I love being around young people - they are so creative, uncomplicated and practical in their expressions of faith and service for the Kingdom. I was recently reminded of this by two young people – Teddy and Megan - who responded to a need that they heard me talking about when I was staying in their home on a recent visit to San Diego.In YFC we have selected around 320 world-changing young leaders from 75 nations to lead our ministry into the future. We are seeking sponsorship for these young leaders to enable them to participate in a 2-year leadership and development process that will see them empowered into strategic leadership roles in our ministry throughout the world. It costs $3,500 to sponsor a young leader through this process. We still need sponsorship for some of these young leaders and while in San Diego Teddy (11) and Megan (9) heard me sharing about Jose Carlos – a young leader in Mexico.
They both decided they could do something for Jose Carlos. They committed to raising the money for the sponsorship. Teddy is a keen golfer and Megan is a gifted artist. Teddy planned a two-day golfing marathon involving playing 100 holes of golf. He got busy seeking sponsors for each hole he played. Megan designed gift cards, produced 700 cards and offered them for sale. To-date they have raised over $2,000!
These two young people when presented with an opportunity to serve God, instinctively worked out how God had equipped them to advance His Kingdom. How did they work this out? By assessing what they loved to do and applying this passion and natural gifting to serving God.
As we get older and more analytical about our faith, we tend to develop a perspective that we need to give up any pastimes, hobbies, activities we are passionate about. We feel guilty about enjoying passions and activities and devoting too much time and energy to these things. Maybe we need to reflect on what these activities and pastimes tell us about ourselves and work out ways we can employ our natural giftings and passions in the Kingdom of God. God is not a “killjoy”. He doesn’t look at all the things we are enjoying in life and demand that we give them up just because we enjoy them. He has made us all unique and special and he wants us to use our uniqueness to serve Him and others. Teddy and Megan didn’t feel guilty about their golf and art – they felt energized and empowered to do something for God. I think we can learn a lot from them.
