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Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite
them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.
- Deuteronomy 6:6-7
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.
- 2 Timothy 1:5
Faith, as we have often observed in worship and other places, is something that is shared, it is passed on from person to person, generation to generation. We all had people from whom we learned about faith – more than likely we had multiple people. And, we also have an opportunity to share our faith.
As a parent, I have tried to provide opportunities to share faith with my children – reading bible stories to them, praying with them, singing the songs of faith around them, participating with them in communities of faith, and many other ways.
As a member of a church, I have also tried to share my faith with others, as well as receive the gift of others who are willing to share their faith with me.
As a Pastor, I have tried to encourage people to cultivate faith in their own life as well as the same kind of shared faith I experience have experienced. Through spiritual practices like prayer, silence, sabbath keeping, communal worship, fellowship with other faithful people, bible study we grow as disciples of Jesus.
A couple weeks ago I recalled the formula – I still don’t remember where I heard it or who said it, but the formula was simple: discipleship = finding a mentor + time. That is, to learn means finding someone who can teach you or show you how to do something and then simply spending time with them having them share their craft with you. That goes for sports, art, hobbies, work, learning… AND faith. Becoming a disciple of Jesus means finding someone who follows Jesus and learning from them how to follow Jesus.
I would suggest that we should all be both disciple and mentor at the same time. That is, we should be learning from someone how better to follow Jesus, and we should be sharing with others how we follow Jesus. It is our responsibility to receive and pass on the faith.
At Ankeny Christian Church, we have a strong history of sharing our faith with the next generation. Our youth have held an important place in our church. We should continue that tradition! In the same sermon I mentioned before, I shared about an article that suggested the best indicator for whether or not a youth would continue to participate in a faith community beyond the one they grew up in, when they moved away, was not regular worship attendance at home, regular participation in Sunday School or youth group, but whether or not adults
outside their families took interest in their lives beyond church. If adults other than their parents attended their activities – sports, music, theater, etc. (here is a link to the article if you are interested: https://churchleaders.com/daily-buzz/260593-students-leave-faith-graduation-according-research-biggest-factor.html?fbclid=IwAR2B59xkmavlfPwSweumpb4L4QRndirY82UHvKI7wk4-8KcFOAhzZqzv-hs).
We are already hard at work trying to put together a list of activities that our youth are involved in this upcoming school year. It is my hope that we, as a church, can begin to support our youth and children in their activities outside of the church. Maybe a handful of us can get together and go to a few of these. Not only will you get to enjoy a great event…you will be supporting and encouraging the faith of a young person!
Shalom,
Pastor Owen
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