Youth must be on mission, too

We had just finished roasting marshmallows over the charcoal grill—the coals still hot from the amazing Brazilian BBQ we had eaten. We were all outside, sitting spaced out in a circle, trying our best to do youth group in the “new normal.” But this week I had a challenge for the teens. I announced that we would be helping to launch a brand new youth group on the South Shore of Boston.

“Doesn’t God have a bigger plan for my teens than merely building our own little kingdom?”

It was important to put this in perspective so that they could understand the magnitude of the mission I was sending them on. “There are Brazilian teenagers like you, and others on the South Shore” I said, “who do not have a youth group like you do.”

I could see the look in their eyes as they processed the idea of not having this group that they have come to call family.

“Next week we will change this — and you guys will be the ones to do it!”

One week later we created a caravan of cars carrying students from the North Shore to the South Shore. We quickly turned a backyard into a teen hangout space and ordered enough pizzas to feed a small army. After ice breakers and an intense game of dodgeball, we settled down for a challenge from the Bible. That night seven local kids showed up. The seeds of a new youth group were planted, and it was our teens that did the planting!

Why do we have such low expectations for our young people? Doesn’t God have a bigger plan for my teens than merely building our own little kingdom?

Building a youth group is not meant to be about entertaining teens or making them feel safe in their comfort zones. Shouldn’t our goal be to push them out of their comfort zones and onto the mission field, which is all around us?

Jesus’ command to go and make disciples does not only apply to older people and those who have seminary training. Where did we get the idea a teen going from the North Shore to the South Shore is somehow doing less important missionary work than an adult going from North America to South America?

These are the questions that ran through my mind as I led our SUV caravan back to the North Shore, leaving behind a new youth group to impact the South Shore for years to come. 

Josh Rowley serves as the Second Generation Pastor at Celebration Church in Charlestown, MA.