Youth Department Strategic Plan – 2024

Dear brethren, youth leaders in the church of God,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with the inspired words: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

This Bible text, among others, makes an appeal to the youth, encouraging them to keep them- selves pure and engage themselves in teaching the word of God, in useful conversations, in char- itable actions, in spiritual work, and in faithful living.

There is no greater joy for parents and church leaders than seeing their children and youth reach- ing the maximum potential they have, and to live up to the purpose with which they were born. Unfortunately, in some religions, up to 88% of the young people are abandoning the churches of their parents by the second year of college. In some cases, entire generations of youth have dis- appeared, and churches are closing their doors when older generations are not there anymore or are not active enough. The statistics are alarming in this sense, and we need to do our best to pre- vent this from happening in our own church.

In my travels around the world, I have identified four prevailing reasons why young people tend to become superficial or leave the church altogether:

1. Worldliness
2. Inconsistency in the lives of parents and church leaders
3. Unfriendly relationship between generations
4. Lack of opportunities for the youth to participate in church activities.

After much prayer and consideration, the youth department of the General Conference is propos- ing the following projects to be implemented on a more consistent basis in local churches, Fields,

and Unions in the year 2024. If the results are satisfactory, we propose to continue with these projects in the years to follow.

Suggested projects

1.  Mission: Rescue the Lost Coin

Since this letter is about the youth, I daresay that the lost coin represents the youth that have not gone astray—but they are discouraged, superficial and inactive. To them, the world looks more attractive than the church and they are very close to leaving when the opportunity presents itself. Our effort on their behalf needs to be more intentional by intercessory prayer, friendly visits, and attractive, youthful activities.

Rescue strategy:

1. Form intercessory prayer groups. The members of such groups will take turns to pray at dif- ferent times of the day, so there is a prayer ascending to the throne of grace every hour of the day.
2. Name several young people to visit the “lost coin” or invite him/her for a friendly meal and conversations (not necessarily about specific problems they might have).
3. Organize activities (not necessarily religious) they are known to be interested in.

2.  Mission: The Prodigal Parent

One of the most common reason the youth get discouraged is the inconsistency in the lives of their parents. Some youth have been growing up watching their parents speak and live one way in public and another way at home. Needless to say that such parents are generally very strict with their children’s standards because they tend to be extremely concerned with their reputation. They impose strict rules upon their children while they don’t follow their own. I am not justify- ing the youth when they use that reason to get discouraged, but I cannot blame them, either.

Something must be done for such parents and for all parents. Parent Recovery Strategy:

1. Organize seminars, retreats, activities, and especially personal visits with parents, helping them understand the need to live up to the principles they expect their children and youth to follow.
2. Organize life management seminars with parents, helping them prioritize their lives different- ly. Most parents work tirelessly to earn money so they can support their children when their children’s greatest need is their parents’ time. A parent works a minimum of one hour per day to buy toys for their children instead of using that time to play with their children. According to studies and experience, children would leave the toys alone and play with their parents if given the chance.
3. Help religious parents realize that their reputation is not more important than their children. Someone once said to me: “When my children were small, I would only look at them and they would sit down quietly in the church.” I asked him how many of his children are still fre- quenting the church and he said, “None.” Others say to their children: “If you are not ready on time, I’ll go to church without you.” In other words, we are simply saying, “My reputation is more important than you.”

3.  Mission: Elijah

We live a time when generational differences are very accentuated, mainly because of the use of modern technology. Older generations have access to private information of the younger genera- tion and vice-versa. They have nothing new to converse about among them and, oftentimes, groups or individuals of either generation criticize each other’s lifestyle and personal choices. I must admit that, in my experience, the older generations are more critical of young generations than the other way around. God wants this to change. He expresses His wish for generations to recognize the qualities in each other rather than the defects with the following words: “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong and the word of God abideth in you and ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:14).

It is not by chance that God mentions two generations in the same Bible verse. He tells us that we need each other. The fathers and the leaders have the experimental knowledge of God that the youth do not possess, and the youth have the strength and energy that the older generations do not possess. Generations need to be reconciled. They need to work together. When the experi- ence of the old and the strength of the youth are combined, much can be accomplished.

Parents, and church leaders, let us take heed to the prophesied work of the Elijah of the last days (Malachi 4:6) and turn our hearts to our children and youth, which will most likely cause the hearts of the children and of the youth to turn to their parents and leaders.

Reconciliation Strategy:

1. Hold family seminars and combined conventions where parents and their children are invited. Put emphasis on the fact that parents are required to form happy acquaintances with their children, spending quality time with them so the children can be confident in asking for advice from their parents instead of friends and internet. The seminar should include an altar call to the parents, committing themselves to prioritize their children’s salvation. Then, make a call to the children to come forward and embrace their parents. We did it in several places and the results were miraculous. Parents and youth from different countries remember the moment after many years.
2. Hold spiritual seminars for Gospel workers and pastors, with emphasis on the need to care for our youth and children as if the future of the church depended on them, because it does.
3. Encourage Gospel workers and pastors to form happy acquaintance with the youth. Visit them at home and give importance to holding friendly conversations with them every time an op- portunity presents itself. That way, they will seek pastoral guidance when they need to make big decisions in life.

4.  No Youth Left Behind

The greatest joy the church can experience is to see youth giving their hearts to Jesus and com- mitting their lives to God through baptism. Unfortunately, some youth find it difficult to make a decisive step towards baptism and we need to make sure that church membership is attractive to them. Experience has shown that certain youth need to be approached differently because they are not the same. For example, some youth are motivated to be baptized so they can participate in church activities. It is easy to assume that everybody is the same and we may tend to make it our practice to not involve youth very much before they get baptized. This is why we are asked all the time whether non-baptized youth can even participate in programs. But there is another class of youth who are more motivated to get baptized when they are already involved in activities. And I daresay that they are the majority. I, myself, was that way. I didn’t get baptized to be able to participate, but because I was already participating. I knew I had a purpose in the church before being baptized and was a missionary before I was a member. If all the youth were involved in doing something for someone else, they would benefit from it. Their spirituality would improve, and it would be easier for them to make their decision for baptism.

Involvement Strategy:

1. Make a list of departments in local churches, create a survey, and ask young people to mark the department they are naturally inclined to supporting.
2. Based on the result of the survey, organize the young people in groups and make them part of the team of specific department leaders.
3. Organize one event per year, for each department, to see the young people in action. Some departments may work together for the same event. When churches are too small, several churches may come together in a combined effort.

Please, feel free to apply other methods to help our youth dedicate their lives to God and to His service. May the Lord crown our mutual efforts with success through His abundant grace— “that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace” (Psalm 144:12).

Adrian Finaru

General Conference Youth Department Director