Segregation

written by David Gu

Young people have a big problem with segregation from their friends. Being a ‘black sheep’ among the group is a big ‘No’ to them. Yet, segregation occurs in churches among the youth and adults. Youth services, youth cells, youth songs, etc. We unintentionally build a wall that says, ‘you are not at our level yet’ and this suppresses the inner potential to be a young leader among the adults and a spiritual giant in the church.

Jesus came to remove the barriers of sin and of the community. We know that the power of God rests on anyone who devotes himself to Him. Even Gentiles are able to receive that power of faith shown when Jesus healed the son of a Gentile woman. Before the coming of Jesus, the Jews organized themselves and segregated the community into groups (in religious terms). When Jesus came, He broke those barriers but now in the churches today, we unintentionally separate those who are better and those who are not. Are we, sadly, repeating history?

Youth are the power house with boundless potential stored in them and God is ever so ready to detonate the explosive force in them to drive the church. But we love to build the high walls of what we think they should do with their ‘church’ life.

I find segregating the youth from the adults implies more negative impact on them emotionally and spiritually. Firstly, they cluster among themselves, unable to communicate with adults or even welcome new comers who are adults in the church. Secondly, they feel a difficulty to express their love for God in front of their parents because it’s a norm to do it only among the youth friends and they are afraid of judgmental adults (which is all mostly in the mind). Praying among the adults becomes a challenge too. Let alone taking a leadership stance before the entire church!

So let us take the step of faith to see that all the young people among us, whether it is of the same race or not, the same nationality or not and even the same age or not have a different destiny, purpose, sovereign plan of God ahead of them and disciple all of them who are in our midst, giving our best effort for the Kingdom of God. Just like Jesus when He took the little boy and talked about being the greatest, He did not take the adults nor youth specifically to illustrate but a mere little boy. A young lad. When the sower sowed the seeds, he did not check the ground conditions. He saw that all the conditions had potential to cause his seeds to grow; the difference was how much they finally grew.

Let us all be one church and let this transcend across the generations!