In my previous post I gave some reasons, although very brief, about why I believe addressing the issue of unity in diversity and seeking to encourage this is a Gospel issue.
Ephesians Chapter 2 v11-22 (as posted last time) is one many passages in the Bible that clearly explains the impact of the Gospel on relationships horizontally and vertically. By that I mean, that Paul, the author of the letter to the Ephesians, makes it clear that these two very different groups of people who hated each other (Jews and Gentiles, in the context) were united together by the cross of Jesus. Jews and Gentiles had far more beef with each other than any Man City or Man United fans. But the letter talks about the unity coming about as the dividing wall of hostility is destroyed because of Jesus’ death on the cross. And as one people, one new humanity united together, they were also united to God, through Jesus’ death on the cross. As one new humanity, they are also part of God’s household and part of this grand new building, together, with Jesus at the centre.
Of course, the challenge to any Christian reading this part of the letter is to live in unity, to live as one family and to live as citizens together in God’s kingdom!
In the context of this post, we must be looking within but also be challenging our young people. If they consider themselves to be part of God’s family then what impression are they giving when they only hang out with the same group of people. What impression are giving when they coexist and tolerate the others who happen to also be around, who are different to them?
Surely, in light of our unity to one another and to Christ we shouldn’t just tolerate each other….we need to love each other as who we actually are to each other…family.
With all that was written in the previous post, all of this begs the immediate question, how can I strive to make a difference in the area I have a significance influence over i.e. the youth ministry at church? That’s a question which I’ve been wrestling with for all the time I’ve been working at Hope Church for.
The answers to two big questions remain the same now to what they were two years ago. Is the youth ministry at church diverse? Absolutely! Is the youth ministry united in the diversity? No.
It’s a somewhat demoralising synopsis of the ministry but honesty is a crucial step towards moving forward. As the leader of the youth ministry, I’d love to say that we’re a united youth ministry that beautifully reflects part of the bride and body of Christ. However, we’re not and I’ve got to at least take some responsibility for this. Divides that we see in the youth set up are most evident along racial and class lines (but it’s also worth noting that class and race are so entwined in the South African context). I must also point out that I do not wish to tar everything to an extent which ignores the progress which has been made. Interracial friendships which have been formed and examples of people stepping outside of their comfort zones to engage with those different from them has been a blessing to witness. However, we’ve still got a very long way to go.
Even though I feel somewhat responsible for the divisions we see in our youth ministry, it’s also reassuring to be reminded that ultimately, when hearts are involved, I can’t take the weight of responsibility. Only God can transform hearts for all our young people to see the importance of loving and engaging with people different from themselves. Only the Gospel of Jesus has the power to do this transformative work. None of my elaborate strategies or head scratching can bring about those kind of results!
Saying all of that though, as instruments in the redeemer’s hand we are called to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and live wholeheartedly for him as well as encouraging others to do so. Consequently, a large part of my role must include thinking hard and implementing plans to help facilitate the best possible environment for the young people to unite in diversity. We must create an atmosphere which encourages relationships to be forged and built in the midst of a diverse context and my hope and prayer is that changes going into next year will be used by God to bring this about.
We have a mission statement for our youth ministry going into next year which can be summarised in four words:
United, Know, Serve and Reach
We are seeking to be a Gospel family, united together to know Christ better, serve each other and the church better and seek to reach out to our community with the Gospel.
At the heart of the ministry going into next year, we’re keen to make small group Bible studies the nucleus of the Youth ministry. We’ll be inviting the teens into the property which I stay on and hosting them for midweek Bible studies where we’ll be seeking to strengthen relationships with them, as leaders and longing for relationships to grow amongst the teens themselves. In my limited experience in youth ministry and even looking back on the days when I was a teenager, being invited into someone’s home and even having food provided did a huge amount to bring down barriers. It also gained the respect of me for my leaders and gave me a much more welcoming environment for me to be myself, open up and get to know others in a deeper way. If you’re are a praying person then please do be praying for these groups which we’ll be either restating or launching at the beginning of next year.
Please could you also be praying for a summer camp taking place this week. The camp is called Crossword and hundreds of teens are currently gathering to have lots of fun together and hear the Gospel clearly proclaimed. Please pray for the teens to respond to the Gospel by submitting to Jesus as the King of their lives. Pray that an outworking of this would be that strong relationships would be forged on camp and for there to be unity in the diversity on camp.
A few months back, our youth ministry held a fundraiser for this camp where we held a silent auction. The event was a resounding success on multiple fronts. Most importantly, we raised a lot of money to help send our teens on camp. Followed by this, it was an event which seemed to be enjoyed by people across the whole church and to the delight of many of the teens it culminated in me losing all of the hair on my head! This wasn’t due to stress you would be pleased to know but because I clearly set the teens a challenge which was too easy to complete. I said to the teens that if, they themselves, raised a set amount of money for the auction (a cunning ploy to get them to run and own the event) then I would shave all my hair off? They succeeded so the shears came out. The results are below and the comments flowed in. I’m humbled to work with people on the staff team at church who made the following comments. ‘Adam, did one of your parents drop you when you were a baby, given the shape of your head, which I can now properly see? Moments later…’Adam, I think your head should appear on a national geographic programme with the amount of contours on it!’. It’s be a pleasing sight to see the hair growing back though – an early Christmas present.
Stay tuned for my next post in the series, ‘Unity in diversity’?, where I’ll be tackling the topic ‘Unity in diversity? Evangelical passivity is a problem…’
Peace,
Adam
Another Brit Abroad 