Serving the Lord During Your Young Adult Years
Once upon a time, not so long ago and not so far away, lived an ATI student...
She was about to graduate from high school, when suddenly, an assortment of strange questions began coming from all directions: "What college are you going to?" "What are you majoring in?" "What are you planning to do with your life?"
She desired to seek the Lord and serve Him whole-heartedly. This meant not taking the well-trodden path of most graduates. Her goal was to work together with her family to minister to the needs others. She tried her best to explain her plan, but many just did not understand...
Does this sound familiar to you? I would like to share some of the things that have been helpful to me as I have sought to walk in the "straight and narrow way," rather than in the well-worn path of the world.
The Same Old Question
Even though I am now twenty-six years old, and graduated from high school eight years ago, I still receive the same type of question over and over again: "Aren't you ever going to college?" "Why don't you get a normal job - at McDonald's or something?" "What are you going to do with your life?"
Many of you have probably experienced the same thing. It is difficult to "walk the narrow way" of "seeking first God's kingdom." People don't understand why we home school, dress modestly, don't date, don't listen to rock music, and don't attend youth group. People don't understand why we follow the Lord. They don't understand why we would want to serve in a Christian ministry, or why we would set aside earthly treasures - such as a college degree, a career, or even our time - so that we would be free to focus on serving the Lord.
What the Lord has taught me through this...
1. To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.
That meant to put my focus on seeking and serving the Lord during my single years. One of my life rhemas is, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." To me, this meant that if I would focus my time and attention on serving the Lord, He would take care of all the other details in my life. God is especially blessed when we give Him our "first fruits," and we can do this by choosing to dedicate our single years to serving Him whole-heartedly. As we move on to different phases of our life we take on more responsibility, and we will never be quite as available to serve the Lord as we are during these years.
2. To serve my family.
Our parents have invested so much in our lives, and it is a blessing to be finished with school and to be able to assist them in teaching the younger ones and taking care of the home. This is wonderful preparation for raising your own family in the future.The Lord puts each of us in our specific families for a purpose. He often uses our family to develop our character, and to teach us how to respond correctly to the trials of life. I would like to encourage you to build and strengthen these family relationships. There is nothing more delightful than to have your brothers and sisters become your best friends!
3. Accept the fact that the world will never understand.
And that is okay: they don't need to understand; we are not seeking their approval anyway. "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2
4. Learn to stand alone, even within the Christian community.
As we were growing up, we would do Bible studies on "Why we do What we do." We would research each of the commitments that we had made, such as: Scripture memory, modest dress, not dating, choosing wise friends, etc. This gave us a clear understanding that these standards were not just rules that someone made up, but rather specific direction from God's Word. As we would have the opportunity to stand alone on many of these issues, we were content because we wanted to obey the Lord. "If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15
5. Choose friends who are going in the same direction and who will encourage you in the ways of the Lord.
"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise..." Proverbs 13:20For years we prayed for good friends, and finally realized that the Lord had already given us the "best" friends right within our family. We learned to enjoy spending time with the family, and sometimes, I think that we have too much fun together! We want to make memories together that will last a lifetime.
6. Maintain an eternal perspective by setting your "heart on things above..."
Ever since we were young, our parents trained us to focus on that which was eternal. They would encourage us to ask the question, "How will this matter in eternity?"This led us to be involved in various types of ministry opportunities, including reaching out to the elderly at nursing homes. We would do concerts based on the hymns of the faith and we would share the Gospel through hymn histories. Many them were very open and we had the opportunity to visit several individuals on their deathbed, and we would share the Gospel with them.
7. Be an example for others to follow.
"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12We each have the opportunity to be an example to our brothers and sisters. One of the ways that I was able to encourage my brother in the ways of the Lord was through giving him special assignments that would challenge him spiritually, and awarding him with a medal when he completed them. He was eight years old at the time and this really caught his interest. He worked diligently on various projects, such as, writing testimonies on all of the life principles, reading through portions of the Basic Seminar Textbook, and memorizing Romans 6.
8. Remember that God is a "Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
The Lord has opened up so many exciting opportunities that we never would have been involved in if we had chosen to go the world's way! I have seen the Lord's faithfulness as He has fulfilled not only the needs in my life, but many of my "heart's desires" as well. I am reminded of the verse, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it." Matthew 16:25The opportunities for ministry have only expanded as I have grown older. There are so many ways that we can serve the Lord, often without even leaving our own homes. As we seek the Lord for direction in this area, He will lead us to the opportunities that He wants us to take. The following is a list of ideas, many of which I have been involved in over the past few years.
