Following up Youth’s Interest in Missions

by Paul Borthwick

Here is the problem. A few of the members of the youth group or the college group return from a short-term or summer missions experience. They are on fire about world missions, and they think that God may be leading them into a career in missions.

Here is the problem. A few of the members of the youth group or the college group return from a short-term or summer missions experience. They are on fire about world missions, and they think that God may be leading them into a career in missions.

Or perhaps it happens another way. Some of your Bible school, college and seminary students go to an intense missions conference (such as the Urbana Conference), and they return having made a personal commitment to pursue God’s will regarding missions.

Whether it be high schoolers or collegians, the problem that faces the home church, the church missions committee and the sending agency is the same: What will we do with these students? We know that their zeal is strong now, but how do we keep it strong over the next four-to-six years that it might take for them to finish their schooling? How can we follow up the commitments that young people make after short-term experiences or after a missions conference?

Although there are no set solutions, there are certain guidelines that we can follow. Church and mission board leaders must do their best to help confirm, support, counsel, and encourage those who are hearing (or think that they are hearing) God’s call to missions. Here are ten suggested guidelines:

1. Individual attention. The most significant thing is to give these students personalized attention. Make a list of all of the students in the church family who have expressed an interest in missionary careers. Take this list to the members of the missions committee so that they can each take on personal responsibility for one or more students.

The individual attention will vary according to time and ability, but the basic commitment should at least be (1) prayer on a regular basis for the student; (2) personal contact (either by phone or letter) on a consistent basis. (Do not forget birthdays, graduations, and holidays); and (3) personal availability for counsel and encouragement. Individual attention is also the pastor’s responsibility.

2. Special privileges and affirmation. We must fan the flame by offering them as many growth experiences as they can handle. Work to give young people special opportunities. Examples might include very special attention from the pastor, or time alone with missionaries who visit the church. If there are missions experts in the area for a conference or a visit, try to get an opportunity for these students to meet with these people. Often the leaders of the church will get to spend time with missions speakers or nationally known Christian experts. Giving students this same experience will offer them excellent character- forming meetings.

Special privileges should be complemented by special affirmations: a note of encouragement or a special pat on the back for a job well done. This requires some "extra-mile" outreach on behalf of the missions committee members.

To offer the individual attention and affirmation, there must be some special training offered to the adults who are involved. Telling a missions committee member to "take a special interest in Johnny" may result in frustration for both parties, if the committee member. has received no instruction about how to work with students.

3. Involvement in the church missions committee. Recruit them to serve on the church missions committee. Offer them the opportunity to see missions from a broad perspective. This helps students to see how missions, missions agencies, and the church all work together. Give students experiences and insights that will be invaluable to them as they contemplate and pursue their own call. By hearing the call of others to missions (by listening to missionaries on furlough or by interviewing new candidates), students can see the variety of ways that God works. By seeing the administration of missions, they can get an inside look at matters like deputation long before they are required to do it.

One word of caution, however: do not do this just as a token gesture. Adults must be willing to listen to the suggestions and criticisms of youth. If this involvement is to be effective, the young person must be a full member of the committee with equal power and participation.

4. Active commissioning. Too often when students return from a missions project or conference, a few missions -oriented folks will say, "O my, that’s wonderful; we will pray for you. " That is the extent of the follow-up.

Instead, the church must send missions-interested-students into ministries where gifts can be discovered, character built, and qualities refined. The church can commission them for certain tasks (within their own church) as a confirmation of their calling.

In practice, this means that the pastor goes to a young person and says: ”We are thrilled about your interest in missions, and we want to help your interests develop. As a result, I will be giving you certain assignments in the days ahead to help you to develop a variety of ministry skills. I believe that this will help you to see if God is indeed leading you into his service in missions. " If the pastor is unable to do this, then some other adult leader should take the lead.

5. Follow-up projects, conferences, or short-term missions. Pursue opportunities to train them in areas that the local church cannot. If we I I commission" a student to do a report on the state of missions in China, we are helping to train him. If we go to a missions- interested young person and say, ”We think that you should go to the Urbana Conference, and we will help to pay your way, ” we are not only helping to affirm the call of God to missions, but we also are showing that we are willing to support them by more than our prayers.

Church leaders should also channel students into short-term service. Have someone in the church be familiar with the manual published by Inter-Christo (see resources at the end of the article), so that we can help students to match their gifts and their aspirations with specific opportunities.

6. Reading and research. Reading and research in missions will help the student to see the hand of God in history of missions, as well as the trends in missions today. Include exposure to missions history and personalities by the reading of biographies and historical accounts. Include attendance at special seminars (such as those offered by the Association of Church Missions Committees or the Institute for International Studies. see resources) where education about missions can occur.

In all of these assigned tasks (under guidelines 4, 5, and 6), the intent is neither to overwhelm students nor to brainwash them. Rather, the intent is to help them to gain a broad view of missions with an emphasis on where they might fit. We should affirm, encourage, support, and assist.

7. Correspondence with missionaries and mission boards. With very few exceptions, the average missionary candidate goes into missionary service through some sort of mission board, and he or she works in partnership with other missionaries, at least on a regional level. Therefore, the candidate needs the ability to work with fellow missionaries and with an overseeing mission board. It is wise to get the missions -interested students in correspondence with missionaries and mission boards as soon as possible.

Encourage students to write to several missionaries at a time, so they can get a fuller view. They learn what problems to expect, how to be better prepared, and what the difficulties with people are on the mission field. They will get an idea of what it is like to work under a mission board.

Students can also learn about the administrative side of missions. Information from a variety of boards will give them exposure to different philosophies and ministries. It will help them to understand the requirements and doctrinal stances taken by different boards.

