WHAT IS THE STATE OF OUR YOUTHS TODAY? - GBENGA KOLAWOLE

What is the state of the church and Youth today?

I cannot answer all the questions but let me share some of my thoughts with you. A survey was done in America recently about the future of the evangelical movement. The conclusion was that the church is losing her youth to the world and that most churches will be empty in the future. We are not attractive to our youths.

It happened in Europe now it is hitting America. If we don't do something about it, it will happen in Nigeria, probably starting in the homes of the affluent whose kids study abroad and have access to DSTV, foreign films etc. Today in Europe you find empty Cathedrals with a few old women struggling to keep the doors open. Many churches are selling their properties to developers for smart flats with high ceilings. In some cases, Muslims with petrodollars are buying former churches to convert them into mosques.

Who are we losing our kids to? We are losing them to MTV, Channel O and other music channels. The founder of MTV was quoted as saying we own 14 year olds. Have you watched some of these musical videos with your kids before? Some of the favorite artistes are Tupac (rapper now dead) 50 cents (Nigerian Breweries brought him some years ago) Snoop Dogg (This Day brought him sometimes). Channel O is available at Mr. Biggs Outlets. Our youths have been invaded. These artistes have become role models. 50 Cents was an ex-prisoner who has made good rapping. Have you seen any of his musical videos? He sells sex, beautiful women, good times, Jewellery, fast cars etc. You don't have to stay up to one hour in any Mr. Biggs before 50 Cents comes up. We have others like Whitney Houston / Bobby Brown, Janet Jackson etc.

Most teenagers who cannot recite 3 lines of scriptures have memorized all the songs of Madonna, Janet Jackson, 50 Cents or that of their favorite artistes. I understand Snoop Dogg was surprised that the crowd at This Day Concert could sing along with him on most of his songs.

Who are we losing our kids to? Hollywood, Nollywood, Big Brother Africa etc. I found out the favorite one for the teenage girls was channel E. They also loved watching Jerry Springer and cheaters. Most teenagers today can give you a lecture on the love life of stars of Hollywood. They talk about Spice girls, the Paris sisters, Footballers wives etc. It is true that these Channels have a PG rating but they discuss issues that are adult issues. Channel E also has programs such as "The girls of the Playboy mansion" also rated family. Your teenage boys and girls are being treated to soft pornography, being taught that adultery and divorce is not a big thing, which is the stuff Hollywood is made of. Your young teenager is not innocent anymore. They dance differently nowadays. We felt blues was the height of it in our days. They now have another kind of dance that is practically close to making love on the dancing floor without removing their clothes.

Do you know what some of them do with their cameras on their mobile phones? They send X-rated pictures of themselves to their boyfriends / girlfriends. In Europe young girls go out with the intention of getting drunk. Many have their drinks spiked and raped. A few months ago, a young Nigerian from a prominent Nigerian family was jailed for raping some British girls by drugging them.

Do you know what internet sites your children are viewing? Young girls visit chat rooms where older men lure them into harms' way. Who do you think are most likely to join secret societies and clubs on Campus?

With all these activities going on in the lives of the teenagers and our youth, the church is losing out. Many of you do not want to hear what I am talking about. Why? You have a good kid. Really? I know of a young girl who was impregnated recently in one of the popular Christian Universities in Nigeria. The parents are respected elders in the church.

We are talking of teenagers here, many below 15 from affluent people. I understand some teenagers also are in the habit of sniffing glue. Please parents watch your children. Let us be honest, the world today is getting more attractive than the church.

Please, lets make the church relevant mostly for our youth. We need to have a vibrant youth church that engages these Youths every time.

God bless the Youths

Gbenga Kolawole

Youth Pastor

Salvation Model Area

NATIONAL YOUTH CONVENTION 2011

WHO I ASPIRE TO BE? By Pastor Gbenga Kolawole

SUCCESFUL INAUGURATION

WELCOME

Hi,

Sequel to the successful Special Youth Summit, we have decided to inaugurate a youth fellowship to be called TRANSFORMED YOUTH FELLOWSHIP. It will be interdenominational in it's operation.

We want to be able to have young, dynamic and vibrant youth s who are on fire for God, TRANSFORMED BY GOD AND READY TO TRANSFORM THEIR WORLD.

They will become change agents anywhere they are. To be a part of this group, you can start by subscribing to this blog so you can always get an update on events and happenings among our youths.

Meanwhile, I have a gift for the first ten subscribers, it's my e-book titled 'WHAT LOVE IS NOT' It's a list to watch out for and follow when somebody says he or she is in love with you. They are signs you should watch out for in any relationship you are into. Don't miss it.

