May Mission Focus: Young Life
This month for our special mission focus, we will be raising funds to help YoungLife and their mission here in Bristol. Many of you know the leadership of YoungLife Bristol who attend our church, and others have been intimately involved in volunteer work with them. We are blessed to have them in our midst. If you have been involved with YoungLife, you know what a powerful resource organization they are in helping young people encounter the risen Lord.
YoungLife Bristol’s three-part mission statement:
Kids around the world are searching for home, meaning, and belonging.
We get in it with them and accept them as they are.
Kids have the chance to live life to the fullest.
I like this because it acknowledges the reality on the ground for all of our young people. There are so many influences like home life, substance abuse, virtual/e-culture, and the increasing sense of isolation and alienation we all feel these days that can drag kids into pretty dark places. That there are loving volunteers and workers for Christ willing to come alongside kids at an already difficult time to help them navigate these problems, and most importantly, point them to Jesus, is something for which we should give thanks to God.
That said, we shouldn’t forget that the more things change, they remain the same. There were tremendous pressures (cultural, religious, economic, etc.) in the ancient world that made the spread of the Gospel seem impossible. Yet, in the midst of those challenges, God empowered folks like Peter to stand up, as he did on Pentecost, to announce the news that Jesus is risen, Jesus is Messiah, and Jesus is Lord over all. He is Lord over our brokenness. He is Lord over our difficulties. He is Lord. To that end, the promises on offer in him are for everyone, even our children. In fact, you can read Peter’s words in verse 39 as a promise that the further off someone seems from the Gospel, the closer they will come as God calls them to Himself.
YoungLife is part of the kingdom-oriented project, and we invite you to come alongside them and support their work. We will take up donations throughout the month of May, with an in-person collection the last Sunday of the month. You can give online, or you can use the special envelopes at the church or write a note to accompany your offering designating it for YoungLife. However you determine to give, give generously because God is doing a great work through this ministry.