Guest Editorial: Mike Patterson
“Men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do…” 1 Chronicles 12:32
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16
Saturday night marked a new beginning for the Teen Ministry of the City of Angels Church! Around 50 teenagers and parents gathered at the Velasco’s house for the kick-off of our Five Region Teen Fellowship. Since we have teens throughout the LA metro area, we are praying that God will raise up powerful teen leaders and establish flourishing ministries of sold-out teen disciples in each region of the City of Angels Church. The “power of the gospel” can change “Kingdom Kids” (“Jews”), as well as “Gentile” converts! Although the gospel does not change, our approach will differ among varying age groups. Like the “men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do,” we must pray to discern “the times” and know what “spiritual Israel” – the church – “should do” to win teenagers for Christ.
My parent’s generation was one of absolutes. Most people in this generation view the Bible as the “holy” Bible, believing that it is the very Word of God. Sadly, most companies that print Bibles now remove the word “Holy” from the front to sell more Bibles to a generation that views the Bible as nothing more than a great literary work. Scholars have called this teenage generation a “post-modern generation.” A denominational magazine pointed out that churches in Africa are now sending mission teams to America, because they view America’s youth as godless. The chart below – from Josh McDowell’s Youth Ministry Handbook: Project 911 Series – helps us to understand the post-modern teen thinking.
The core reason young people succumb to the lures of our godless culture revolves around loneliness, insecurity, and lack of identity. Teens are not shocked by much today, since they have been desensitized by the 24/7 media onslaught. Immorality, homosexuality, pornography, masturbation, drugs, cheating and violence permeate every high school, and sadly even all the junior high schools in America! Teens today believe that they will have more problems and fewer opportunities than their parents had. They value their own opinions more highly than others, and rarely value the directives of authoritative figures. Deep down, there is a longing to find heroes to emulate, but they find very few. One group of researchers was so alarmed by their findings on American teenagers, they entitled their report: CODE BLUE! “Code blue” is a hospital term that is used for emergencies. When the button is pushed, it requires immediate response by all the available staff! Is this your attitude about the youth in our church and outside our congregation?
There are three possible responses that disciples can have to the “code blue” state of our postmodern teen generation: condemnation, accommodation, or empathy. We cannot condemn the teens by believing this ministry does not work. On the other hand, we cannot become a denominational youth group that compromises the standard of Jesus to “rea ch” teens. The best response is to be empathetic. Jesus was full of “grace and truth.” (John 1:14) He spent countless hours with people listening, watching, interacting, and then challenging. The Bible says to “be quick to listen and slow to speak.” (James 1:19) As we begin to understand our teens through listening, compassion will replace condemnation in our hearts. We won’t react, but act! I believe teen ministry should be built relationally by imitating our Lord Jesus.
I owe my salvation to God working through a teen ministry that empathized and challenged me to live for Jesus. At a young age, I was adopted by the man I consider my dad today since my real father was not involved in my life. My biological father committed suicide when I was seven years old. This shocking reality of death at such a young age made me very curious as to where my dad was spending his eternity. My parents always brought me up to believe in God. In fourth grade, I began to fall in love with God and His Word, as I attended a Baptist Church with my best friend every Sunday. It was from that point that a quest to know God began in my heart.
Although my heart’s desire was to please God, as I entered into the world of junior high school, my sinful nature began to dominate my life. Sins such as internet pornography, impurity, and hatred towards “my father” – who had divorced my mother to remarry – would begin to enslave me. I so badly wanted the approval of my peers in school that I became a compulsive liar to make my life sound better than it was. Sports and my “attitude” hid my lonely, purposeless and empty, selfish soul. The worst part for me was watching how much my mom had to suffer from all these sins in our family. Then at our darkest hour, God sent a disciple to her night shift job at Denny’s to reach out to her, and in turn, to me!
It was 1995 when my mom enthusiastically told me about “this church” that she had found that was like nothing she had seen before – the Wichita International Church of Christ! Her life radically changed when she became a baptized disciple! She quickly became a hero to me, as she led a Singles Family Group. Amazingly, though a single mom with two kids, my mom’s life was equally vibrant at church and in our home. Looking back, the family devotionals, the dating advice, and the personal example of my mom inspired me to want to do my best for God in a church that did not yet have a teen ministry. (Proverbs 22:6) For two years, I “came around” with my mom as a pre-teen dreaming to be a disciple of Christ. My mom sent me to many church camps and teen functions in other cities. In retrospect, I am so grateful for the financial sacrifices my mom made and the time she dedicated to help me become a disciple. Heroes in the faith such as Gregg Marutzky, Nick Young, Tim Bernitt, and Dan Rice (who passed away as a faithful disciple in 2008), preached fiercely that teens could do great things for God. Campus students inspired me as well and helped me to study the Bible – one being Tim Le! The mission to make disciples of all nations excited me; the cross broke me; and on December 13 of 1998, I was baptized into Christ!
In time, the Wichita Church decided to start a teen ministry that included me and another girl. I remember reaching out to everyone in my high school of 4000 in a span of three days by putting a Bible Talk invite in every locker at the school! As a result, some of my best friends and my brother were baptized! At times, we would have 40-50 visitors at my high school Bible Talk. By the time I graduated, our teen ministry was over 30 student disciples and had full-time teen leaders! The memories of teen rallies, kingdom proms, church camps, HOPE Youth Corps, and visiting the LA International Church of Christ – whose teen ministry had been built to a thousand teen disciples by Kip & Elena – bring tears of joy to me now! It was during these years that I first dreamed of going into the full-time ministry!
What I learned about God, His Word, and His eternal kingdom during my teen years has helped me through many hard times as a disciple. When I was sixteen, my mom decided to leave the church, which was devastating to me. This made me feel responsible to take care of my brother spiritually and was a test to see if the convictions gained in the teen ministry were my own. When our former fellowship crashed, it was my convictions on discipling and evangelism that helped me to take a stand and join God’s new movement by moving to Portland. Sadly during college, I fell into impurity with women and struggled to be open with sins in my life. I share this to say that just because one is a “baptized Kingdom Kid” does not mean that you will not falter. Yet because of the teen ministry, I believe I am here today strong in the Lord and grateful to give back.
When Kip, who is now my father in the faith, asked me to lead the City of Angels Church Teen Ministry, it was then that I decided to hit the “code blue” button! Shay Vloet, when she was asked to lead the girls, likewise responded. As a church, the time is now for all of us to gain the conviction that the “power of the gospel” can, will and must change Kingdom Kids, Gentile converts, and in time the entire world! Join me, as we respond to the code blue emergency in all of our churches – the Teen Ministry! And to God be the glory!
