Utica Baptist Church, Utica, Mississippi

In St. Peter, Missouri, Terry Sanderson is the pastor of Calvary Church. He has written on his church’s website:

“I have to admit that for the longest time I avoided bold prayers at all cost because I was afraid how God might answer them. I didn't want to pray for patience fearing that God would "stick" me with an irritating person. I didn't want to pray for love lest I experience betrayal. I didn't want to pray for the salvation of someone because God may ask me to be the one to share with them. Safe prayers were a lot easier. God didn't have to work in me. He just had to change someone else.

“But Jesus did not come to make our life safe, easy and predictable. He invites us into a dynamic adventure with Him. And now I pray more boldly asking the Lord to challenge me, change me and use me. There is nothing like seeing God answer those.

“Imagine what it would be like for a church to pray boldly and to mean it. Imagine a church on its knees imploring God to use them. Imagine a church that says we don't want to be safe or predictable. We want to see the power of God at work in us.”

And then this pastor made a startling comment, “We could be that church.”

Recognizing our youth is important to us as a church. Healthy churches have lots and lots of noise! They have children and young people who are allowed to be children and young people, and not just miniature adults! And the future of any church is tied up with its young people.

But it's important to the young people, too. Most of us can remember when we were young, and we may have some wonderful memories from that time in our lives. I have a lot of warm memories of that time in my life, but most of them center around the time I spent at the church or with friends from the church. The Lord blessed me to have been a part of a great church family, one in which young people were encouraged to seek the Lord and get to know Him better. There were people who encouraged me personally, who were patient with my shortcomings and loved me even when I thought I was perfect.

But what I remember most was love. My home church was Forest Hill Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi, a place where there was a lot of love. Sure, there were problems--what church doesn't have them? But above all, what I sensed from the adults of my church was that we young people were loved, and we were worth something. They invested themselves into our lives. They spent money on us. They drove us. They prayed for us. They cried with us. They taught us.

And most of all, they loved us. Today, even though the congregation no longer meets in that building, there are young-people-grown-up-into-adults who serve the Lord in many different ways all over the world. I am in the ministry today because of the personal attention of several adults who took the time to encourage me and pray for me.

Perhaps it's because of that background that I believe that every church has a responsibility to the young people within its circle of influence. There are young people around us who need to know Jesus. The youth who attend our church need our influence, our encouragement, and most of all, our love.

So today, when you pass a young person while at church, pause just a moment to say hello and ask how they're doing. It may make a huge difference in their lives.

And they'll never forget it. They may even write about it on a blog someday.
--Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com