Young in missions

I was recently asked if I would be able to write a guest post on the topic of young people in mission, how to get them involved with mission, and what I see my generation being excited about.

Mission can be defined as “the vocation or calling of a religious organization, especially a Christian one, to go out into the world and spread its faith or to do humanitarian work.” I see my generation and the generation of young people passionate about making a difference, working together, and in general just doing something. With that being said, young people can get involved with missions by volunteering their time to serve others, whether it be at a soup kitchen, working with Habitat for Humanity, sorting food at a food bank, spending time at a nursing home, etc it is all mission. However, when it comes to sharing our faith, that can be a little tricky since I feel like many young people are hesitant on sharing their faith with others because we have the mind set that there is only one right way to share our faith or we are afraid that we won’t have all the answers or might mess up. Therefore, young people need to be shown or taught how to share their faith and what sharing your faith means (it can be as simple as sharing with someone how God has impacted your life and how He continues to work in your life) You may not have an extravagant life changing testimony however, everyone, including young people still have a testimony that should be shared, they just need to be encouraged to share what’s going on in their lives and how God is at work.

Young people also have passions and that’s a great way to get them involved in mission work. If they find their passion or find a cause they want to stand for then they can get involved and make a difference. I have seen young people dedicate their summer to working to raise money for a mission trip or to raising funds to go towards a cause that they are passionate about. Passion is somewhat the key in getting young people involved in mission and that’s how I got involved in mission. I wasn’t forced to be involved in missions but I had the passion to be involved in mission and making a difference.

I am currently a US-2 young adult missionary that just graduated college however; I would say that I have always been involved with missions. At a young age, I realized that I had a passion and desire to help others and would volunteer my time whenever possible. I have helped at food kitchens, food banks, building houses with Habitat for Humanity, building ramps with Rebuilding Together, going on mission trips, and so much more. You see, I found my passion and I found the gift that God had given me and that’s why I am now in full time ministry working in Dallas as a young adult missionary. It starts with finding your passion and what God has gifted you with and then it evolves from there. I believe that’s how you get young people involved in mission; by helping them find their passion, their God given gifts, and providing them with options. Not everyone is meant to do the same thing but missions is everywhere and there’s something for everyone to do, you just have to find what that something is and it may take time but starting at a young age is worth it and will carry on and evolve as you grow.

As I just stated, I am a young adult missionary through the United Methodist church and I had the privileged of getting to know 28 other young adults and be commissioned with them as missionaries and sent to placement sites throughout the United States and over seas. Since being apart of the young adult program, I have had the chance to hear other young adults stories and why they are in missions and nobody has the same story, each of us got involved in missions for different reasons but we all have the same desire to see justice happen and to work with others to make a difference and share the light of God with those in need. I see my generation being excited about working toward justice and decreasing the injustice in the world. I see my generation excited about sharing our faith with others and serving others. I see my generation excited about being the light of God in the broken world and bringing hope to those that may feel hopeless. That’s what I see my generation being excited about and how I see young people in mission. We are a generation of young people making a change; it just takes finding our passion and purpose to take the step toward being involved in mission.