Telos
Once I graduated from high school, I took the Basic Seminar over Telos from home, and it was so helpful for my spiritual growth. I had considered continuing on in Telos, but the Lord directed our family to minister together, so we focused on that. And we are grateful that we did because we are now serving as a family at headquarters.
I have heard testimonies from other young adults who have been challenged and have grown through the Telos courses. My brother is in high school and is now taking a Telos course. My parents again are very pleased with the results they are seeing. If you want additional information on Telos, Dr. John Bechtle is very helpful and could answer any questions. His number is (317) 923-7301, or visit the web site at: www.telos.edu http://www.telos.edu .
Christmas Ministry
Christmas time was always exciting for us, since each year we would be involved in a special project to meet the needs of others. One year we wrapped and delivered New Testaments to our entire Christmas card list. Another year we bought gifts of sweaters, scarves, hats and gloves for the homeless. We set up an assembly line so that we could fold, and wrap each gift. When we were finished, we filled our station wagon with the presents and delivered them to a downtown mission. We look back on those times of serving together with fond memories and realize that the Lord used them to teach us valuable lessons about putting Him first in our lives.
Children's ministry
There are many opportunities to minister to children within the church and community. We have enjoyed teaching Sunday school, vacation Bible school, character workshops, Sunday school, being involved in planning and serving at Vacation Bible School, writing and presenting Bible stories and skits, teaching Character First Education for church and community events, writing and presenting hymn history and heroes of faith skits.
Card ministry
We used calligraphy stamping or the computer to make cards. We always make our own Christmas cards and include a clear Gospel message. This has become a huge outreach opportunity as we have a large Christmas card list to unsaved acquaintances, relatives and neighbors. We have also done a monthly card ministry to invalids, missionaries, and church leaders. We designed the cards with a Scripture on the front, and a short prayer on the inside. It was our desire to encourage these people with God's Word, and many commented on how the Lord used it to bless them.
Gospel Chalk Art presentations
My sister and I both went through the Chalk Art Course. It has opened up so many opportunities for us in churches, community events, and children's ministries. We would take turns drawing the picture and sharing a testimony or Bible story. People really enjoy chalk talks and we have found it to be an effective way to share the Gospel with others.
Programs and Presentations
We have enjoyed coordinating programs for nursing homes and other groups. We have a Christmas Program that we present over the holidays, a Children's Program and a Hymns of the Faith program that we use during the rest of the year.
In our programs, we include music on our various instruments, congregational singing, stories from our own lives, testimonies, hymn histories, Scripture recitations with hand motions, skits and a Gospel message. We know several families that are involve in this type of ministry, and each family uses the specific gifts and talents that God has given them. We try to get the entire family involved as much a possible. The Lord has really blessed as we share His Word as a family.
Writing
There are so many opportunities for someone who has an interest in the area of writing. I know several girls who have started newsletters to encourage other young ladies. These have been a blessing to many as they can share what the Lord is teaching them.
We have written curriculum for Children's Character Workshops which we presented for home school seminars. We spent a lot of time writing the teacher's curriculum book and the large group lessons, as well as stories and skits! It was so exciting to then turn around and use these materials with several different groups of children, and to see the Lord working in their lives.
One of our writing projects was to design our own Gospel tract. We explained the plan of salvation, included Scriptures and had a prayer at the end. This was very effective when we would give it out, because people were very interested in reading something that we had written ourselves. We handed them out wherever we went: to cashiers at grocery stores, attendants at toll booths, orthodontists, mechanics, etc.
Hospitality
One of our favorite activities has been having families over to our home for an evening or a meal. This has provided the opportunity to show hospitality and to have good fellowship.
Serving
There are many opportunities to serve and to meet the needs of others. All you have to do is look around and you will see many needs that you could meet. We have looked for needs in our church and served through cleaning, helping with set up for different events, doing yard work, assisting with dinners, etc. At various times, we have provided a wholesome meal for families who were going through trials, illnesses, the elderly, new mothers, large families, etc. We have helped widows with their house cleaning and yard work.
I would encourage every young person to list the areas of gifting that God has given to you, and find a way to use those gifts to serve the Lord! It has been a blessing to see many of you serving the Lord and putting Him first in your lives. You have put aside other things so that you can follow the Lord with you whole heart. Don't give in to the influence of the world. Keep following the Lord, and allow Him to direct your future!
Kimberly Vogrin
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