Short term mission for children and young people

One of the greatest satisfactions of my life so far, outside the family, has been my involvement in taking children and young teenagers on short-term mission.

It all started after God poured out his Holy Spirit in the Christian school which my children were attending and where I was helping out. The hearts of stubborn, rebellious teenagers were melted by the love and grace of God. He became very real to them.  Everyone young and old was touched.

However one of the teachers was convicted by the Holy Spirit that children and teenagers receiving his love and getting a revelation of who God had made them to be was not enough. There needed to be an outflow.  The analogy used was that if you liberally watered a pot plant every day it would become waterlogged and would drown in the very thing that was meant to give it life. 

Two key verses came out of that time.

Matthew 19: 14 Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Psalm 8: 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

The Kingdom of God is for children just as much as for adults. They too were to be ones to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, open blind eyes, see the lame walk and bring the Kingdom to others. Their praise was also essential in the overthrow of Satan’s world. In fact these children and teenagers needed to prove their faith, to find out for themselves that God was indeed Almighty, their Saviour, their peace, God was a healer, a provider and so on.

Eventually after many events and prayer meetings a short-term young people’s mission group was set up. Dawn Kids (from Isaiah 58: 8) started by performing dances, dramas and songs locally and then internationally. There were mission trips to Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia and Finland visiting schools and churches. In later years there were more short-term missions to Czech Republic, Latvia and Germany.

These missions had a profound effect on the young people as, away from home, they had to rely on God to be all they needed.  They grew in their faith and planted foundations in their lives on which to build in the future.

From this group, we started Arrows of Fire at our church which went to many churches and youth groups in UK but also to Romania and South Africa. This was also the result of God moving by His Spirit in our church following the Toronto outpouring. Short-term mission became available to young people and adults.

Once more the profound effect on these young people of going to Romania and taking the Gospel to orphanages was life changing. Surely the most heart breaking was going to an orphanage, more like an asylum for mentally and physically handicapped people. None of us will forget that day. We truly went and visited the least of them (Matthew 25: 40)

None of us will know this side of eternity what effect these visits had but the memories are wonderful. Away from home, God was able to minister not just through the young people but into their lives as well.

The mission to South Africa was also very significant for us all.  For many to work for and pray in the necessary money was quite an experience and the young people truly came to understand that God was their provider. To be such a long way from home was a challenge for young people aged 11 – 16.  Part of the mission was to go up to Venda, one of the poorest areas of South Africa. We stayed in mud huts with no running water and long drop toilets outside. 

Again God met with us and we met with him including at a team meeting under the warm South African skies. This mission was inspiring and who knows what fruit came from our visit. After a few years God gently closed the door on Arrows of Fire though Dawn Kids continues with biennial visits abroad.

The fruit we do know about is in the hearts and lives of those who went on the short-term missions. They are now in their late 20’s and 30’s, many with young families of their own. We have pastors, worship pastors, worship leaders, missionaries, small group leaders and the vast majority going on with God and serving in their churches whilst holding down responsible jobs and bringing up families. Some still love to visit and minister in other countries.

I always encouraged them to press on and not give up. That wonderful though these years were, they were not a destination but a starting point of a life serving God.  I am told these young people still love to watch the grainy old videos of these mission trips.  They are happy memories for them.

Incredibly moving for me is when I meet one of them or they write to me and tell me how foundational these times were for them.  Just this week I had a message from one young man.

I particularly want to express my gratitude to you both for all that you did for me as a young man.

The way you opened your arms and lives to embrace me and many others. The way you gave selflessly to Arrows of Fire. The way you modelled a Christ Centred life, devoted to the Gospel and Kingdom. The way you invited us to follow that same path.

The countless hours on the phone. The patience for all the immaturity. The compassion for all the ups and downs. The way you committed yourselves to individuals seeing what God saw and not what man saw. The time that you invested in bringing us into maturity and bringing us on in the journey.

The opportunities that you provided for us to experience God at work and the on-going need for us to love the poor and needy. The on-going need for compassion, grace, mercy and wisdom for the world, in everyday life.

The grace you displayed to us, even when our immaturity lead to down right stupidity.

