According to statistics, 97 percent of teens in America play videogames. 99% of boys play videogames and 94% of girls. Other studies show that young people tend to spend just under 8 hours a day on television, video games, and the computer. That’s a lot of hours behind a screen!
According to further statistics, less than 40% of Maryland’s residents consider themselves Christians, and of these a shockingly low number preach Jesus as the only way to salvation.
At CBM we have nothing against video games. Many of our young interns have jumped through portals or slain dragons in Skyrim. P.S. the cake is a lie.
The question is, what would happen if most teenagers laid down the controller, powered down the phone, chose not to sign up for swim team, asked his/her parents to plan family vacations in early June, and spent the rest of the Summer as a missionary? What would actually be accomplished? Is it something that someone else could do instead?
The first accomplishment is you would grow. Giving up the whole summer is a big deal, a step towards maturity. Missionary means training, and training means stepping out of your comfort zone to allow God to mold and form you while you learn new skills. When you begin to focus on Jesus instead of pleasure, He changes your heart and life forever.
Teenagers who work with Children’s Bible Ministries and other similar organizations tend to teach about 3-4 Bible Clubs a day. Clubs average at about 10-20 children perclub and are filled with powerful truths found in the gospels. If 5% of all children who hear a powerful invitation to salvation accept the invitation, that’s an average of 0.75 children per club. If you teach four clubs in one week, then on average about three children will become saved. If you have three weeks of clubs, then you will have introduced the gospel to between 100 and 200 children, about 9 of whom have become saved. The rest have heard powerful truths about God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice for them, and the hope they can have in Him.
So in two weeks of intense training to prepare your heart, mind, and lessons for missionary work, and just three weeks of the missions work you can impact far more lives than you ever imagined, all because you chose to spend one summer outside of their normal routine. This doesn’t even include ministry at Summer Camp, open street evangelism, or Bible skits at Maryland Fairs.
“But could someone else have done the work? If there are several interns in the program, why do I have to do it?”
Every Bible club is run by a small team of two or three interns. If 9 interns are signed up, then there are three teams of two and a team of four, numbering about 14 clubs per week or 42 clubs total. However, if you chose to join you have a lot to bring to the table. Your skills, experiences, and personality are different than anyone else’s. Which means there are kids out there who would “get” you better than anyone else. Where others might be inefficient you could fit right in and contribute in a unique way. Not to mention if you boost the number of interns then there is a possibility for us to run 5 teams of interns. That is about 17 clubs per week, and 51 clubs total. Or perhaps we could have 6 teams, or 7. The truth is, one intern can make a world of difference. Where there was possibly no other chance for someone to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, God can use you to show hundreds of children eternal life.
You can not control what other teenagers do, but you can control your own actions. You can make a difference beyond measure. You can choose to experience a summer in local missions with Children’s Bible Ministries.
“What’s the big deal with reaching children anyways? Why do I care what your numbers look like?”
Suppose in all the summer you only reach one child, a kid named Cam in your cabin at camp. Your Bible clubs didn’t go well, your ministry at the fair didn’t go well, but you made a connection with Cam and Cam chose to put faith in Jesus. Suddenly, that child is no longer a slave to sin. If Cam had never met you, Cam would have grown to adulthood still trapped by sin, without knowledge of a savior. Cam would have grown into an adult and made choices. Would this person drink? Have a child before marriage? Lived an abundant life without God but suffered forever in Hell? Would Cam have become stubborn with age and rejected a similar invitation down the road? There is no telling what awful things could happen in Cam’s life.
BUT
You were there. God sent you as a missionary to wake Cam up and realize the need for a savior. Cam’s entire life track has been changed forever. The kid becomes filled with the Holy Spirit and will retain salvation through adulthood and beyond. This person will be a light to others, help them spiritually, and make a lasting positive impact on others because you made a lasting positive impact while Cam was still young. Someone who was once guilty of sin and deserving of Hell will now spend eternity in Heaven with a God who loves them.
It’s a cool thought, one I hope you will sleep on. If you are a high-school or college student, please consider dropping your typical routine to spend the entire summer making a ridiculously huge impact on the lives of real people. By the time you come out of it, you won’t be the same. It’s an awesome feeling.
