were made with a purpose. When Jesus Christ walked the earth, He met the specific needs of the people with whom He came into contact. Preparation and expectancy are key. We cannot intentionally meet needs that we do not know exist. Intentionality must be sought out by keeping in constant communion and conversation with the Lord. Stewardship and service are good callings, but still not anything we are called to do in our own strength. In John 5:30, Jesus himself says, “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me.” Global Youth Day was an incredible show of the Lord’s ability to use His children at any age. However, every endeavor undertaken by the Church to serve, must be a continuous process of paying attention to the Lord, and reacting to His Word. We are here for a purpose, and only by fulfilling that purpose will the world look at us and see something different. I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait for Global Youth Day 2015!
Until then, let’s intentionally look at the world around us and ask, “Father, how would you have me serve You today?”
For info. on Global Youth Day, 2015, visit: gcyouthministries.org
Random thought...Are my outreach efforts as efficient as they are spontaneous?
