24th
a trend that’s gots to go.
As I serve in a Korean Ministry, I’ve become very aware of an urgent agenda that many Korean churches (particularly smaller ones) are beginning to push: To bring back youth group alumni to form young adult EM groups.
I get it. The urgency, that is. The boom of 1st gen Elder-dominated KM’s is quickly waning and congregations are questioning the future of their ministries. They feel like they’ve found their answer in their children, who are now in their 20’s and 30’s. But here’s the thing, their children are, for whatever reason, either not attending church or attending different churches. Now, push has come to shove and for many small KM’s, this push has rapidly expanded into a campaign. Last night, a few old friends from youth group and I shared stories of how we’ve been receiving many (many) phone calls from that new youth group pastor that has been charged to start an EM.
Damn. You can almost hear the crunch as that proverbial bus he’s been thrown under runs him over.
Enough of the negativity. Here’s what I wish. I wish these KM’s would trust in God’s sovereignty a little more, even if it means that their ministries end. Because if they do indeed end, that’s not an indication of failure. There are no scoreboards in the Kingdom. God has lifted up their ministries in the past, and perhaps it is time for Him to raise up new ministries for a new generation.
I wish our home churches would love us more. Enough so that our spiritual health takes precedent over the survival of their names and legacies. I wish they’d be more open to, and even genuinely happy, that we have, since our departures, pioneered and joined new territories of His Kingdom.
And I wish that dude would stop calling me. Because I love and appreciate my home church. And it kills me to keep saying no.
