Over the past 17 days, I was privileged to watch young athletes from all over the world display their talents and it was INCREDIBLE! Now, I didn't get to watch everything, some of the games were new to me (handball?), and I certainly wasn't into the politics of the Olympics. But being a pastor who has worked with students the past 37 years, what I saw further confirmed my hope in this next generation of you people! Here is what was confirmed:
1 - Young People Are Amazing! From the opening ceremonies to the closing ceremonies, the displays of talent, passion & character these young people demonstrated was amazing! From helping others finish a race, to throwing your Gold medal up to one of your teammates, to colliding with another runner - only to get up and win the race, to making decisions for mental health - these young people showed their amazing hearts & I love it! I've always treated the students this way in every ministry I've been a part of and it is sooooo true! GSM students - y'all are amazing!
2 - Young People Will Rise To The Level They Are Challenged! As I watched these young athletes claim their medals, I also was reminded of the hard work each of them put in long before they got to Tokyo. None of us know the exact details, but I guarantee that each of them devoted time, money, practice, sacrifice & more time to their sport. Blood, sweat & tears were much of their daily routine in order to compete at such a high level. I wonder if that is why so many students leave student ministry? Our public school system pushes them to learn things they don't understand, coaches push them to work harder and then when they come to church, we play with them & they leave under-challenged. We must RAISE THE BAR in student ministry! Expect little, get little. Expect much, get much! GSM students, you can do this!
3 - Young People Are Capable Of Making Hard Decisions! - Regardless of how you feel about Simone Biles dropping out due to mental health issues, what we saw was a young person in the spotlight make a very difficult decision that she knew would cause a lot of controversy, but she did it anyway! Students are stronger than we think and capable of more than we think, we need to let them lead! GSM students, now is your time to take a stand for truth!
4 - Young People Need Older People Pouring Into Them! - Did you notice the coaches for each of these athletes & teams? All of them were older. All of them had wisdom. All of them had years of experience. And all of them worked tirelessly to push these athletes. A great coach makes you do what you don't want to do so that you can become what you want to become. Doing a routine for the 7th time in a row, practicing basics over & over, memorizing plays, getting constructive criticism - all the works of a good coach. The most successful athletes & teams aren't the ones with the best skills, but the ones who do the basics well! GSM students - get yourself into a discipling relationship & get the G.O.S.P.E.L. down so you can be a more useful tool in the hand of God!
5 - Young People Represent More Than Just Themselves! The athletes at the olympics were all part of teams, teams that were part of countries, and countries that are all part of the world we all live in. Amongst the diversity, there was unity. I saw athletes from different countries congratulating other athletes who just beat them. I saw teams listening to their anthems and hugging other teams. And every athlete represented their country (ok, maybe not Russia, but that's another issue). GSM students - we are called to be God's Ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) - to represent Him wherever we go and whenever we can! Our friends need to know God loves them, that our sins separate us from God and that we can't do anything about it. But that Jesus payed the price for our sin and everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life! Let's share this Good News and watch God do amazing things!
There is sooooooo much more I could say - Thank you Jesus for the privilege of working with the largest population of teens in our world ever - 1 Billion!!!
'Til every student, everywhere, hears the Gospel from a friend!