You can always contact me for your questions.

Ayotunde

Christian Courting In A Secular World

The courting world might be an unsettling place for these hoping to carry on to robust Christian convictions. Once you find somebody that sparks your pursuits chances are you’ll discover that dating whereas living in response to your faith and beliefs takes a little bit work. It may be done although and listed below are a number of methods to hold on to your Christian religion whereas dating today.

Find a Potential Mate to Date Who Shares Your Faith

This goes deeper than shared religion. You’ll want to be courting solely somebody who shares your stage of dedication to your religion in Christ. Someone who has similar objectives and ideals in relation to household, worship, and dedication to Christ goes to be a better match for you and will likely be more understanding of your desire to dwell and act in line with your beliefs

Discuss Limits, Expectations, and Needs with Every Different

As your Christian courting relationship progresses there’ll come a time when you’ll both need to sit down down together and talk about your limits, your desires, and your goals concerning intimacy and the physical nature of your ongoing relationship relationship. You’d be stunned at how many dating-and married–couples are supposed to like each other deeply but know very little concerning the hopes and dreams of their partners.

Open communication is the key to any profitable courting relationship however is very important if you find yourself attempting to stay and date above the methods of the world. When you have a Christ-centered relationship you’ll nonetheless face the same temptations that different dating-couples experience. The difference is that you may be in a much better position to withstand temptation if you are in settlement on firm relationship boundaries.

Pray Together As a Christian Singles Couple

There is a smart old saying: “The household that prays together, stays together.” This is additionally true for couples, whether or not courting or already married. Praying together solidifies your union, strengthens your commitments to one another, and affirms your collective dedication to God. Any recipe for relationship success in terms of Christian relationship relationships must embody God as an integral a part of the relationship. Remember that long hours of praying alone together can usher in physical temptation. So keep your prayers together quick and in a semi-public place for the sake of relationship purity earlier than marriage.

Worship Together As a Christian Singles Couple

Make certainly one of your regular dates attending church services together. Take part in Bible examine groups together. Construct a relationship jointly throughout the safety internet of your Christian faith. As you grow to be more committed to at least one another and to God you possibly can expand your dating experiences to more secular activities if you want but there is nothing fallacious with holding a Christ-centered relationship as your primary focus. In any case, a Christian dating relationship is sort of a triangle with God at the high and the person and woman at every nook of the base, the nearer a man and lady get to God, the closer they get to one another as they move up the triangle.

Encompass Yourselves With Positive Christian Couples

There may be little or no that can compare to fellowship with different Christian couples who share your dedication to Christ with regards to helping you stand your moral floor while dating. There are a lot of temptations that you will face as a Christian couple dating in at present’s world, a fallen world that views dating and morality far in a different way than Christians do.

The secular world through which we reside might not be ideally suited for Christian dating however it’s nonetheless attainable to carry true to Christian beliefs and set your self aside from worldlier courting practices. Change into beacons of life for one another and replicate your commitment to Christ by your courting deeds in addition to your words.

God Is The Best Matchmaker or Relationship Service There Is When It Comes to Bringing Two Christian Singles Collectively

Perhaps you haven’t yet met the one which God wants you to marry. Do not allow anxiety or desperation to put you right into a courting stress cooker. Calm down and belief God to convey dating success as you mature in Christ. Get pleasure from each stage of your Christian life. If single, enjoy singleness, retaining in thoughts that sometime you will probably have far much less free time with a partner and probably children to love and care for.

Get a Date tonight through christian singles dating just by clicking on http://www.dating-christian.org/

WORK THE WAIT- STEPHANIE VOIDLAND

The following article is located at: http://www.kyria.com/topics/spiritualformation/theologyspiritualissues/mind0709.html

Work the Wait

How I make the most of God's delays

by Stephanie Voiland | posted 7/09/2008

When will I get my turn to hang a white dress in my closet?" I mumbled as I hung up my fourth bridesmaid dress last summer. A single 29-year-old, I'd watched friend after friend join the ranks of "Mrs."; I couldn't help but wonder, How much longer, God?

As I contemplated my life's many delays, I realized I don't like waiting—and I'm not very good at it. But I wanted to grow during my waiting seasons rather than become bitter or lose faith. So I asked God to show me how he's working through these divine delays.

Reminders of Redemption

Sometimes, a wait seems to have no apparent reason. The delay is simply the product of a sin–ravaged world.

My friend Tiffanie, after finishing grad school, spent months searching for a job. As leads failed to pan out into paychecks, she became discouraged.

Yet, much to my admiration, Tiffanie refused to anesthetize the waiting ache. For three months, she fasted from TV because she believed God had "given me the time (whether I asked for it or not) to reflect on what I have and where I'm headed."

