Unlike past generations, young people today aren’t looking for the meaning of life. Instead, they’re searching for meaning in life, a purpose to live for, something they can pour their hearts and their souls into... something that makes their lives worth living!
The Bible teaches that God made everyone, including young people, with an identity and a reason for living. What a difference it would make in the life of a young person if he or she felt truly and wholly accepted by God? What if they understood – deeply – that they belonged to the family of God? Or that the hand of God will guide them – deliberately – throughout life?
Most teenagers struggle with love and acceptance. Or goal is to build into their lives the precious knowledge that they were created as an object of God’s love. Can you imagine how different teenagers would be if they really, truly believed that God made them for His own joy?
Teenagers search for a group where they can belong, a place where they can feel accepted. I believe they do this because God created each one of us with a longing for belonging. Ephesians 1:5 teaches us, “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family.”
We have a responsibility to be to help our teenagers become more and more like Christ... this is why we invest so much into the youth programs at Celebrate. And this is why I am ecstatic that in just a few hours, 200 teenagers will depart for a spiritually revolutionizing Fall Retreat!
Studies show most people who come to Christ – at least in the United States – come to Him before they turn 18. Other studies show people are far more receptive to hearing the Gospel from a friend than a stranger. As our teens depart this weekend on this Fall Retreat let’s believe for God through His Holy Spirit that this is a memorable and life changing spiritual encounter. And when they return, let's continue to pray for them, invest in them, and believe in them!!
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