APRIL TRAVEL: The Next Generation: An Endangered Species

Started the month of April by serving as one of the panel judges for the preaching finals of the 15th Batch of  School of Campus Ministry at our EVERY NATION BLDG, Fort Bonifacio. This is one of the things that I really

get excited to do. Not only that I get to meet and connect to every new batch of campus ministers which I think is a major advantage for me being a pastor of a campus church, But also, I get to witness God’s heart for and the great leadership potential of the next generation on a regular basis.

Really thankful for this interaction.

This time, I got paired with the preaching machine and brilliance personified, Ptr. Nixon.  We panelled about 12 students, each one preached for 10 minutes; We chose our top contender for the grand finals who will compete against the other 3 groups of ten and the overall winner will be dubbed BEST PREACHER of the batch. All of them were awesome! As I listened to each one of them, I couldn't help but remember the time when I was at their age, learning how to preach like they are now. My preaching skills would be put to shame if I would be placed toe to toe against these young talents. I really thank God for the bright future ahead of us in the ministry.

There were two things that I realized in this experience:

Discipleship is a generational endeavor

The next generation is an endangered species(spiritually and morally speaking). They are on the brink of extinction. They have always been, they always will be. It is amazing what God can do in a particular generation.  A great example of these are revivals where we see thousands experience the manifest presence of God in a powerful way and as a result, salvation on a massive scale. 

But the reality is, It doesn’t matter how many or how big of a revival a generation experiences.  If it doesn’t translate to disciples, as one great leader put it, “that revival is over in one generation!”

Discipleship is a generational endeavor. We’ve got to think generationally!

What we do now matters

Whether we believe/like it or not, Christ has entrusted the next generation to us. (Matthew28)

He doesn’t expect anyone else to do it. He doesn’t have a plan B.

In fact, He said He’ll come back when we finish the work (preach the gospel on all four corners of the world) Therefore, what we do today matter. No matter how futile it may seem/feel, when we invest our lives in doing His will and making disciples of the next generation, we know our endeavor is never in vain.