8. Prayer with a world-wide emphasis. Prayer is the primary way to keep young people in touch with God so that he can direct them regarding missions. Prayer with a world-wide flavor serves as both a spiritual and an educational exercise. It builds their burden for the world, and it teaches them about the world.

Encourage this kind of prayer for at least three reasons. First, it will build into students the habit of intercession; second, it will give them the opportunity to pray about the world at large; often this will prompt a young person to start to feel a particular burden for one part of the world; third, this is an excellent way to bring together youth of like mind; this will help them to feel that they are not odd balls.

The mechanics of such prayer may vary according to the circumstances. On college and seminary campuses, some prayer groups meet every morning. Others meet once per month for a solid three-hour prayer time. At our church we meet once a week with these students; each is responsible to bring a prayer request for some country of the world. We share these requests and then we pray. The meeting takes less than twenty minutes, but it sends each person into the week realizing that God is concerned for the whole world.

One final note about prayer: do not neglect the teenagers who have voiced their interest in world missions. We may think that adolescents are too hyperactive to endure a time of prayer, but this is not true. Encourage and exhort teenagers, and people of all ages, to join in praying for the world. Since the great need is for laborers, then it is mandatory for us to beseech the Lord of the harvest (Matthew 9:37-38).

9. Training on how to discern God’s will and spiritual gifts. Offer training in the spiritual basics. Devote many hours to help students to understand how God reveals his will and how to know their spiritual gifts.

We must work with students during their growth years. Adults must keep involved in their lives. Too often students feel that they must decide God’s will in a vacuum, with their thoughts and the Bible as their only resources. The "call" should come not only from subjective determination but also from the objective confirmation of God’s people.

Counseling students regarding their spiritual gifts demands that we allow them to experiment with a variety of ministry opportunities at our churches: teaching, or hospitality, or preaching. They must be supervised and evaluated, so they can receive both positive and negative feedback about their gifts.

Training students is a long process. It requires time, energy, and money. Some of the best resources are Elizabeth Elliot’s Slow and Certain Light, J. 1. Packer’s Knowing God, Ray Stedman’s Body Life, and the 19 books on spiritual gifts by Peter Wagner.

10. Recruiting and sending the best. The most demanding principle is this one, recruiting and sending only the best. Many students over the years will express their desire to serve as missionaries. The test of our commitment to them and to the Great Commission occurs when the superior student, who has so much to offer our own church, expresses his desires.

Every organization and every church desires to perpetuate itself. Therefore, when a youth with multiple gifts and excellent abilities expresses interest in missionary service, we may think to ourselves, "But we could really use you here!" Pastors and church leaders must set aside their own desires. It may be that God will direct certain students to stay in this country and to work with us. Our job is to make sure that it is God’s will and not our own that we seek to do. If we keep all of the best young people in our own congregations, we may hinder the work of God in this needy and unreached world.

There are at least three types of students who may express their openness to world missions service. The first is the student who has "thought about nothing else since age three." They are dogmatic about the fact that missionary work is God’s will. The second type is the student who is 50-50; they have never thought about missions, but it seems that gifts, calling, and desires are all pointing to the mission field. This type of person, however, needs encouragement because there are so many other opportunities. The third type of youth is interested in missionary service, but feels inadequate, ill-equipped, and hesitant about God’s call. Without any encouragement, their interest in missions may soon die.

The goal with regard to the first type of student is to offer support and training. The goal with regard to the second and third type of student is to help them to keep thinking and praying about missions. Proper follow-up can help them to see that God can use them and that the church will support them.

RESOURCES
The following organizations and publications are helpful in the follow-up process.

The Association of Church Missions Committees (1620 South Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016) has a variety of resources, conferences, and publications.

"Candidate Preparation: The Responsibility of the Local Church" (a resource article available from the Missions Department of Crossroads Bible Church, 1670 Moorpark Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128 or at Los Gatos Christian Church, 16845 Hicks Road, Los Gatos, CA 95030). This article defines the church’s responsibilty selecting, equipping, and sending out missionary candidates.

Institute of International Studies (1605 East Elizabeth Street, Pasadena, CA 91104) offers a variety of training institutes in the basics of missions. These institutions are often used for academic credit at college, so they are exceptionally valuable for the college-age student.

Inter-Christo (Box 9323, Seattle, WA 98109) has the ability of matching the interest, abilities, and desires of the candidate with potential service opportunities around the world. The Inter-Christo opportunities directory contains thousands of mission service opportunities, and it is an excellent reservoir of knowledge for the missions committee (contains both career and short-term opportunities).

Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and Inter-Varsity Missions (233 Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53703) has an array of resources for follow-up. Inter-Varsity sponsors both the Urbana missionary conferences and the new Urbana-Onward Conferences. The latter are designated specifically to follow-up those who have decided to pursue missions service. The Inter-Varsity Missions division has literature, media tools, conferences, and training programs. Write for "Mission Services to IVCF/ SFMF Chapters."

Missionary Internship, Inc. (Box 457, 36200 Freedom Road, Farmington, MI 48024) offers one-year internships for short-term experiences. They also offer a pre-field orientation that is designated to help prepare people for short-term service.

"What’s Wrong With Taking Volunteers?" (article by David Hesselgrave in Evangelical Missions Quarterly, July, 1974) is one of the strongest exhorations concerning the need to select people for missions service rather than merely accepting any who volunteer. Other publications on this theme are two books by Michael Griffiths (formerly of Overseas Missionary Fellowship) entitled Who Really Sends the Missionary? and Get Your Church Involved in Missions (both are available through OMF Books, 404 South Church Street, Robesonia, PA 19551).

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