I was recently asked to write a piece for the Foursquare NextGen National Newsletter, here’s a preview. My next blog will provoke more conversation.

     Jesus once told an exciting story comparing the kingdom of God to a wedding banquet. This was not just any wedding banquet, but a royal reception for the king’s very son; an epic event with an incomparable feast hosted by the king himself. The red carpet was rolled out for the most elite of guests, but as we know, not only were the invitations rejected, but even a personal invitation given by the king’s son resulted in the murder of the messengers who brought it! In a turn of events, the gracious king extended this opportunity to everyone in the city, particularly the outcast and rejected. And suddenly a beautiful picture is revealed of the homeless, the sick, the lame, and the unclean appointed as worthy to sit around the table in celebration with the king.  Those that were filthy and begging for food find themselves in fresh clean white robes enjoying the feast of a lifetime at the same table as the king!

     This is by far my favorite description of God’s kingdom, but until recently, I was not sure how accurately this described the reality of our youth ministry.  It is easy for all of us to visualize ourselves as the unworthy guests in the story, who were given an unbelievable opportunity, one that we have already chosen and accepted.  But as pastors or youth workers, do we visualize ourselves as the servants extending the invitation on behalf of the king?  If so, what does that look like?  Are we scouting the city boundaries to make certain that anyone and everyone hears this great news?  Are we treading new areas and uncharted territories to be sure that each potential guest has received an invitation?

     Being raised in the Foursquare family at The Church on The Way and having been a part of Southern California Foursquare Youth (SC4Y), I was given a front row seat to observe an incredible season of our Foursquare history in the making.  But now serving as a pastor to this generation, I can’t help but sense the emergence and magnitude of what God is stirring within the hearts and spirit of these young people.  It was almost one year ago exactly, that I watched a stadium full of teenage revolutionaries walk away from IMAGINE, the Next Gen Summit, impregnated with a heartbreaking compassion for the victimized and abandoned.  This was not just a much needed wake-up call, but rather a newfound sense of ownership that translated into the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. This year, I have been blown away at the utter transformation of my youth group.  They have gone from grateful guests at the party to passionate servants of the King as they wade waist-deep into the Father’s business.

     Yvonne Rodriquez, a sixteen your old girl, singlehandedly organized a school event with HOOPS OF HOPE, arranging for peer volunteers to shoot basketballs that would generate finances toward the development of an AIDS clinic in Africa.  Pablo Lopez, at just 12 years old, is laying the framework and has already begun collecting money for his own nonprofit which he calls “The Integrity Fund,” the proceeds of which directly sponsor families in need within our church’s surrounding neighborhood.   On a weekly basis, our youth group pools their spending money to sponsor a young girl in Nicaragua named Luisa, through COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL, as well as finance a fresh water well project in Malawi, made possible by WATER WELLS FOR AFRICA.  And then there is Project Hood.

     Project Hood (a play on words for “neighborhood project”) is our church family’s effort to reach the lost and the marginalized within our community. I can proudly say that our youths’ passion and ambition has spearheaded this project, focusing on a handful of local opportunities within walking distance of our church building: the city skate park, senior citizen center, and the local laundromat.

     The free city skate park is a hub for the rejected; nobody wants these kids on their property.  I can’t tell you the joy I have experienced after church on a Sunday morning watching our kids drag cases of bottled water down to the skate park, handing them out to these skateboarders with love, no strings attached.  The only condition is that  the youth learn the skateboarders’ names, so they can remember them the next time as they attempt to build relationships.

     The Highland Park Senior Center has also been an incredible arena to watch God’s work.  Every last Saturday of the month, when Social Security money is stretched the tightest; we provide a meal for the seniors, along with friendship and good conversation. The elderly love our kids and utterly radiate with appreciation for their service and company; you simply can’t over spiritualize God’s place for widows and the friendless in His kingdom. But my favorite way we help meet the needs in our community is through our Laundry Love Project. 

     LLP (organized through JUST ONE, a nonprofit directed at poverty, orphans, and human trafficking) is a network of laundromat sites at which we host free laundry service for families once a month. Poverty in our city of Highland Park is an everyday reality, especially for the crippling number of single moms within blocks of our church. After a few loads of laundry with one of these moms a couple months in a row, you can’t close your eyes to very real presence of the kingdom of God that is available in the here and now.

     Imagine with me: you are standing at the King’s unbelievable wedding reception amongst all the guests and servants.  Take a look around,.  Who are the guests you have invited?  What do the servants that you have trained look like?  Where have they traveled? As youth leaders and servants of the King, our mission is not only to invite young people to the banquet, but to disciple, equip, and encourage them in the transformation from fellow-guest to fellow-servant.  Our Foursquare heritage was established by a dream to do whatever it takes to reach God’s people.  As I pull up my front row seat to all that our King is doing through this generation, both this year and the years to come, I can’t shake the feeling that the youth of our Foursquare family are becoming part of legend. 

But that could just be a proud youth pastor talking : )