We Are The Future.

As the youth of St. Paul’s, we can say that we are, at least in theory, the future of St. Paul’s. We’ve had some good initiatives going since Matt and Angela took over the Youth Group: the 30 Hour Famines, the Spaghetti Supper and the like. It’s a good thing we’ve got going. But, for those of you who have noticed—or maybe you haven’t?—the church is dying. We’re in serious economic trouble. We’re losing numbers of attendees. Anyone remember the time when the pews used to be full, even in the balcony? I barely can.

We’re a new kind of Youth Group. We’re pretty active in the congregation, and the “old folks” love us young people just as much as ever. We’re in a position where we can do a lot. But are we doing enough?

Personally, I feel that God has given me a mandate, a purpose for the gifts with which I have been blessed. I feel that God has put us in this place of favour so that we may act in accordance to His will, and His will is this: that we breathe new life and new direction into St. Paul’s.

This might sound really weird to some of you, or maybe it doesn’t. However, I know that two years ago, I would have been pretty weirded out by someone saying something like that, even in church, especially coming from a teenager. Two years ago, I was an atheist. Church was a place to come, sit through an hour of boredom, read some words that were supposed to be prayers, and then go up to Sanderson Hall for cookies and juice. God was an abstraction that I knew I didn’t have to believe in.

Then I got confirmed, and I knew I was just lying to myself. I started thinking that maybe there was something beyond my lie that I believed in God. So I started experimenting, reading books about Christian teens (by the way, the books are now on the Youth Group bookshelf), and I even joined a small Christian club at my school. It was through the club that I ended up at a youth service at another church, and suddenly I realized what I’d been missing. The church I’d grown up with had become so monotonous and empty that it was hard to conceive of the God behind it all.

After two years, I know now that God is calling me to bring about some sort of...change. I don’t know how to do it, and I know that I have to put my faith in the Holy Spirit to guide me and give me strength.

We are the youth. We are the future of this church and of Brampton and of the world, and we can’t let God fall through the cracks of what religion has become.

There’s a lot of reform that needs to happen in this church if it’s to survive into our generation...not just economically, but maybe even spiritually. I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I think St. Paul’s needs to be reminded of the love of God, and His call to action for all of us.

So I’d like to hear from you guys. Does anyone agree with me? Does anyone think I’m crazy? Does anyone think I’m out of line here? Email me, comment, Facebook me, whatever.

Regardless of if you agree or disagree, the future of St. Paul’s is up to us.

--Hillary.