The Children aren't Children Anymore

Something I love about our small church community in Ecuador is that it is made up of people of all ages.  And age doesn’t seem to be a barrier in the way of genuine growth and connection here.  Those more mature in our community are quick to respectfully listen to and glean wisdom from the young people.  There are solid friendships here that span generations.  Our children count on care and nurture not just from their own parents, but from a company of trusted adults and teens who cherish them.  In spite of our faults and failures, this, to me, is a beautiful embodiment of the church! 

But even within a loving and steady community, I think our young people need extra care.  There is a pivotal time between childhood and adulthood in which a person really begins to become who they are.  And if we are not paying close attention, and pouring into their lives, we can easily miss opportunities to point them toward their identity in Christ.

Our church started seven years ago this month, and all our children were children then.  But they’re not anymore, and it’s time for something new.  We tried game nights and movie nights and music as ways to try and connect with our young people.  But nothing was really a great fit to spark interest in all of them.  You’ll never guess what each and every young person in our church is interested in.

Mmhmm….tennis.  They ALL want to go to the park and learn to play tennis.  Who knew that the $20 racket from target back in 2012 would be such effective ministry preparation? 

We started going to the park after church some Sundays, just because Ismael and I wanted to play.  Then it was, “maybe David wants to come.”  And then, “maybe Adrian and Santiago are interested too.”  “Let’s see if Teresa would like to play tennis.” And then it was, “How are we going to get all these people to the park?  We need an Uber budget!”

You know, playing sports together just has a way of dissolving timidity.  Maybe it’s the healthy competitive spirit.  Maybe it’s the trash-talk.  Whatever it is, we’ve noticed our young people talk more now during church gatherings.  They’re louder.  They laugh out loud more.  They want to do more things together like play games, and music.  They are connecting more with each other and with more adults in the church.  It’s just what we hoped for.  We believe God has good plans to nurture and guide our young people, and we are hopeful that God has also been equipping and encouraging someone in our church to take on leadership of that very soon!