The Lord cares for, forgives and loves His children even at their most tender stages of life: while they are in the womb and as they grow and are shaped in their knowledge of the world and of Him.
Learning from their pastors, teachers, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers and parents, young people discover the love of Christ and are emboldened to share that Good News with all whom they encounter (witness). As they grow in the love of the Lord and His gifts, they, in turn, reach out in love with their own gifts to their friends at school, their classmates, their congregations and their own families (mercy).
And finally, steeped in an understanding of what it means to be and live as a Christian in this world, they get to have a full and exciting fellowship with other people — especially those their own age — who believe and worship and think the way they do (life together), enjoying the support and camaraderie of the body of Christ, the Church.
If you want a glimpse of what that life together looks like, try visiting a Mass Event at a National LCMS Youth Gathering. There’s such joy and energy when 25,000 Lutheran teens get together!
Youth ministry and Lutheran education are not passing fancies for the LCMS; they are hallmarks of our work in the world. Our young people are part of the Church of today, and they are the Church’s future. That’s why enhancing education and youth ministry comprise one of the Synod’s six mission priorities.
Please join with your brothers and sisters in the Synod in celebrating the work done among our youth and within the walls of our Lutheran schools. This month, we have all kinds of free, downloadable resources available for you to use as you lift up the work of LCMS School Ministry and LCMS Youth Ministry.
Please pray for the Lord to raise up faithful young people in our midst.
In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison
President, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod