Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1969 · 48th Convention › Page 369
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 369

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

YOUNG PEOPLE'S WORK 369

of God's Word and purpose, understanding which oc-
curs only when dialog, however painful, takes place. To
argue that youth must simply repeat the answers of
adults is to deny that Christ through the Holy Spirit
calls each generation for a specific purpose.

It is increasingly apparent that God has shaped an
older generation which is becoming more and more re-
sponsive to the questions of young people. If such a
responsiveness is indicative of reconciliation between
generations — and the Board for Young People’s Work
believes that it is—then the Word is being proclaimed
with power, for it is only the Word which reconciles
and edifies the church, His body.

B. To Equip Youth

Only after we have reached a new understanding of
the role of youth in the church and have become re-
sponsive to their questions are we enabled “to equip
youth for faithful service to God and His world by a
ministry of the Holy Spirit through Word and sacra-
ments.” (7.61 b)

The understanding that God calls a generation for
His purpose also means that we must equip young peo-
ple for His service. To do so, we must remember that
God claims them in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit
in Baptism. God's claim is preeminent. We recall one
another to God's claim, and we equip one another for
God's service, but we do not impose upon one another
our particular understanding of what that service is.

As equippers of youth we must be attentive both to
the call of God and to the needs of His world. for it is
in His world that our service to Him is performed.

The training of District youth leaders in such pro-
grams as Encounter Schools, Visit, and special service
projects has been an aspect of our attempt to bring
youth into meaningful contact with the claim of God
upon their lives (worship, Bible study, fellowship) and
the needs of the world (the ill, the elderly. the desti-
tute, etc.). Through new programs, materials, and re-
sources, further attempts will be made to increase the
proficiency and sensitivity of District and parish youth
leaders in their equipping tasks.

All resources provided by the Board for Young Peo-
ple’s Work (youth-gathering materials. youth commit-
tee manuals, counselor training guides, etc.) emphasize
the need for youth participation in the life of the local
parish and in the life of the world. Such participation,
it is hoped, will increase youth's enthusiasm and com-
petency for expressing their faith in daily life.

C. To Assist and Train Adults

Such equipping of young people for God's service is
possible only insofar as the Board for Young People’s
Work can “assist and train adults in building helpful
Christian relationships with youth in contemporary cul-
ture.” (7.61 c)

The equipping of young people for God's service de-
mands constructive relationships with Christian adults
who can trust, love, and assist youth in interpreting the
actions of God in our time and in their culture.

It is a truism that many young people, although
afraid of the many changes which occur in their lives,
do participate. if not assist, in the process of change.
Youth is sensitive to the subtle shifts in values, to the
demands of the new technology, to the ever opening
possibilities of participating in their culture in new and
often startling ways.

Adults, too. are often afraid of the changes taking
place in our culture and what these changes may do to
our young people. Adults often have difficulty in trans-
lating the meaning of faith into new expressions and
new forms. But if our young people are to remain in
contact with the rich heritage of the church and the
Word of the changeless Christ, such translation must
take place.

The Board for Young People’s Work has attempted
to make adults conscious of the changes taking place
among our youth. It has also sought to provide re-
sources for youth and adults which blend the traditions
and teachings of the church with the startling changes
taking place in our culture.

In the past the Board for Young People’s Work has
sponsored numerous national “Training of Adult Lead-
ers’ conferences, lay counselor training sessions, and
special field visitation programs to sensitize adults to
the necessity of translating the faith into new forms and
new terms. This has been done by affirming the faith
in relation to many of the changes which are taking
place in the lives of our young people. In addition, the
Board for Young People’s Work has encouraged the
utilization of Church Youth Research. an instrument
designed to assist adults in understanding our young
people. to help young people understand themselves,
and to provide new avenues for building helpful rela-
tionships between young people and adults.

Christ's church can accomplish its task only when
adults and young people understand and encourage one
another through dialog based on the Word of God. The
Board for Young People’s Work will encourage more
extensive dialog between adults and young people and
will assist churches in discovering ways in which young
people can become more meaningfully involved in the
life of the church.

D. To Share Unique Gifts

Only through such dialog and involvement can
“youth and adults share their unique gifts in ministry
to one another within the Christian community and in
ministry to the world as the witnessing people of God.”
(7.61 d)

We can equip youth for their mission in the world
to the degree that we recognize that young people pos-
sess a variety of gifts which may be utilized to show
forth the glory of God and to build His church here on
earth.

Even those characteristics of young people which ap-
pear to be the most frustrating to adults may be the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. Such characteristics as impa-
tience, idealism, enthusiasm, and dissatisfaction with
“old” answers can assist and prompt adults to reeval-