Strangely, it's in the bleakest waiting moments that God's intervention manifests itself
most clearly.

Throughout those agonizing months, God showed up in ways more profound than a job offer. She was looking for a way to support herself; God taught her a new level of dependence on him. She was desperately waiting for a potential employer's phone call; instead, God spoke into her soul's quiet places. She was searching for a genie–god to provide instantly for her needs; God blew her away by revealing he's much better and bigger than she'd ever dreamed.

Eventually, Tiffanie landed a job, and she was grateful for the answered prayer. But she was even more grateful to learn God meets us through the waiting journey in ways beyond those originally asked or imagined. And he lovingly reminds us he can redeem any situation.

The Timing of Trust

Strangely, it's in the bleakest waiting moments that God's intervention manifests itself most clearly. Sometimes, those miracles are glamorous. We receive the perfect job, the physical healing, the necessary funds—and the wait is over.

But other times, God does the miracle in us.

Not long ago, as I was sitting down to dinner with my parents, they received a phone call from a hospital: "Your son's been in an accident … . Can't give details … . Come as soon as you can … ." In a trance, I stumbled to the car with my parents and sister. Those two hours on the way to the hospital were the longest of my life. I wish my immediate reaction had been peace, communion with God, or some other super–spiritual phenomenon. But the feeling in my gut was more like numbness and nausea. My mind churned with questions: Is he going to survive? Will he walk again? Waiting for details unknown and out of my control was terrifying.

Somewhere between my parents' home and the hospital, however, a remarkable thing happened. Ever so subtly in that night's uncertainty, the Holy Spirit crept into my personal waiting room. I was still terrified. But underneath that layer of fear, I found myself standing on an infinitely solid truth, one no car accident could steal. I didn't know what we'd find when we arrived at the hospital. But I knew whatever it was, God would still be God.

My circumstances hadn't changed. Yet in the midst of waiting, I'd learned a new kind of trust. And this learning, in itself, was almost like a miracle.

Thankfully, my brother walked out of the hospital a week later with merely a row of stitches above one eye and a scar over his left lung. I walked away with a fresh perspective on what it means to trust God without knowing the outcome. Waiting seasons are still painful. But deep within me, God is at work, assuring me he won't waste my heartaches. That even if he doesn't make my situations better, he'll somehow make me better through them.

A Compassionate Presence

Often a wait seems long when life doesn't unfold according to our agendas. But sometimes God has amazing reasons for a delay.

I learned that great lesson about waiting from the story of Lazarus's resurrection (John 11). Jesus was good friends with Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. Christ even crashed at their place occasionally. So surely when he heard  Lazarus was ill, he'd rush to his side and heal him! Instead, we read this haunting sentence: "Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days" (verses 5–6). My knee–jerk reaction is to cry, "Hello! Why were you waiting? That's not love!" Martha and Mary were slightly more diplomatic, but they expressed the same sentiment: "Lord, if only you had been here" (verses 21 and 32).

With our limited vision, Mary, Martha, and I couldn't see God sometimes doesn't give us what we request so he can give us something better. Jesus said the death of Lazarus "happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory for this" (verse 4). Granted, a healing would have been amazing. But Jesus had a bigger plan that couldn't occur without Lazarus's time in the grave.

While waiting for this plan to unfold, Mary and Martha must have taken comfort in one small action of Jesus. It would have been easy to miss, since it fell somewhere between their initial grief and Jesus' most astounding miracle. The moment is easy for us to overlook too, since it's recorded in the Bible's shortest verse: "Jesus wept" (verse 35). He hurt because he saw Mary and Martha's pain.

He doesn't orchestrate broken bodies and hearts as some sort of spiritual boot camp, while he stands aloof shouting orders. He doesn't insist we get over our waiting ache. Rather, he aches and walks with us to help us navigate our fractured world.

The flesh–and–blood God, who shed real tears, was with Mary and Martha. And when we feel alone in our wait, he promises the same: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

I'd still like a white dress to hang in my closet someday—preferably someday soon. But now as I wait, I'm careful not merely to mark time, so preoccupied with what's next that I miss out on what's now. I'm striving to wait well. And part of waiting well, I've learned, is being open to God's lessons about redemption, trust, compassion, and his higher purposes along the way.

Until I see God face–to–face, I'll always wait for something. Or rather, Someone. And as I long for earthly things, I'll allow them to point me to the deepest longing in my soul. He's the One I await.

Stephanie Voiland, an editor and TCW regular contributor, lives in Illinois.

I believe this article has blessed you. Wait and see the salvation of the Lord.

Pastor Ayo