Any regular reader of this site knows my appreciation for NextGen (18-23 year old) leaders. What you may not know is that I also have a deep appreciation for a group called FutGen Leaders. These are the 13-17 year-old future Christian leaders. One of these individuals would be my 7th grade daughter Anna.
Recently, she wrote a paper for her composition class called “My 3 Churches”. I found it absolutely fascinating as it gives us a window into mind of young Christians and what leadership may look like in the next decade. Tomorrow, I will give some observations from what you are about to read.
For clarity, please know that our home church, Fellowship Bible, does not have Sunday or Wednesday evening services. Enjoy!
“You might be seeing the title ‘My 3 Churches,’ and asking yourself, what type of person attends 3 churches on a regular basis? Well, to answer your question, that would be me. I go to 3 different churches. I have different things that I thoroughly enjoy about each of these, but they all help make my life what it is. Each one has impacted my walk with God and other people in some way, shape, or form. Some ways are hidden and others are smack-you-in-the-face obvious. I hope this essay inspires you to look at your church in a different way and to see what church really does for us.
Fellowship Bible Church is my home church because I have gone there since 2nd grade. I was baptized here and it really is my home away from home because I spend a lot of time at the church. Here, everyone knows me, and I know everyone. Some of my favorite things about the church are the people who are in leadership. Two women have drastically changed my life and perspective. They make this church easier to walk into, because like every church, there are some great things and some tough things. I have been able to build some good friendships here, and Fellowship has an amazing junior high program that gets the students involved in the community. It is truly a great church to grow up in.
Passion City Church is what I like to call ‘the insane, crazy, rock out and dance church.’ This is the type of church that when you walk in, you just get pumped up because you can sense God doing amazing things here! I have been going to Passion City for about a year and a half and we always get so disappointed when we can’t make it. Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, and Christy Nockels lead the worship. I had the opportunity to meet them at various activities at the church. It is so incredible to be one of first people in the world to hear their new music before it hits the stores. The pastor is Louie Giglio, who is about the most hilarious pastor out there. He is awesome! I had the privilege of taking my best friend Rachel here last week. We had the best time, and made of ton of memories. It is a great place to bring your friends to experience incredible teaching and worship, wherever they are in their walk with the Lord. I absolutely love this church!
Nothing beats hanging out and worshipping with your friends on a Wednesday night! I had some friends from my school invite me to come with them and ever since then, I haven’t stopped talking about how much fun Planet Woodstock (First Baptist Church) on Wednesday nights is! I know all of the music because most of it is either Passion or Jesus Culture, so I can rest assured that I’m always in for a treat with the worship. Pastor Rick is so funny. His messages always seem to stick with me throughout the week. His teachings really get me thinking and doing the self-check on myself. I always know that I will take something from his message and will teach others about God because of it. If it wasn’t for this church, I wouldn’t know a lot of what I do know about God, His word, and the importance of sharing it with others.
Church is a very large part of my life. I absolutely love my 3 churches and look forward to going when I can. Fellowship is your typical “I go here every week and was raised here church”. Passion City is your insane, crazy, rock out and dance church, and Planet Woodstock is just where you can go worship with your friends and have an outstanding time while doing it. Church is awesome! My 3 churches helped me see what church does is in my life and how it impacts my life.
Now it’s your turn. Do you really see your church as a church that helps and moves you to do things for God? Or is it just a church that you are forced to go to and don’t really like? I hope this essay gets you thinking, and more importantly, worshipping.”
Not bad for a 13-year-old! I don’t even want to think about what was going through my mind at that age. Certainly it was nothing like this. As I mentioned, tomorrow I will give some key leadership insights on this generation that I learned from this post.
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