REVIVE US SERIES No. 3: The Youth Church For The Poor

The views and concerns addressed in this blog series are bigger than our youth. It is a reflection of how Christians young and old view the church and what we feel we need to do to make Jesus look cool.  To expose how we got here, each blog in this series will describe a church concept that students came up with, followed by a personal challenge from myself or one of the other panel members in hope of a personal revival in God’s people.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelations 2:7)

Revive Us O Lord.

For a Quick Recap on the Series Click Here

James 1:26-27

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

There were six students in this group from a completely different background; Dutch Reformed, Alliance, Pentecostal and a couple of students who didn’t know what their church was. For their class project they created ‘The Church of Hope’ with a primary focus on ministering to the poor. Their church was located right in the downtown core of the city where the poor could easily access it. On staff they had a pastor and associate two counselors and a social worker. One of the ministries they provided was a residence to the homeless. For those who didn’t have a place to stay, housing would be provided along with a place of worship that had a soup kitchen attached to it.

With this group of students the physical needs of the poor would be met but after hearing their presentation I had to ask, is that all that Jesus and the church has to offer the poor?  

One of the members of the panel was a gentleman who worked for the Salvation Army. He inquired, “So how will you sustain, the counselors, social workers and full time pastor with a church that is ministering to the poor? Where will you get your money from?” A male student slouched over with dark brown hair and answered with an apathetic voice. “That was not a part of the assignment. We were not asked to figure that out. Money was not an issue.”

A teacher from the school was also sitting on the panel and asked the students, “Why do you want to do this? What was your motivation?” She was having a hard time getting a clear answer from them. So she asked another way,  “What are the beliefs of your church?” The same student responded, “We’re not suppose to have denominations.”

I helped rephrase the question, “What is your church philosophy what do you want to see happen with the poor?  What do you want them to believe?” Silence. Then the boy with the monotone voice replied, “We weren’t told to do that.”

As frustrating as these responses were, I realized that the students’ views are a refection of what we as Christians and youth workers have instilled in our students. They are our disciples, following us. But something has gone wrong in the discipleship process. What I heard from these students doesn’t reflect my heart for the poor, or does it? The students have the actions down pat, but the motivation, the heart behind why they do what they do is lacking. Their attitude towards the poor is...We do what we are supposed to do.

James 2:14-25 talks about a Faith with no action or deeds. James uses the example of seeing a brother or sister in need and offering them nothing. He says that kind of faith is useless. This message is so clear in my head, faith without works is dead. I believe it is a passage that guides so many of us Gen X’ers and older Millennial’s because of what we have seen the past generation model.

We organize mission trips, we collect offerings to support work overseas, we hand out sandwiches, collect school supplies, we have food or clothes drives and we have a sponsor a child to make sure we do not forget the poor.

This is all great but what are our students picking up? What kind of disciples are we making? Have we swung so far to the works side that we’ve neglected the faith element when it comes to ministering to the poor?

Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. ,
to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.

In Luke 4 Jesus reads this passage of scripture and says it is being fulfilled. Jesus was empowered to preach, to heal, to comfort, to set prisoners free.

Luke 7:22 John’s disciples asked Jesus are you the Messiah, the one we’ve been waiting for. Then Jesus tells John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” NLT

When we set up mission trips what is our purpose?  Do we build houses to demonstrate Jesus nice-ness?  Why do we have students share their testimony? To give them ministering opportunities? Is that all Jesus can offer the poor?

Our students are mimicking what we do and from our example they have learned that it is good to give to the poor. But Jesus offers so much more. Fellow youth worker, do you believe that the word of God brings Good News to the poor?  What is that Good News?

He is Jehovah Jirah. The provider. I remember my first miracle at the age of 5 when God miraculously provided $100 for my family after I cheerfully gave a dollar. As a single woman starting my speaking business with nothing, Jesus walked with me through extreme low places but I’m not in that place anymore! Jesus is hope. For the person on disability who is just scraping by but can never get ahead, Jesus can heal them. For the parent struggling with mental health, Jesus can bring comfort to their heart, the street kids in your town or city that are regularly in trouble with the law and are on probation, Jesus can set that kid free! Do your students know that the gospel of Jesus Christ can help bring the poor out of their poverty? Do WE know that?!

Do WE believe that God can break the cycles of poverty in our society? God is a champion for the poor He can bring change to social structures that keep the poor poor. He can remove corrupt leaders, break a pattern of addiction in a family line, God is in the business of salvation for us all and that salvation creates transformation and restoration in our lives and in the world, that is the Good News we have to offer the poor.

Youth worker, my prayer is for revival in our hearts, that you would seek and catch God’s vision for the poor in your sphere of influence. What does Holy Spirit want to do? How can it be brought about?  Once you’ve caught it, live it out and share the vision with those that you are discipling so that the next generation of Christians are not apathetic monotone doers but are people of faith and deeds.

To Follow the Revive Us Series  
Houston We Have A Problem: The School Project
Disciples of the "Buddy" Church
Youth Speaker & Founder of the Young Woman of Power (YWOP), Alison hosts conferences and develops programs that are designed to build the confidence of youth such as the YWOP PivotFWD workshop which she delivers in Calgary’s Youth Judicial System and the citywide Young Women of Power Conference. She considers herself to be a pastor to those who don’t want one or don’t know they need one. For more info or to book Alison as a speaker visit www.ywop.ca