Giving God Room: Prayer Focus
Week #4
Raising up the Next Generation.
In recent years, God has impressed on Hillcrest leadership the importance of investing in the next generation of the church. A few years ago, we shifted our mission focus a little bit to include an investment in young people service at Whispering Pines Camp. This year, we invested in a second Youth Pastor and a Young Adult Director to further invest in discipling the next generation.
We are blessed as a church to have about 100 students who regularly serve and worship with us on Sunday mornings. About 65 youth serve regularly in Children’s Ministries, and another 15-20 gather in the Youth Room on Sunday morning, while others youth worship in the service with their parents. We are blessed to have a Tuesday Night youth ministry that is open to many youth from the community who may not even attend church at this point, or, their only source of Christian community is Tuesday nights. There are over 200 youth connected to Hillcrest through our Sunday morning and Tuesday nights ministries. We want to continue to invest in our next generation of leaders.
The Next Generation of Leaders is crucial for our future.
One of my anchor verses as a leader is Acts 13:36. It says…
…for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. (Acts 13:36, NLT)
It is my desire to do God’s will for my generation and for the generation of adults who currently worship at Hillcrest.
But what about the next generation? How do we make a transition so that the next generation will be free to lead and do the work required of them in their own context in the years ahead? How will we pass the baton to at next generation of leaders? The answer is that we must intentionally and directly plan to raise up leaders who will be ready to move the church forward in the decades ahead.
Over the next ten years, our leadership will change. In ten years, I will most likely be finished in my role as Senior Pastor. Our current plan is to begin to look for a qualified young leader to invest in. This individual is probably in their 30’s right now. With a young family, and a heart to serve the Lord. By the time they take leadership of the church, they will be in their 40’s with teenagers and they will bring a new infusion of life and ministry to the church. We are prayerfully looking to make a connection with someone who will have a passion to reach their own generation for Christ.
The Bible talks about the sons of Issachar. They were faithful young people who were aware of the cultural needs of their day, and willing to serve the Lord in their generation.
From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take. (1 Chronicles 12:32, NLT)
We will need these kind of leaders in the future and we must invest in developing them now.
Here are the four things you can bring before the Lord this week.
1. Pray for Gen Z and Generation Alpha.
These are the generations still in school and university and just beginning their careers. Pray the Lord will draw them to himself.
2. Pray for the youth and young adults in our church.
Pray the Lord would guard and keep them as they grow up in a confusing time. Pray the Lord would strengthen and refine them.
3. Pray that Gen Z and Gen Alpha would find their hope in Jesus.
Pray for the youth and young adult ministries, for the city youth and for a passion for Jesus.
4. Pray our church could be a welcoming place for the next generation to find Jesus and grow in their faith.
Pray that the Lord would touch the hearts of the older generation with a deep heart of love for the younger generation.
In His Grip,
Pastor Steve Pahl