We don’t always see the fruit of our love and dedication to our young people, but we know it is impactful, and God uses it for his glory.
By Dishon Mills, Pastor, Charlotte, NC
Before the devastating fire in April of 2019, I was blessed to visit the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. The great monument of Western Christianity took my breath away. I felt like the veil between the spiritual and physical was somehow thinner there. Historically, the interior of the building was intended to explain the story of God to a mostly illiterate audience through images, colors, and exquisite artistic detail. For the first time, I was immersed in an explanation of the gospel without a single word being spoken. As you can tell, Notre Dame made a strong impression on me.
Completed in 1345, the cathedral took more than 180 years to build. That means that those involved in laying the foundation of Notre Dame knew they would not live to see the project finished. They toiled to create a masterpiece for which they would never receive credit. Even the name of the architect who designed the cathedral has been lost to history. This is astonishing in our modern world where almost every skyscraper bears the name of the person or company that built it or bought it. Yet this architectural marvel (set to reopen in December 2024, praise God) was built by those willing to set aside human recognition for the sake of helping to bring something beautiful into the world.
I believe serving in children’s ministry and youth ministry is a lot like building the Notre Dame Cathedral. We diligently partner with families to disciple our young people in the hope that they will develop a lifelong relationship with Jesus that transforms them to think and act like Christ. We want them to use their spiritual gifts within the fellowship of believers and be the bringers of salt and light to our neighbors. Yet, we will not know if our efforts will bear fruit until years later, if ever.
To be clear, I firmly believe that children are valuable members of the church now, and they can contribute to the life of their congregation right where they are. However, we cannot always see whether the lessons we tried to teach them were internalized until much later,
I am reminded of Paul’s words in his first letter to believers in Corinth:
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV)
Sometimes it is difficult to see the impact we are having on our young people. Yet, it is comforting to know that the work we do in the Lord is not in vain. Jesus has already attained salvation for humanity. Because of Christ, all our young people are nestled in the center of the love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we participate in Christ’s efforts to disciple our young people, our work is tied to his ultimate victory. We may see our youth struggle. We may see them step away from the church for a time. However, we can be comforted by the fact that our young people’s salvation does not depend on us. Despite what our eyes may tell us, the Lord has already prevailed.
To paraphrase Paul, one adult plants the seeds of faith in our young people, and another one waters those seeds, but it is God who makes things grow (1 Corinthians 3:7). I pray that you will be comforted by our gracious God who causes our efforts to disciple young people to bear fruit in Christ.
