Yeah, so these are not comprehensive, but to your point, we do, based on scripture and research and assessing the reality of a church's context, that there are three checkpoints that churches should consider moving toward And they’re kind of exciting tipping points that we can really be aware of and leverage.
The first is to relationally discipling young people. As you focus on the Church, the faith formation of young people does not need to be the only priority or the top priority, but we really contend that it needs to be one of the top priorities, maybe one of the top three or even top five priorities.
The second checkpoint is modeling kingdom diversity. God’s kingdom is inherently diverse. We see that in Revelation 7 and 9. In fact, this was one of the shocking hallmarks of the early church. The Gospel broke through dividing lines to turn strangers and enemies into friends and family. And today, young people are the most ethnically diverse generation ever. And the U.S. Is more and more culturally diverse than at any other previous time. But most of our churches don’t currently reflect this diversity. And so what we see is that young people experience diversity and an embrace of difference and an integration and a negotiation of cultures and all these other settings, and they don’t necessarily see it in the church, but they certainly expect it in the church.
And then the third pieceis we are called to tangibly love our neighbors from diverse ages and cultures. We hear how often and people wanna know how the church is responding to the deepest needs in the world, especially with particular attention to those who are marginalized and vulnerable. Because we believe churches are at their best when all generations are seeking reconciliation, righteousness, wholeness, and shalom.
Certainly something to think about as fall approaches. Where can your youth ministry begin modeling these checkpoints?