14. The Opportunities of Serving the Globally Mobile III (MICN Missiology by Andrew Lupton)
Next Generation Ministry
We have three strategic focus areas in which we heavily invest our time and resources. The first two have been alluded to already, community life and outreach. By far our biggest strategic focus area is reaching and discipling the next generation.
John Adams, who formerly served at English Fellowship Church in Quito, Ecuador, observes that International Churches often lack the demographic of college-aged students. We have not experienced this trend in our church. Bogota’s 120+ universities offer us access to university students, albeit a mostly Colombian group of students. We resonate more with European International Churches who report a larger than normal population of twenty somethings.1
In addition to our university group ministry, it is not unusual for 30 to 40 young adults to gather every two weeks for a meal and Bible study. Because of recent trends in extended adolescence, there are few more strategic discipleship windows than a person in his or her twenties. Dr. Eric Larsen writes about this tender age, saying that late adolescents are discovering their true selves by “experiencing the many integrations of the true ‘selves’ of early adolescence into one cohesive and consistent whole.” For them to be discipled in this direction of maturity in Christ, youth ministry expert, Chap Clark, says that today’s twenty-somethings need “foundational teaching, directive adult leadership, and careful theological reflection and mentoring.” These resources abound within communities of international churches. We find plenty of transient, godly adults who are eager to make a lasting investment in the next generation of emerging adults making the most of the brief time they have among us.2
In a similar vein, international churches are especially positioned to serve the global church by engaging the emerging generation with the gospel. Why is this the case? Youth culture has gone global. The overlap with the globalizing McWorld macroculture of international church is remarkable. Youth Culture, according to Walt Mueller, is the “soup the emerging generations swim in every day.” Missiologist Paul Borthwick labels some of the ingredients in that soup, saying, “Increased secularization, postmodern thinking, and our post-Christian culture have set youth in a culture distinct from that of adults.” When we add a dash of hyper-connectivity and the standardization and spread of English worldwide, we see how local youth culture has been replaced by a global youth culture. 3
Pastoring a parade of adolescents has opened our eyes to this reality. The young person in our youth ministry from South Africa shares a seamless connection with her fellow youth group students from South America, South Korea, and Southern California. Remarkably, these highly mobile students even share that same seamless connection with the English-speaking Colombian from South Bogotá. They arrive to our community and discover that they ask the same questions, listen to the same music, and wear the same clothing. Dr. Larsen is correct when he observes that, “In many ways, students around the world have more in common with each other than they do with the adults in their own culture.” 4
You may have noticed that young people are transitioning into adulthood slower than in the past. One of the key drivers of delayed entry into adulthood and extended adolescence is systemic adult abandonment.5 In other words, young people are asking formative questions like, “Who am I?” “Where do I belong?” and “Do I matter?” In simpler, slower, and more disconnected world, parents, consistent members of the extended family, and the covenant family would help students answer these questions. But the world has changed, adults are no longer as present in the lives of young people, and students are now more connected to one another than ever before. Sadly, today these huge questions of identity, belonging, and purpose are being answered by other young people or influencers of global youth culture.
As disorienting as this new world feels to adults who grew up in a very different world, a global youth culture presents a massive missional opportunity to international churches. Young people all over the world feel alone and need caring, godly adults to fill the void left by systemic adult abandonment. International churches are perfectly positioned to lead the charge. Many international churches know how to stay afloat in the soup of secularization, postmodern thinking, and post-Christian city centers. Many international churches are gathering places for the spiritually seeking and skeptical. Most international churches are fluent in the native tongue of the global youth culture, English.
Furthermore, the bread and butter of international church is facilitating community among the nations who wonder, “Who am I?” “Where do I belong?” and “Do I matter?” Crafting and implementing a strategic plan to root identity, belonging, and purpose in Jesus Christ is the undertaking of international churches every August and September when the nations arrive on our doorstep. We design our programs, sermons, and events to do just that within the span of a school year. As young people are intentionally integrated into the life of international churches, they are dignified and discipled accordingly.
Moreover, international churches are accustomed to ministering at the intersection of cultures. As generational differences become unique cultural differences, who is better equipped than international churches to minister at the intersection of adults and the next generation? With the same specialization international churches exercise in helping the globally mobile navigate cultures, international churches can equip parents and other caring adults for the cross-cultural mission of reaching the next generation. Indeed, we find ourselves as international church leaders frequently asked to equip parents, educators, and church members for this cross-cultural mission.6
Early in my tenure, our leadership team decided to make a significant investment in next generation ministry, especially children’s ministry. We observed that many families in our target market were on their first expat assignment and thus moved to Bogotá with young kids. We began constructing a playground in our courtyard, launched a ministry to young moms, revamped all children’s ministries, and even made a point to parade our children down the center aisle in the middle of our weekly services just so we could emphasize how valued children were as members of our community. Within months our children’s ministry exploded, growing tenfold. The rest of the church followed and our kingdom impact was multiplied. The next generation is indeed the strategic weaponry God uses. As Psalm 8:2 illustrates, “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
Are you and your international church ministering to and through the next generation? Is ministry to young people just as valuable to your church as your ministry to adults? God’s heart has always been aimed at the nations and the next generation. Our international churches should follow accordingly.
Tune in next week as we discuss our strategic role in God’s mission to the nations.
Andrew Lupton
1 Sadiri Joy Tira & Tetsunao Yamamori, Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology (Chapter 11: Unleashing Great Commission Potential through International Churches by Warren Reeve, section: Turnover and Demographic.
2 Larsen, Eric, Mission NEXT: How the Church Can Reach a Global Generation, p. 94.
3 Ibid., pp. 112-113.
4 Ibid., p. 118.
5 See Table 1 from Larsen, p. 86.
6 Ibid., p. 125.
