"This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!" — Keith Green.
I really like this quote by Keith Green because it doesn’t say the adults in the church are responsible for this generation of souls on the earth. It emphasizes generation, which includes every age.
As the youth leader I’m passionate about young people and as a missionary I’m passionate about missions. I wanted to write about mission trips and encourage you to prayerfully consider taking at least one short term mission trip in your lifetime. God tells us in Mark 15:16 “..."Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” This is the Great Commission not the great suggestion.
On a mission trip you are taken out of your comfort zone, you are tired, you are adjusting to different food and a different culture. Basically you are at your most vulnerable and to top it off you most likely have to minister to someone. This may sound really uncomfortable to you, but it has been my experience, that when you are at that point and still having to go and preach in a church or share God's love on the street you turn from trusting your own abilities to trusting in God completely. Mission trips are life changing, not just for the people you are serving, but for yourselves as well.
A great example of this is when the Ignite youth team was in the Philippines. We were in the middle
of nowhere in a church that had 8 cement pillars, a roof, and wooden benches. We didn't count but I would say there was about 65-75 people in attendance. I was asked to deliver the message and after I was finished I asked the people to come up for prayer and almost all of them responded. We had the youth that were on the trip step into the crowd and pray. There was just one problem, the people didn't speak English and we had no interpreter. In a situation like this you can't fix it. The only thing you can do is trust God and play a little charades to try and work out what is needed. I remember clearly that a few of the boys looked at me with confusion in their faces, and said "Kenny, we don't know what to do." I showed them how to make gestures and to try and understand then told them to trust God. They did and as they prayed for individuals, the people began to cry out to God, He was clearly working something within them. That night these youth learned that even with a language barrier God is the one who does the ministering, He just needs someone willing to step out. At the end of our trip, we had feed back like "My relationship with God has gone from good/ok to AMAZING." The next time you a short term mission trip is offered consider responding with “Here I am Lord send me” and just watch what God does in and through you. If you go with a good attitude and a heart to be used by God you won’t be disappointed. Who knows you may even find that you have a passion for missions.
