In our vision
statement we say that we want to “Release an army of radical young
people who are committed to taking the Gospel to the generations that
don’t know Jesus Christ.” We also talk about not just reaching
out to children in the 7-11 age group but widening our vision to invest
in a generation, walking with them through their teen years and beyond.
Young people today live lives in many different, almost watertight,
compartments - home, school, friends, job, sex, social, faith. Many
do not see any connections between each compartment.
Many of the young people that we meet through Crusaders also have to
cope with enormous pressures on their lives. Disrupted families, peer
pressure to conform to the tribe, pressure to succeed in exams. Many
are lonely and find making any relationships hard as they fear failure.
Yet they are spiritually hungry. Much of this applies equally to the
Christian young person as to the non-Christian.
How can Crusader Leaders help? Well, they can give the young people
two things that they long for. Time and love! Young people are desperate
for someone to listen to them, to walk with them through the good and
the bad, to be there to encourage, to challenge and to pray with them
and for them.
I recently had a conversation with a Crusader Leader who is involved
in working with the 14+ age group. We found that we shared a passion
to work with this age group. In fact we agreed that this was because
we had benefited enormously as teenagers in Crusaders, from a Leader
who took the trouble to get to know us as people. He gave us opportunities
to make mistakes, encouraged us to try again, and was not afraid to
tell us when we were going wrong or being a pain. In fact he demonstrated
God’s love to us in action. We had both tried to do the same with
the young people with whom we work.
As we shared, I mentioned the name of my Crusader Leader. Was it coincidence
that even having moved to another part of the country, he was the same
person who had ministered to the person with whom I was now talking?
No, and he was one of hundreds over the years who have done the same
for countless young people.
I now find that I have a small group of young people who choose to come
to me with their joys and sorrows. I share some of mine with them. We
pray for each other. They phone me, text me, e-mail me or chat on MSN.
Yes, it takes time. It can be draining, but it’s rewarding.
Jesus demonstrated the principle by choosing twelve people who he discipled.
Look at the results! If every Crusader Leader were to invest some time
in just one or two young people, that would make an enormous difference.
If a good proportion of Leaders were to take on up to twelve - wow!
What could happen? I was talking to a well-known church leader. He said
that he came to faith through a Crusader Leader who called to see why
he had not been to the Group for a couple of weeks. He was impressed
that someone cared enough to make a visit. He started to attend again
and within weeks heard the gospel message and responded to it!
I could tell many stories of how individual young people have been helped
because a Crusader Leader has given them time when they needed it. One
of the keys has also been that the Leaders concerned have been prepared
to make themselves vulnerable by sharing bits of their faith and life
stories. I know that there are many other Crusader Leaders who could
do the same. The purpose of this article is to encourage you to ask
yourself the question, “Could I do this?” If you think you
could but want to have more information, get in touch. If we have enough
people interested we are thinking of running a conference where we can
share experiences and help those who want to try.
And don’t forget that we now have ‘Infusion’
as a resource to help you in discipling young people.
Roger Stacey
Ministry Support Manager
