As I was sitting in Church today looking at all the youth, I thought about all the youth I saw on the street on Friday night. There are literally thousands of teenagers in Loja. What do we do with all these teenagers who are lost and desperately needing a Savior? How do we reach these thousands of high school and college students? It feels like something that can never be achieved. But then as the pastor spoke, I began to think back to the time of Christ and their mission… not just to reach a city, but to reach the world. Now THAT was something unachievable. I have been giving some serious thought to how this might be done in
This morning as I sat in church I became impassioned about how to get these kids to know Christ and how to equip and empower them to share the power of the living Gospel with another. And this is what I came up with NOTHING.
I had a million and one ideas… having a youth conference, learning Spanish really fast and becoming a motivational speaker for Loja teenagers (yeah this one went out the door really fast!), rallying the youth pastors and teaching them how to teach their students… and seriously in the 2 hours that I sat there, the list could have gone on and on (and not all of the ideas were that bad), but THIS is what I heard from the Lord… pray.
Pray that HE would give just the right idea… you could do exactly the same thing as someone else did in a town 20 miles from you, which worked beautifully and it could completely flop in Loja. HE is the God of original ideas. He knows what Loja youth need and how they need it. It might not even include me… He is calling me in this moment to love people and to pray.
So that is what I am asking you to do… my heart is bursting right now over the lost ness of the youth in Loja… even the “believing” youth in Loja live life like they have little or no purpose. So would you beseech the Lord with me… would you partner with me and allow yourself to be burdened for the people of Loja?
It’s just a thought….
1 comment:
Wow-- it is easy to see the true heart and passion you have for your ministry. The next generation are of critical importance, and it is a burden I share with you. I was an SIM missionary in Paraguay for a year. And as a short termer, had the JOY and PRIVILEDGE of seeing more than 100 souls won for the Kingdom of Christ. The Lord gifted a teammate and I with the 'curriculum' for a class-- Evangelism and Christian Living. Throught the power of His Holy Spirit, that class took wings, and once we taught it, 3 youth from our group taught it to a neighboring church, and throughout the SIM PY field they have used versions of it to street evangelize. What a blessing it was to see, but it began with prayer, and the open hearts of so many wanting and willing to serve, in a way that was effective and would bring God the Most glory. I could never have come up with that class on my own. It is one of the wonders of my life, how it came to be. But it was perfect for His timing, in that place. For all of us who know that the future of missions and leadership of Christ's church depend on these upcomind generations, I join you in prayer for Loja. God Bless!
Gina Paone
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