It is sometimes said, “Teenagers rarely reply when asked, and when they do reply, they are often argumentative. Getting along with teenagers is frustrating!” This may be true for some people.

In March this year, I started serving with the Youth Ministry. When I was feeling a bit anxious, a mother drew near and told me, “Both my son and my daughter love the Youth Sunday School, SunLogos. My son said if he was to study abroad, what he would miss the most would be SunLogos. He also told his younger sister that teachers of all levels at SunLogos were very good and she would know when she is promoted to SunLogos. My daughter is a quiet girl, but she brought a classmate to join SunLogos online after she had learned about spreading the gospel.” I am very glad to hear the mother’s sharing. It must have been our Heavenly Father’s encouragement for me through the mother and the two young people. Indeed, serving the teenagers is challenging but it is also meaningful. It is also where the motivation comes from.

On Family Sunday in May, a co-worker said, “Serving can at times be quite exhausting. But when I see the teenagers and talk with them, I feel energized! Not so when they are not around today.” I was surprised to find that my co-worker was energized through walking with young people.

In caring for a teenager recently, I am grateful to God for letting me experience the joy of walking with them. Several years ago, this teenager went through a very dark incident. At their most desperate time, he and his parents humbly prayed, sincerely confessing their sins to God. In the end, the matter somehow concluded itself. So far, the teenager is still willing to steadfastly follow Jesus. Looking back, he was certain that it was the invisible hand of God at work. He firmly believed that the matter really would not have been resolved without the help of God. Through this, I experienced the motivation from walking with young people. This teenager has made me reflect on myself. If I am to experience such obvious rescue from God, would I so resolutely share with others that “It must be God who has helped me!” like he did?

We know from these young people’s experience that they are faced with lots of challenges which they can hardly tackle, including pressure from schoolwork and interpersonal relationships, tests from materialism and secular values, to name just a few. They need counselors to walk with them, to help them test and approve what God’s will is, so they will not conform to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2).

We are grateful that all along, we have had a lot of great counselors serving at the Youth Ministry. Nevertheless, some of them have left in recent years for one reason or another. In the absence of adequate manpower, there is genuine concern that the growth of the teenagers would be affected. We often pray for God to send more good and faithful brothers and sisters and who love the teenagers to join the ministry. If you want to know more about serving with the Youth Ministry, please contact our co-workers.

We pray that God will not only convince us that teenagers are a motivation for us to serve but also that more young people will encounter Christ the Lord personally and, through the encounter, be empowered to steadfastly follow Him.