Our Responsibility to Our Youth

Spring is in the air, track and baseball are in full swing, and the Mexico missions team is raising support again. This being our fourth year going back to Monterrey, (July 10–17) I am sure for many the excitement and newness of the trip has worn off. However, I would like to express two reasons why the trip is not only still exciting but serves a vital role in the life of our congregation, and challenge all of you to commit to praying for the team as well as prayerfully consider supporting us financially.

First of all, in January we had our annual meeting where we discussed, among other things, the church budget. During the meeting several members asked why we don’t spend more money on missions. It became evident that many of you have a desire to see the gospel furthered and kingdom work accomplished here in Yorktown as well as all over the world. We came out of that meeting with a resolve to give more aid to missions work, and in response to this the session added $1,000 to our foreign missions budget. This money is being used to aid Campus Crusade’s trips to East Asia and increase our support of the Pfeils in Japan.

We are now asking you, as members of the congregation, to help us support the annual Mexico missions trip. It is so exciting to see how God continues to strengthen the relationships and sense of family among New Life and Bethel Iglesia, the church we work with in Monterrey. The more we continue to partner with these people the smaller our cultural walls become and the more entwined our worlds and spiritual lives become.

Secondly, when Pastor Bob baptizes a child, he asks us: “Do you, as a congregation, undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child?” Each time we, as a congregation, respond “we do.” We have made a commitment to our children, to our families, and to God to do all that is in our power to nurture the growth of His children.

Each year the Mexico trip has a tremendous impact on our teenagers to become more serious about their faith, to see the world through a gospel-centered lens, and experience having to rely on God in ways they never have before. And this year we have an even larger team with several students joining us from other churches.

Last year, one of our teenagers was describing to me this realization that had occurred to him while in Mexico. He explained that for the first time he had this confidence in scripture and in the gospel that he had never experienced before, and he felt that against all odds he just knew the gospel was true. This is a beautiful example of a young man experiencing assurance of salvation in a new and exciting way. Similarly, half of our foreign missions committee consists of high school youth that are now taking seriously kingdom work on a global level. If you take seriously the commitment you have made to our children and nurturing their spiritual lives, please support the Mexico trip in any way you can.

“The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’” (Jer. 1:4–5)

God has been at work in our lives and the lives of our children from before the beginning of time, and He is calling us to partner together as a congregation and as a global church to see the gospel spread and nurtured in our lives and communities. Please support the Mexico trip with your prayers and finances and watch how God will use it to grow our congregation, further His kingdom, and enrich your spiritual walk.

In His grace,
Adam & the 2010 Mexico Team

If you are interested in supporting the Monterrey Team, please contact contact the church office.