Would you pray a blessing for these people?
I was recently in one of our Conference churches and spoke about ways that we can engage the next generation. At the end of the service, the pastor said he wanted to end “a little different than he had planned.” He called all those present under the age of 18 to come to the front of the sanctuary. He also invited people who did ministry with those age groups to join them. Then he asked one of the senior ladies of the church to pray a blessing for these young people and for the rest of the congregation.
While I’m not entirely sure if it was the pastor’s plan, the senior lady began going to each of the young people gathered in the front and praying individually. There were prayers for growth in their love for Jesus, sensitivity to the Spirit, and acknowledgement of challenges. The prayers were personal even though she didn’t know all the kids, youth, and leaders she was praying for.
When she started, I found myself thinking, wow, this could take a while as there was a large group of people up front. But then I saw it—the picture that took away all my concerns about the time: this was a teaching moment to remind students and those gathered that God saw them. None of them had planned for this.
I don’t know what these students will remember from that morning, but I can’t help but think that a core memory and belief in God was planted in their hearts and minds. It was the church of God, being the church for these students. This grandmother of their gathered church showed that each of them was worthy of her time, of our time and of God’s time. The way she lovingly prayed for each one showed God’s heart for them. The prayers sought to encourage and solidify faith and were spoken in humility.
It would be easy to suggest that churches simply add this to the end of their services, creating another programmatic tool to connect the next generation with the rest of the church. However, I don’t see that as the takeaway from this experience. Rather, my encouragement to our churches would be to remain open to the Holy Spirit’s nudging and find creative ways to care for each other. This requires time, flexibility, and humility.
There may be situations where our normal rhythm of church needs to change to respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading. We may need to adjust some of our planning and be willing to take a chance. This needs to be done with humility, acknowledging our need for God in all circumstances.
Thank you, churches, for every attempt to inspire faith in the next generation. Let’s continue to creatively and intentionally pass on our faith.