You allowed us to see the world, and to see where God has placed us in it. You allowed us to experience that Christ in us, really is the answer to a lost and dying world.

You created unshakeable foundations in lives that would go on to live for Jesus; foundations that were prepared for untold plans and purposes that still unfold today.

I am so humbled by this.  It wasn’t just me but many of us invested in these lives through Dawn Kids and Arrows of Fire. We all played a vital role. 

My challenge now is that there is a fresh generation that need a revelation that the Kingdom of God is for them and not just the adults. Many churches do provide opportunities for young people to ‘go into all the world’ but most of these are for older teenagers not children and young teenagers.

Our churches and schools need a fresh move of God. Hearts and lives need to be touched by God’s love and grace so they too can go and share it with a dying and needy world.

Inevitably I have telescoped 10 incredible years into a few short paragraphs. Apologies to those who participated in these times that I have left out many amazing moments.  Thanks to everyone who hosted and arranged one of our missions especially Stuart Angus who lived in Znojmo, Czech Republic, Liviu Avisola in Botosani Romania, John Wasserman and Mike Humphreys in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Living well

Solomon had it all.  Great wealth, riches, possessions and the wisdom he asked for at the beginning of his reign. There was no one like him. Even his people were happy.

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. I Kings 4: 20.

It all started out so well with Solomon asking God for the wisdom he needed. He built the temple which his father David had planned. During the building God encouraged Solomon

As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.’ I Kings 6: 12 - 13

At the dedication of the temple Solomon offered a marvellous prayer of dedication to God who appeared to him promising that if he walked wholeheartedly with him, God would establish his throne forever as he had promised King David (I Kings 9: 1 – 9).

However the wheels were already beginning to come off. Solomon took 7 years to build the temple but 13 years to build his royal palace. It would also appear that he got into debt with Hiram, king of Lebanon who provided the materials and labour for the building works. He gave Hiram 20 towns in northern Galilee (I Kings 9: 11) as collateral against the cedar and gold he wanted. These towns were not his to give. The land was not something to use in this way. Hiram was not happy with these towns but Solomon probably repaid his debt when gold was delivered by the expedition to Ophir.

Solomon had a great taste for the high life as the reading of I Kings 10 shows. Solomon’s real weakness though was foreign women which God expressly forbad kings to take. Not satisfied with incredible wealth and wisdom he took 700 wives and 300 concubines starting with Pharaoh’s daughter (I Kings 3: 1). God had said that these foreign women would lead the Israelites astray (Exodus 34: 16 and Deuteronomy 7: 1 – 3) because they would turn their hearts away from God and they did. Solomon started following other gods.

Solomon had it all. Unlike his father David though he was not ‘a man after God’s own heart’. In fact a reading of Deuteronomy 17: 16 – 17 with the instructions to future kings shows Solomon did everything he shouldn’t do.

Even when God became angry with him (I Kings 11: 9 – 13) Solomon did not repent or turn back to God unlike David who repented when confronted with his sins.  It is such a sorry story and yet one repeated again and again throughout history and in the church.

It happens when the focus of our lives becomes ourselves and not God. Solomon forgot that the purpose of his fame and wealth was so that God would be glorified and made famous. The purpose of our lives is to bring glory to God.

In the midst of the great materialism and wealth of the Western society and church, we are to live our lives dependent on God and reflecting his glory. This can be hard as we have so much it is easy to live dependent of God rather than dependent on God.

However if we make God our priority every day, if we seek to put him first as Matthew 6: 33 says: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well, then we will glorify him and not lack either.  

Our whole lives, the way we talk about God and others, the way we spend our money, our attitude to wealth, marriage, fidelity, honesty, integrity, fame or in other words righteousness can and should be a great testimony to God and his goodness to us.

My desire this year is to live my life a bit better so it brings greater glory to God in all I do. What about you?

PS you may not consider yourself wealthy but try out the Global Rich List (http://www.globalrichlist.net) and see how rich you are compared to the rest of the world.   

Receiving well

I have been struck afresh this year by the advertisements for Christmas on the radio. Many of them promise that if you use their products or services it will be your best, greatest, most marvellous Christmas ever. Maybe you would like to visit the Ultimate Gift Ideas website.  One advert even promised that if you bought their gold goblets (four for £10) it would make your Christmas table the best ever. Excuse my cynicism.

