Day 29: Youths, step up to win the youth

One of LoveSingapore’s key strategic thrusts is Winning The Youth. We believe it is something churches across Singapore must be committed to, and that the time is now for us to do more in this area.

According to the Ministry of Education, there are about 162,000 secondary school students in Singapore. Now, given that less than a fifth of Singapore’s population is Christian, that means that we have almost 130,000 secondary school students who have not heard or responded to the Gospel. And this is just looking at secondary schools alone.

We haven’t even gone into the youths in ITEs, Polys, JCs, universities, and those in National Service. If we do, then the figure only gets larger.

The point I want to make is that Jesus’ statement in Matthew 9 is just as relevant for us today.

The harvest really is plentiful. But the problem is – the workers are few. Now, it’s not that there aren’t any workers. There are many youth pastors, leaders, teachers, Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade officers, as well as parents who are committed to youth work.

But we need more.

We need every single Christian youth to own the responsibility of Winning The Youth. We need every single Christian adult to own that same responsibility, either by directly working among the youths or by indirectly supporting the various youth initiatives around us.

Here am I, Lord, send me

One of the things about the passage in Matthew 9 is that we sometimes apply it incompletely.

“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:38)

After reading this, we commit to praying to God for more workers to be sent out, and rightfully so. But that’s not all we’re supposed to do.

The solution that Jesus mentioned is that more workers are needed in the harvest field. And we are supposed to be those workers.

The thing is, it’s always easier for somebody else to be the worker. It’s always easier for God to call and send somebody else instead.

We need every single Christian to own the responsibility of Winning The Youth.

I’m reminded of an illustration by Pastor Charles Swindoll that I once heard, and I’d like to share it with a slight tweak.

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to do, and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Now, Anybody could have done this job, yet somehow, Nobody did it. Somebody then got angry because it was Everybody’s job. But Everybody thought Somebody would do it, and Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn’t do it. So, it ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

What I’m getting at is this: We need to go beyond asking God to send somebody and instead say: “God, here am I. Send me.” 

Step up, step out

Today, I pray that we will all respond in two ways: Firstly, that we will step up to the call. Secondly, that we will step out of our comfort zones.

Doing God’s work is a calling that all of us must answer. And this work will more often than not be found outside our comfort zones.

We need to go beyond asking God to send somebody and instead say: “God, here am I. Send me.” 

My hope is that all of us will step up and step out together, and see a mighty harvest in Singapore in our time.

If not now, when? If not you, who?

Let us pray:

Lord, we thank You for your Word and Your reminder. We want to pray for the youth of our nation. 

Lord, I pray for every single youth reading this, that You would anoint them and empower them to do the work that You have called them to do. May You give them that courage to proclaim and preach your Gospel boldly and courageously, strongly and powerfully. 

We pray for the rest of the Church, whether we’re young or old, whether we’re adults, working or not, that all of us will come alongside the youth in this generation, and that we’ll see many youths run to the Lord.

Lord, we cry out for our nation. We cry out for the youths of this generation and of future generations. We want to see revival in our schools, our universities and institutes. We want to see revival in the National Service camps. 

We want to believe that we will see a mighty, new, young generation rising up to serve You for all the days of their lives. Lord, may You use us and send us. And may we rise up, just like the Prophet Isaiah, to say: Here am I, Lord, send me.

Lord, we thank You and we pray all this in Your most mighty name, Amen.