A version of this article will appear in a Rock the World publication this spring. I thought I would share it with all my blog subscribers.
This is a picture of Becca with one of her friends. Becca is on the left.
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity (I Timothy 4:12).” The Apostle Paul calls a young leader, Timothy, to a life of following Jesus and leading others in that journey. Our world is becoming increasingly younger and we are charged with what I like to call a “Timothy Mission.” It is time for the church to equip young leaders to call others into becoming followers of Jesus Christ. At age 32, it is becoming harder and harder for me to lead teenagers into a meaningful relationship with Jesus, but there are many young people I know who are called to serve the Lord now who are more equipped to reach their peers for Christ than I am.
As I started the ministry, St. Timothy’s Co-op (St. Tim’s) for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2006, it became very clear that one of my churches would not be able to fully staff the youth ministry with adults. St. Tim’s was started to help 5 small churches in the eastern end of the city of Pittsburgh develop lay lead, volunteer based youth ministry. Each church individually could not afford a youth minister, so with the support of the Diocese, they collectively hired me to train and develop their youth ministry teams.
At St. Martin’s in Monroeville, there was just no one available to lead…no adult, that is. After several planning meetings and months of prayer and anxiety about getting a youth ministry started, the Lord laid it on my heart to ask a 12 year old girl in 7th grade if she felt called to be THE youth leader at the church. She thought for a minute and indicated that she had been thinking that anyway. Becca L. follows Jesus and she desires to share Jesus with others. With the right support, Becca is now a youth minister. The youth ministry was named “Party @ Church” and kicked off in February of 2007. Becca loves drama and she has many friends involved in the theatre. She decided for her first event to lead a murder mystery dinner party. There were 3 jr. high youth at the church and their first event brought in 33, most of which were not Christians.
Since that time, Party @ Church has maintained 12 – 20 kids at their monthly meetings. Becca and her family have daily contact with the group members who are asking questions about faith, the reality of God, the Trinity, Jesus, suffering, love, and many other things. The students come back each month because they feel safe at church and they know that they are taken seriously. Becca is the minister to this community of young people and the Lord is using her powerfully as a missionary to her peers.
On November 1, 2007, St. Timothy’s Co-op merged with Rock the World and is now seeking to fulfill a Timothy mission by equipping churches to reach a young world through leadership development and community building. Becca is one of many young leaders who are being developed in their gifts through this ministry. It is my prayer that this ministry will continue to grow and more young people will be equipped to advance the Kingdom of God.
By Kim Keller Louis
