Lost youth

In Virginia last week one of our service projects was helping throw Valentine’s Day parties for children who live in a mobile home community. We frosted cookies, made greeting cards, and took the older ones out to dinner. Although all of these planned activities were fun, I felt like the only true outreach we had to give them was ourselves.

Recently I have felt overwhelmed with the specific concern that today’s youth are becoming harder and harder to reach. Even since I was in high school (not that many years ago) it seems that drugs, alcohol, and sex have become much more accessible and prevalent. I was sitting across from a third grader at lunch in the public school and she asked me how old I was. I answered her and she said, “oh, so you’re my mom’s age!” I said, “oh, no, I said twenty-three.” She said, “I know, Mom had me when she was 15.” And over dinner with the high schoolers, I listened to their conversations about how cool they were for all of the harmful drugs and actions they participate in… I felt just sick. Their lives revolve around worldly lies.

There are so many cards stacked against these kids. They’ve grown up in poverty, their parents are nowhere to be found, they use illegal substances to fulfill empty souls, and they use their bodies as tools to gain popularity from their classmates. And the only spark of God in their life is a dedicated young woman named Cherie who spends hours working with and tutoring these kids daily.

On our van ride back from the restaurant with the older kids I noticed how closely they listened to us and what we were saying. It struck me that it probably had just as much to do with my age that they were listening to me than what I was actually saying. Because of this, I have been thinking about how important it is for college-aged and young adults to get out into the schools systems and into the communities and influence these kids for Christ. If, as Christians, we want to see a revival in youth, I think it will be youth who can truly change their hearts. We have an advantage just because of our age. As young people, we have a short yet powerful window of opportunity to truly influence America’s lost youth…

Kelly