If ever there was a time when Adventist youth and young adults are seeking hope, assurance, involvement, and purpose for their lives, it is today.

Never before in Earth’s history has a generation of Lake Union Conference Adventist youth been more motivated, trained, and resourced to share Jesus than this one.

A few examples:

Youth Are Mission Minded

Student Missionaries—One year of international service

Short Term International—One to three weeks of service

Task Force Missionaries—One year of domestic service

Short Term Domestic—One to three weeks of service

Never before has an Adventist generation raised more money to travel so often to share the gospel. This is a generation who wants to “experience their faith” not just “talk about their faith.” Have you ever seen a young person come back to your church after a mission trip and say, “That was a waste of time and money?” No! You hear quite the opposite. Often they say, “Let me tell you how God used me,” and “When can we go again?”

It is important for the Lake Union Conference to maintain a strong international and domestic mission emphasis. Would it not be a worthy goal to challenge ourselves to make sure every young person in the Lake Union has at least one opportunity to join a mission trip?

Youth Are Spiritually Minded

Prayer is important.

Christian music is important.

Worship is important.

Outreach evangelism is important.

It is very exciting to see individuals and groups of Adventist senior youth and young adults take more ownership for spiritual growth. Within the Lake Union Conference they have organized their own spiritual growth opportunities through prayer, worship, music, and outreach evangelism. Today’s spiritually-minded young persons are not waiting for the church to hand them entertainment programming. They are seeking involvement in the local church that goes way beyond entertainment. They are seeking deep relationships, meaningful church involvement, and purpose for their lives. What they seek is a reason to be an Adventist Christian that includes, but goes beyond, doctrine.

It is important for the Lake Union Conference to encourage a strong support system to build up local church youth and young adult ministry. Let all members in the Lake Union Conference challenge themselves to provide a friendly and “safe harbor” church environment for “our” youth.

Youth Have Unique Gifts

They have leadership and organizational skills.

They have speaking abilities way beyond their years.

They have extra energy and creativity.

They have a holy boldness or calling on their lives.

Have you ever noticed that the secular world trusts and values youth and young adults more than the church does sometimes? A few examples:

The other day a twenty-something professional computer security software engineer said to me, “Pastor Ron, five days a week my employer trusts me to secure hundreds of millions of dollars over the Internet. But I was just told by my church that they cannot give me a key to the church to help me run youth programming. Explain this to me.”

Or, another recent example offered by a high school student, “Pastor Ron, when will my church give me something important to do? I want to hold a public series of meetings but they told me there was no money. Then, they told me the church calendar was too full. Then, they told me a professional evangelist was coming. I am beginning to wonder if my church needs me.”

The Lake Union Conference of churches needs every young person and young adult. We need their bold visions for ministry. We need their energy. We need their creativity. We need their leadership and organizational skills. The bottom line is—local churches, with their local conference, with the Lake Union Conference, need to take more time in prayer with strategic planning to make sure every young person is used to their maximum potential. Let there be no “child” left behind when Jesus returns.

Ron Whitehead is the Lake Union Conference youth ministries coordinator.