The Young People Are The Leaders of the Church Today

by Rev. James Wong

We use to think that young people are the leaders of the future. Today I change my view about this. Young people are the leaders of today. Why do I say this?

Market trend. The market today are driven by young people. They are the trend setters and pace setters. They are the target of world marketers like iPhone, Nokia, fashion designers and … you name it. Young people hang around places that give them a sense of freedom, relaxation, comfort and easy access to Wi-Fi. They are creative and willing to spend. Friendship to them takes precedent over other relationships. They waste no time on things that are mundane and boring, a mindset conditioned by a global viral infection—mobile internet and the multi-media attraction that comes with it.

Revelation. I thought in my age I could still be effective in reaching the young people but I was wrong. The revelation came one day when I was having difficulty holding the attention of a group of young people but as soon as another younger guy took the stage he swayed the crowd. I learn that, it takes young people to reach young people and it takes young people to lead young people today . The guidance of the elderly are valuable but not necessarily relevant. I feel uncomfortable about this but I have to accept the reality. Young people who are educated and exposed to the internet are the new ‘knowledgeable workers age’ a term coined by Steven Covey to describe the current generation. People are well informed because of instant journalism and they had more choices and opportunities today then we had in our younger days.

Church dilemma. Many of our young people in KK have migrated to other churches. I am thinking about cross congregations corporation very seriously especially in the KK parish. If we do not have a good youth leader to lead our youth ministry we would rather encourage our young people to go to another BCCM congregation that has a strong youth ministry led by a strong youth leader instead of losing them to other churches. You see our dilemma? Today I want to raise your attention to the importance of having strong full-time youth leaders to develop our youth ministry in all our congregations. Young people are the leaders today not tomorrow. For those of us who are older, we may have the wisdom but  we need young people to move things. They have strength and energy on their side (Prov 20:29). When we have potential young people who have a heart for God among us we need to encourage them to rise up and take leadership role and give them our greatest support, spiritually and financially.  Only young people can reach young people effectively. I hope you see the clue and the reality of things.

I thank God for our captains and officers who have sacrificed much through the years. I honor their commitment and I will always be inspired by them.