YOUTHS
ON FIRE.
THE
BURDEN
The
down-trend of the moral and spiritual lives of the several youths of all
categories in this present generation as continued to disturb us. Moreso, when
we compare this trend with the overall glaring purpose and expectation of God
in the scriptures.
God’s
Overall Expectation of the Youths
"That
our sons in their youth will be like well – nurtured plants and our daughters
will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace". Psalm 144:12 (NIV)
God expects
the youths in every nation to be like plants already grown and matured. And the
young girls to be like sculptured corner pillars of a palace. He expects our
sons and daughters in their youthful years to have grown in their knowledge of
Christ; His pattern Son.
In God’s
divine plan, youthful years are not years of irresponsibility and delinquency
as is generally the case in several societies today. Even the noble
responsibility of establishing God’s Kingdom here on earth is to be borne by
youths that have been discipled and properly focused. Lam.3:27.
It was the
fall of man at Eden,
and the resultant mystery of wickedness at work in all creation that is
responsible for the aberration we see all around us today. The present
situation where the youth is associated with all societal atrocities is a
perversion of God’s original purpose. The strength, zeal, and the versatile
nature of the youth were all endowments by God for His purpose. But today, it
is misapplied unto drug abuse, drunkenness, occultism, armed robbery,
vandalization, prostitution, and all manner of evil. The latest seductive
fashions, sex exploitations and sophisticated crime operations are conceived
and transported from the pit of hell to every home via satellite, internet,
videos, T.V programs and the print media to further exploit the present
gullibility of these precious and never dying souls.
Our
Responsibility
“For He
established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which
He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children.
That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep
His commandment.” Psalm 78:5-7.
God’s
pattern of transmitting and perpetuating His own kind of life from one
generation to another since beginning of creation is that the testimony and
dealings He established with the adults, elders and the fathers be
systematically taught and transferred to the children (youths). This is termed
discipleship. Whenever this has been omitted in any generation, the
consequences have always been catastrophic as in the days of Joshua.
"And
the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the
elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord that
He did for Israel.
And Joshua
the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died…
And also all
that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another
generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had
done for Israel.
And the children of Israel
did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim:
And the
anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into
the hands of spoilers that spoiled them…" (Judges 2:7-8, 10-11, 14)
OUR
METHOD
Our overall
aim is to win-over, and disciple the youths until their lives conform to the
approved pattern Son, JESUS. To do this effectively, we employ these and
several other methods given to us from time to time by the Holy Spirit.
1. We take
outreaches to schools and colleges, Churches, fellowships, remand homes,
prisons, orphanages, hospitals, market places and wherever youths are located.
2. We also
explore social avenues like excursions, picnics, meals at restaurants and
birthday parties as occasions to affect them. We use whatsoever will grant us
entry into the youth world and attract them for salvation and discipleship.
3. Other
common strategies we use are; drama, choir/ song presentations, videos,
play-lets, games, messages, and so on. The methods of conducting these
outreaches vary with the peculiarities of the youths and their locations.
4. We have
specialized outreaches to teenagers, youths, and spinsters to enable us focus
on them more particularly. The burden for teenagers outreach is tailored to face
the peculiarities involved with the youths of this age group. Their level of
learning, mental maturity, attention span makes it necessary for their own
training to be separated from the senior youths.
5. Youth camp Retreat:
We conduct concerted camp retreats that host youths at national, state, or
district levels. This is a concentrated time of teaching and discipleship in an
environment and atmosphere where youths are completely removed from
distractions in order to encounter God.
Youth
Centres. Immediately after our outreaches, the follow-up class starts and
culminates into discipleship classes or what we call youth centres. Our focus
is to develop the youth wholly. We do not only fit them for heaven, but also
make them relevant and God glorifying in our contemporary society. We use Bible
study outlines, personal counselling, teaching and preaching sessions, seminars
and workshops for thorough impartations.
But beside
these, we conduct vocational and professional training in computer, soap and
cream making, sewing of Bible covers, fashion designing, sculpturing, drawing,
painting, tie and dyeing, music etc. We also hold seminars that educate them on
some basic human preservation, first aid, HIV awareness, road traffic rules, basic
health, and other relevant domestic responsibilities.
THE
PECULIARITIES INVOLVED
The youths
generally are on a transitional period of childhood to adulthood.
They undergo
several changes in their physique, perceptions, emotions, and judgments. They
are thus very restless, dynamic, and prone to changes in moods and minds for
every new and appealing thing. Thus the need to be creative and innovative in
our approach to sustain their interest long enough for discipleship.
As a group
or congregation, youths are generally transient: some gaining fresh admissions,
or transferring to new schools and environments, while others must move along
with their parents and guardians to new places of posting. This instability
requires a lot of labour and attention, and of course, frequent re-adaptations
of several of our discipleship methods including the use of correspondence.
Youth is
also a period where abstract concept is still at a minimal development, as such
material and physical amenities play important roles in affecting their choices
and sustaining their attention. This results in making the youth ministry cost
intensive for us.
Finally, and
closely linked to the above, the youths of several cultures are mostly a
dependant sector of the population (they generate little or no income of their
own). Consequently, all the programmes aimed at reaching them must be offered
free. This continually calls for much prayers and faith in God for the finance
and sponsorship of our youth programmes.
OUR
SCOPE
We are an interdenominational
team, and so we as matter of deep commitment are interested in training youths
in all Churches and Fellowships that allows us. And where there are no youth
centres, ministries, churches, and fellowships, and any other viable youth
work, we, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit initiate and establish youth
centres under the auspices of the MFM-IRELAND work in that vicinity.
For more
information,
YOUTH
ON FIRE FOR JESUS,
MFM-IRELAND.
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