PRESIDENT’S COLUMN by Lisa Watts

“Looking to the Future With Hope”

It just so happened that this spring’s newsletter deadline hit me during one of the busiest weeks I have had in a while. I am currently up to my elbows and beyond with preparation for our annual Youth Sunday worship service. My initial response to the deadline was one of minor panic- one more thing to get done- but then I thought about it for a minute and realized that my message was right in front of my face, in the faces of those nine teenagers with which I'm working. So, thanks to an indulgent newsletter editor (blessings on you, Laura!), I have managed to (almost) meet the deadline.

Youth Sunday at our church is an annual event, probably much like the ones that occur in your churches. Our high school kids plan and lead an entire worship service that includes music, scripture, prayers, drama (both scripted and un-scripted!) and an amazing amount of spiritual energy. They never cease to amaze me with their creativity and strong faith. This year we are focusing on Romans 12:1-2, which reads in part, “ Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is…” Our kids and their advisors have been talking much about what it means to be conformed to what this world expects of us and what we can do to maintain our individuality as children of God. In doing an exercise on retreat with these kids, I asked them to think of five things they would buy if they had unlimited funds, figuring their responses would mention things like iPhones, laptops, expensive clothing and fast cars. I got a few of these as responses, but imagine my surprise when a young woman named Jackie told me she could only think of two things-and they were really for her parents, because they were having some hard financial times. And then Hannah told me she’d take as much money as she could get as long as she could give it all away to people who really needed it. These kids blew my lesson-they already knew what I was trying to teach them!

I can look at the above scripture in another way, especially as I consider the uncertainties that we face as a church and as a denomination. We have conformed to many things-doing worship a certain way, having only certain kinds of music in worship or certain prayers. Uncertainty can be scary. But when I look to the future of our church, I do so with hope, because the future leaders of our churches will be the young men and women we are reaching today. A not so subtle reminder of why we all do what we do-why we are called to educational ministry. I think we are going to be in very good hands, no matter what happens!

Blessings,
Lisa Watts