But this is the problem with all if these advertisements. As the superlatives flourish, their promises inevitably lead to disappointment and cynicism which after all protects us from disappointment. We are all familiar I am sure with Jesus words “It is more blessed to give than to receive” which is a great antidote to both disappointment and cynicism for the focus shifts away from ourselves, our wants, our desires, our needs onto others.

As we give to others we can share in their joy. I love anonymous giving as you get to enjoy others’ pleasure secretly. God, the greatest giver, must have great pleasure in giving not just to his children but everyone.  Of course the best gift God gave us was his Son which is or should be the focus of Christmas.

However I am also struck by the importance of how we receive gifts. Recently I have witnessed gifts that were of huge significance to the giver been treated quite casually by the recipient.  This can be very hurtful.

How must God feel then when his greatest gift, his Son Jesus, is treated casually or ignored by most people?  His sorrow must be deep. God has provided all that man needs to deal with sin and to live a happy, fulfilled and deeply satisfying life. Through Jesus men and women can fulfill their God given destiny. The majority choose to reject this gift.

This Christmas as we receive gifts let’s make sure we receive them all – the big and the small with thankfulness and gratitude. However I want to make sure that this Christmas I take my eyes off the glitter and nonsense that will only disappoint and with a thankful heart place my focus firmly on the greatest gift of all.

Gerard van Honthorst Nativity

God loves the outsiders and misfits

It’s Christmas.  The time when we ponder afresh the wonderful news of God becoming a baby, Immanuel, God with us.  This year I am drawn again and again to the misfits, the outsiders that are an integral part of this incredible story.

Firstly Mary, a completely unknown young lady living in Nazareth, a despised town, called to the greatest honour for a woman – to be the mother of the Son of God.  Joseph, an ordinary carpenter, called to stand with Mary and share in the social disgrace of a child conceived outside of marriage.

The first visitors to the infant Jesus were the social outcasts, the shepherds, those lowest on the ladder. The other significant visitors were the religious outcasts, the Gentiles. The contrast between the rural, coarse, illiterate Jewish shepherds and the highly educated, foreign, exotic Gentiles could not be stronger.   Jesus came for everyone not just the rich, the famous, the respectable or religious people and not just for his people the Jews but for all people.

It is hardly surprising though for the Bible is full of stories of those chosen from the outside to become important players in God’s plan of redemption. Moses was an exiled murderer hiding out in the desert so inadequate and insecure he didn’t think he could do anything for God. He certainly didn’t want to go and talk to Pharaoh and be the instrument for the release of the Israelites from captivity.

Or David, the youngest member of a large family of sons so insignificant he was out with the sheep not even in the family home. Some have proposed his legitimacy was in doubt which was why he was looking after the animals. However this was where he learned all the skills necessary to kill Goliath, survive in the desert when a king was determined to kill him and most importantly of all, the place where he developed into a man after God’s own heart. His beautiful psalms are a lasting testimony to the years spent as an outcast but which prepared him to be the greatest king Israel ever had and the ancestor of the Messiah.

Even Jesus’ forerunner and relative John the Baptist was a social outcast and misfit growing up in the desert dressed in camel hair. Yet Jesus said of him among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11: 11). Surely in the desert John developed into the one called ‘to prepare the way of the Lord.’

Jesus didn’t choose his disciples from the religious elite or synagogue. He chose rough fishermen who would become great fishers of men.

All of these men had to flow against the tide of the day, to stand up for the Lord and lead their nation into righteousness.

Jesus himself was the greatest outcast. The Son of God was born in a stable in obscurity and poverty because there was no room for his parents in society. His whole ministry was lived on the edge of society, feted one minute and condemned the next.

However this is a great source of encouragement for us, the ordinary made extraordinary by God’s call. Wherever we are whether we are in the spiritual desert, running from persecution, a social misfit or down the bottom end of society or just plain obscure, God uses people just like us. He calls us from the desert, obscurity, the despised places, the mundane where he has been transforming and training his sons and daughters, his people, his chosen ones to do extraordinary things for him.