Ft. Flagler: Thoughts from a Grateful Chaperone

KINGSTON, Wash.

            Wednesday was fun, but Thursday, All Saints’ Day, was the more important holiday this week.  Today, as Christians the world over observe All Saints Sunday in worship services, I wish they could meet some of the teenage saints who led at Ft. Flagler this weekend.

             “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young,” said St. Paul to young Timothy, “but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Tim 4:12 nrsv).  The kids of the Tacoma District have been doing just that for the last two days.

            Ft. Flagler, a Tacoma District event stretching back decades, is run and led primarily by teens, with adults advising on the side (I was visiting for Lazy F and as a chaperone).  The youth guide the small groups in spiritual discussion; the youth read the Scriptures and lead their peers in prayer from the stage; the youth do the extremely hard work of testimony—telling stories of how God has worked in their lives, and this in front of scores of people their own age.

            For me, the most powerful moments this weekend were precisely those times of testimony.  One young man spoke of his wrestlings with spiritual doubt, a topic many adults might shy away from in church settings.  Another teen told of experiencing God’s forgiveness through his struggle with drug use.  And one high schooler quietly preached, in the space of about 120 seconds, that even though he had lost someone dear to him to death a few years ago, he still believed God was good—a vitally important sermon in a culture trying to understand how there can be a completely good God when painful things happen.  And this not from a studied theologian, but from a high schooler.  Amen, hallelujah!

            Sure, we adults do have our role to play: as with any kid in any church anywhere, these youth need solid theological nurture over the next several years of their development, lest we tacitly usher them, like we’ve done to so many youth before them, into the crowd of 18-year-olds who flee a church they find irrelevant.  "Direct your children onto the right path," God tells us adults, "and when they are older, they will not leave it" (Proverbs 22:6 nlt).  We adults do have our work cut out for us.

But meantime, God is in the business—as God proved again this weekend—of using kids, teens, the educated, the uneducated, both the articulate and inarticulate, to preach God’s goodness and unconditional love to the world.  That’s why a special-needs youth was able to sing praise songs from the top of the Ft. Flagler ramparts during a group game yesterday, and how in a culture that fears public speaking above anything else, a bunch of teenage girls and guys took turns leading prayer for the 90-odd people assembled.  “A little child,” the Lord said, “will lead them” (Isaiah 11:6 niv).

I know firsthand the power of teen-on-teen mentoring, because it’s part of the reason I became a Christian in the first place.  When we finally do invent a time-machine, I’d love to go back to Meyersdale, Penn., in the winter of 2001, and watch, invisible, as on a weekend trip, a nerdy eighth-grader named John sat under the tutelage not only of people like “Mr. Dave” and “Miss Debby”, our youth leaders, but also of older, Jesus-loving teens, who helped to raise this kid as a disciple.

At times their mentorship looked and sounded like Scripture study and worship, and at other times, like four high schoolers singing “VeggieTales” songs at the top of their lungs from a Hidden Valley ski lift—but no matter.  Those older kids (we were known as “Impact! 412” in those days) taught me volumes about God’s love from the example of their pursuit of Jesus while they were still in high school—and from their willingness to welcome me into Jesus’ family as well.

It’s the same here.  These Flagler kids, the whole Tacoma youth team (“TUMY”), are setting an example, like Paul said—and they’ve got a lot to teach us.  Here’s hoping they’ll find a church ready to listen when the Holy Spirit moves them to speak.

Youth are not the future of the church, as Pastor Dennis reminded us this weekend: they are the church now, with all rights and responsibilities pertaining thereunto.  This All Saints Sunday, as we remember the saints who have gone before us, let’s join in praising a God who uses kids to mentor kids—and who uses the witness of teens to mentor us grown-ups.

My humble thanks to the TUMY Team for letting the Lord use you (and the adults who advised them), and all praise to a God who anoints the young to instruct their elders and their peers—from someone who has experienced the power of a teen’s influence on another kid.

—John Harrell

Program Coordinator

Questions

 

1.  We often think of youth ministry as adults teaching kids—but how might God use someone under 18 to help you in your pursuit of Jesus?

2.  If your church has a “youth room,” where is it physically located in the church (in the front? in the back)?  What might its relative location say to youth about their relative importance in your community of faith?

3.  What are ways that you yourself can advocate for the spiritual needs of young people in your church?  What commitment will you make this week?

Other thoughts and comments are welcome below.