October 27, 2009
Teenagers can teach us oldies a thing or two!
Most of our members are 50+ with only 1 teenager who is now a member of the Church Council. At a recent meeting there was discussion on merging circuits and the advantages and disadvantages were made by various people. One of the most obvious was missed by everyone until our teenager pointed out to us how both the spiritual and social life of the church would be improved due to the proximity of a very large , successful church. She was looking forward to contact with fellow committed christians of her own age which she misses in our small circuit.
The same principle applies to us oldies because we can share ideas on worship, bible study, activities, serving the community etc with a much wider age range. We will meet up with other enthusiastic and energetic individuals who may well re-ignite the passion of our faith. So instead of fearing the merger we should be looking forward to it and seeing opportunities rather than obstacles.
It started me thinking again about the future of our traditional church and the conservatism of so many of my age. We need to take note of the reduced membership, the age of the members and how many faithful servants will still be with us in 10 years time! Why do we so easily dismiss new ideas of worship, use of modern technolgy or more flexible use of the buildings or changes to them? We need to encourage the younger generation to have a vision for the future of our church. Many are very intelligent young people, often nervous of speaking out when in the presence of elderly people. Their voice must be heard- debated yes – but in a positive manner, encouraging and supporting them in their actions. Shouldn’t we be the wise counsellors and give advice from experience rather than condemnation or dismissal because they are young.
I get so annoyed when some of us oldies say things like “but we have always done that or Mrs so and so gave us that and we don’t want to hurt her feelings etc.” How much more hurt will she feel when her beloved church closes.
We all long to see families, teenagers and children in our churches. They will be there if they feel that they are treated as equals and their opinions will be truly welcomed. The young have important contributions to make to the christian life of any church. It’s so important to dicuss our future with parents and young families. They should be loved,nurtured and given respect for their views. Above all LISTEN to YOUR TEENAGERS in your church. If you don’t – you won’t see them for long nor will your church exist much longer. That is my worry for my church.
