Transforming a Generation... One Life at a Time.

I just got back from Tim Horton's. In what was supposed to be a 2 minute pit stop, I left 20 minutes later, having run into 6 of our youth and one volunteer, all there for different reasons. Maybe this is why some weeks I don't get much work done. This is one of my favourite parts about Youth For Christ, that we are not chained to a desk, or even a youth centre for that matter, since we have the freedom to meet those we work with right where they are. There are definitely times where they come to us, The Door is a prime example of that, but the rest of our ministry involves meeting them at lunch for Campus Life, grabbing a drink at McD's, or even just running into them as we are out and around. And that is where our best ministry happens. 


I once read through the Gospels where I focused on all of the times that Jesus was interrupted in what was "important" and "necessary" ministry. It happened a lot. Think about all the times that Jesus and the disciples were interrupted by those needing real ministry, now. People crashed into meetings, grabbed hold of him while he was walking, and even dug through ceilings just to get his attention. How differently we would perceive Jesus' ministry if He had said, "I'm sorry, you'll need to wait. I'm really busy right now" instead of acknowledging their need in that moment. If he had ignored those who were unclean, broken, sick, and full of sin, what would His ministry have looked like? Would there have been any ministry at all, or would it have been lost in the midst of a fantastic miracle? 


And of course, I can't think about that without looking back at the times where I have been like that. Times where my to do list has outgrown my "to care" list, my "to love" list, my "to listen" list. That's happened often, and sadly, sometimes recently. But as we head into summer, where we always get excited for how much time we have with our youth, I hope that I can keep Jesus' example in mind. Some of the best times of ministry are the times separate of any program, free of any need to impress anyone, and with nothing planned. Some of the moments when we can be most present with our youth is over the simple things, where little thought is given to what we're going to do next, but instead turns to each other, and towards caring about our friends. I hope I have more days like today. And I hope that I am aware of the Spirit walking alongside me to lead me into those areas of ministry, where Jesus can shine through me and allow me to unconditionally love and encourage those I walk with. Our statement here in YFC is "Transforming a generation... one life at a time." Today, that is a good reminder for me.