It has been on my heart to write to the youth of the Church as of late. As I see the environment they are growing up in and look back over my own upbringing. The truth is I don’t believe most of you know just how good you have it. To already in the church at your age and to already have the knowledge you possess. Most of all, in many cases too, already have the Holy Ghost. These are all great blessings that I didn’t have.
I wasn’t raised in Sunday School or a youth group. Honestly I never really knew God until my early twenties even though I thought I did. Knowing what I know now I honestly envy those of you who are getting to start your walk of faith so early in great churches. I hope you will be able to see just how great you have it. Knowing that others aren’t sharing in the same blessings.
I know there are a lot of you out there who are thankful to be in the church. You are the only ones in your family attending church every week. I cannot commend you enough for that. Or begin to express the joy of the Lord that overwhelms my heart when I think of you. I also know many young people are happy to be at church every week with their families.
But at the same time, I know there are many people in youth groups everywhere who are at church every week against their will. Feeling forced and would rather be doing pretty much anything else. You long for the day that you are old enough to make your own decisions and stop going to church. I feel obligated to tell those of you in that situation just how good you have it. As well as how I wish I would have been where you are when I was your age.
Don’t get me wrong I didn’t grow up completely unchurched or in a family without faith. My parents are both believers in the sense that they believe in the God of the Bible and that His word is true. However, in many cases, their faith stops at hearing and knowing. Not finding itself in action in everyday life. They are hearers of the word but I cannot say that they are doers of the word. Actively putting into practice all that it teaches. Such as not forsaking the coming together as the last day approaches but gathering with the church body even more.
James 1:22 (ESV)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Hebrews 10:25 (ESV)
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
All in all that was probably the biggest shortcoming in my parent’s walk with God. While they were quick to share biblical truth with my brother and me, rarely did we find ourselves in church. We would attend various churches over the years but it simply wasn’t consistent. When we would go to church it was such a foreign experience that I was nervous. Causing me to want to stay with them rather than go with the rest of the youth. So I didn’t learn in church as a young person should because the messages I heard went over my head. For the simple fact that they weren’t intended for me. I didn’t have the foundational knowledge about faith that the youth in the church are obtaining at an early age.
As far as what I knew about being a Christian. I was taught that God existed, that Jesus loved me, some of the Old Testament accounts, a little about heaven and hell, and how to pray before bed. But that was it. That was a great starting point for a young child but that was the extent of my knowledge into my late teen years. Then still I didn’t know much into my early twenties. At one point I prayed “the prayer of salvation”. Actually, I prayed it a few times, not knowing that it wasn’t biblically accurate. It also didn’t get me in church or keep me from sinning. I simply didn’t know the basic teachings of the Bible that are taught in Sunday School and a youth group.
I didn’t know the plan of salvation, or that there even was one outside of just believing in God. In fact, I never heard Acts 2:38 laid out until I first started attending the Apostolic church in my twenties. I had heard of baptism but didn’t truly understand its purpose or know the necessity of it. Most shocking of all, in the Apostolic church I had no knowledge or understanding of the Holy Ghost or even oneness. Coming to the Apostolic church for the first time I felt like the disciples of John who Paul questioned about the Holy Ghost. Even though I would not have understood the reference back then.
Acts 2:37–38 (ESV)
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 3:3–5 (ESV)
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Acts 19:2 (ESV)
2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
It wasn’t until I was in college and had spent a short amount of time in the Baptist church, with the first friend to ever really invite me to church, that I ever even opened a Bible to read it at home. To say I was lost was an understatement. I can say that I tried but I definitely didn’t succeed in reading it that first time. Nor did I succeed in the occasional times I tried to read it again after that. I had no idea where to start and no one to ask for help.
Since it wasn’t common to see my parents read the Bible I assumed they wouldn’t be able to help. I also had no outspoken Christian friends to help. No youth pastor to guide me in the right direction or ask about those hard KJV words I couldn’t understand. Therefore I simply gave up and didn’t feel too bad about it either. Because I didn’t know enough about the faith to know just how important reading the Bible is. In my mind, those verses that teach the importance of Bible study simply didn’t exist. Because I had no way of knowing that they did.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Psalm 119:11 (ESV)
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Because I wasn’t involved in a youth group, didn’t truly know God, the perils of hell, the consequences of sin, and so on, I lived a life that reflected my knowledge. I lived a wicked life, thought wicked thoughts, did plenty that I shouldn’t have and honesty was on the path headed for destruction. In High School, I dipped and smoked because I thought it was so cool. I listened to music with horrible lyrics for the same reason and parroted back what I heard.
Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV)
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
I did so much that I shouldn’t have done, I am lucky that things didn’t go worse for me. The only good thing I can say about that time is that I refused to do drugs. For fear of my parents and the scared straight program that showed the crippling effects of drugs. Which truly scared me away from ever touching any drug. But that didn’t stop me from partaking in a multitude of other sins. All of which according to the Bible disqualified me from being able to inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (ESV)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
The scary thing though is that in all that I did, I never knew I was lost or that I was heading down the wrong path. As I have stated, I had some knowledge of God, albeit very little. But that knowledge led me to believe that I was good. Because you know I said that one prayer that one time so I should be fine right? Little did I know that I was setting myself up for failure. Had I died at that point in my life, I do not believe I would have been saved. Because I had not followed the Biblical plan of salvation nor had I lived a life worthy of salvation.
Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
Not only that but I also set myself up for a lot of struggles and hard-fought battles when I finally did start to grow in my knowledge of God. Things that I may have been able to avoid had I been involved in the church from my youth. Breaking the addiction to nicotine is not easy or enjoyable. It comes with some of the most intense cravings you can experience. It also comes with some of the effects of detoxing, headaches for days, feeling a little sick, and extreme irritability. All of which I probably deserved for making the stupid decision to start in the first place.
Then came the harder battle of correcting my mind. For years I had given to wickedness. Honestly, it is easy to turn your back on physical sin. To keep the body from something simply requires removing yourself from the situation. But your mind is a completely different beast. One that can only be tamed by praying, fasting, worshiping, and studying the Bible. All of which sounds easy if you grew up in the church but for those who didn’t you have to learn how to do all those things from scratch and you want to do it quickly. Because you want to get rid of the sin that plagues you as soon as you can.
Not every sin that you have built up in your life stops plaguing you after salvation. Trust me. It takes work to remove the sins you have built your life on. Especially when you are just starting to learn certain biblical teachings for the first time. Such as how Jesus was able to overcome the temptation of the devil. Or that you simply need to get rid of the things in your life that cause you to sin. Because it is better to go on without them towards Heaven than to hold on to them as you continue towards hell.
Matthew 4:3–7 (ESV)
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
Matthew 5:30 (ESV)
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
As a youth in the church, you are blessed to know these things already. You are blessed to be surrounded by people who are pouring biblical truth into your life because they don’t want you to end up where I did. You are blessed because you don’t have to give in to the same sins that I did because you know better than I did. I am thankful that God found me when He did and that He forgave me for all my trespasses.
But oh how I wish I could have grown up like you who are in church and in a youth group where you are taught about God every week. That I could have been saved from the pains of sins and all the years searching for something to fill the void in my life that only God can. But at the same time, I am glad to know that God is able to use what I went through for good. If it means just one young person reads this and decides to stay in the safety and blessing that is the church.
Up until this point I have been pointed at those who want out. Those who believe there is something greater to experience outside the church. Which I can assure you there isn’t because I have been there. Now though I want to shift gears and really speak to anyone who reads this and say invite other people to church! Tell everyone you can about God and the gospel message. Share the knowledge you have with everyone you can. Jesus called us to be disciple-makers and He didn’t associate that call with age. You can have a great impact on your friends and even your whole school if you just follow the call Jesus gave His church.
Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
You’re probably wondering how I finally ended up in church and it’s because like most people I was invited by a friend. But that didn’t happen until I had already graduated high school and was already in college. Up until that point no one had ever personally invited me to church, a youth event, or anything else church-related. I had plenty of friends and I am sure that many of them were in church every week. But not one ever reached out to me. My school system even had youth for Christ and still, no one ever came and asked if I would like to go.
I’m sure many of the kids I knew were in their own youth groups every week and just assumed I was in one too. I imagine they just assumed everyone’s parents took them to church every week because that’s all they ever knew. I don’t blame them but I do want to call you to not make that same mistake and allow someone you know to go without ever being invited to church.
Remember I said yes to the first person who ever invited me to church just think about all the kids you know just waiting to be asked. Don’t let them stumble down the same path I did. Praise God I am in the church today but it could have easily gone the other way. Had someone not asked me at the right time. Now is the right time to step out in faith and start inviting others to church. Bring them into the youth group so they can have a positive and Godly impact in their life just like you have.
Peter said to always be ready to share the hope you have with those who ask about it. But at your age, your friends may not yet realize the difference in your life or the need they have to ask about your faith. So share the hope you have in Christ with them whenever you can. You could be the reason they find God’s way sooner rather than later or sadly even never.
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
I know that I was blessed to end up in church when I did and even more blessed to find my way to an Apostolic church. But the youth who are growing up in the church are much more blessed than I was. You have the opportunity to skip so much of the struggle that I faced. You are getting such a great platform to build your life with God on. I only wish I knew then what I know now and what you already know at your age.
Don’t give up on God and don’t look into the world with desire in your heart. You are beyond blessed to be where you are. Thank God for it. Praise Him for allowing you to grow up in His church and know Him from an early age. As someone who lived a life without God for most of my life at this point, I can tell you there is no better life than one lived with God! Never let that go.
Visit Justin’s personal website Here. Or see articles from other writers we feature Here. Also, be sure to stop by our prayer wall.