Students want to do big things; they just need the support.
It was my senior year of high school that my faith became serious to me. Action was necessary to see my relationship with Jesus grow. The closer I grew to God, the more I wanted to do for His kingdom. Something I felt God call me to do in my high school career was organize a night of worship for my peers at my high school. It was a big dream that God laid on my heart but, of course, there were doubts and fears that followed this dream. I had a big task in front of me and didn’t know how I would do this.
The people that I proceeded to tell about this dream helped me create stepping stones that would get me where I needed to be. Those people included my close friends from school, my parents, and my youth leaders. Each group of people listened to my dream and wanted to support me the whole way through this process of planning a night of worship.
This event was called Enlightened and led completely by high school students in my public high school. We had a student led band, students sharing testimonies, commitments made for Christ, and more events being planned for the rest of the year. 600 people showed up to worship at our school that night! After hearing the stories and testimonies of students that attended Enlightened, I knew this was something God had been preparing me to do for a long time. The leaders in my life knew it as well because they helped shape me into who I was becoming! How they lived their lives gave me an example of how to live out my faith as God called me to. As I look back to their influence in my life, I see how crucial it was to be surrounded by supporters of my ministry and who I was becoming in Christ.
The reason I felt like I could pursue Enlightened was because I had the support of my peers, my parents, and my youth leaders. When I told them about my idea, they gave me feedback that wasn’t just excitement, but foundational for next steps. My peers encouraged me by standing alongside me. When I talked to my parents, they shared my enthusiasm but also wanted to make sure I knew where I was going next. When I told my youth leaders, they felt the energy in the air and also asked what they could do to help me with the preparation. These were my supporters that encouraged me through the planning process of the first Enlightened event.
God had called me and was with me. Then He provided a team of people that would surround me and help me make this dream become a reality. Support helped me succeed. It wasn’t anything that I could do that would get me there, it was God’s hand and His Church that pushed me to do the next step and continually work towards my goal.
Young people are waiting to do bold things for Christ. They just need someone to push them to do it! They need someone older and wiser and more experienced to hear what they have to say as well as contribute their wisdom from their life experiences. I loved hearing stories from my youth leaders about events they have seen and done in the past. My parents were always giving me insight in certain situations that I had never experienced before. As much as young people hate to admit it, we need to hear advice from our parents and leaders in our lives. Maybe not in a traditional “sit-down-at-the-table-and-let’s-talk” way, but in a way that we can approach them, knowing we can freely share ideas and goals. If we receive encouragement and wisdom, it only makes us want to get to work and make our goals happen! Support gives us a place to push off the surface and reach for the stars.
Our leaders do a great job leading us young people. We appreciate your sermons, your small group questions, life lessons, and your leadership in our lives. But what means the world to us is when you support us when we decide to take the Church outside of it’s walls. That is what we want to do! Your messages and your encouragement inspire us to do that. Will you be there to support us through the trials, the failures, and the success? That means the world to us. You mean the world to us. Your support means so much as we grow into people that can hopefully become more like you.
Every student has a different passion and a different style of how they can minister to others. What students can contribute to the world is like a song. They write it because they are inspired by Christ to share a message with people. Every song is different and unique to it’s writer because it represents their passions. I want to encourage any leaders and parents out there to help your students grow into men and women who can put their passions to action. Your support, prayer, and presence will contribute to what they can create and do for the Kingdom.
Students want to do big things; they just need the support.
Olivia Eckart
Guest Blogger
Olivia is a first year student at Indiana Wesleyan University and presents the Enlightened concept to students across the country, encouraging them to do big things for Christ.
© 2016, Never The Same