How do we reach and retain the younger generation? Without a doubt, this is one of the biggest questions being asked by parents, youth leaders, teachers, and church administrators worldwide. Especially as we hear reports that between 60 and 70 percent of our youth disappear from active church life in their 20s and never return. Interestingly, but not shockingly, the reason for this crisis is spelled out for us in the Word of God.
In Isaiah 38 we learn about the God-fearing King Hezekiah who was diagnosed with a terminal illness but by the grace of God was healed and given 15 more years of life. In the next chapter, however, we learn that visitors from Babylon came to “congratulate” him on his recovery, and in an act of complete stupidity King Hezekiah showed them all the treasures of the kingdom (Isa. 39:1, 2). When the delegation left, Isaiah the prophet confronted the king, prophesying that the Babylonians would return, take the treasures for themselves, and kidnap their kids, making them slaves in Babylon.
Notice Kings Hezekiah’s shocking response to this terrible news! “ ‘This message you have given me from the Lord is good.’ For the king was thinking, ‘At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime’ ” (Isa. 39:8, NLT).1
Why are we losing so many young people today? Why are they being dragged away from the church and assimilated into the world? Because this kind of attitude, we will call it Hezekitis, is also coming from the older generation! King Hezekiah was a godly man and was one of the greatest kings Israel ever had, but like many godly church leaders today, he was wholly concerned about the present, about his generation, and gave little thought to the future and those who would one day lead!
Sadly, it was during the extra 15 years of life God granted him that Hezekiah and his wife had a child who would become one of the most wicked kings in Israel’s history! He was godless, lawless, and heartless, and the Bible testifies that he became a leader who “led them [Israel] to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land” (2 Kings 21:9, NLT).
The Cure
Currently in the United States everything from guns to drugs is being blamed for the situation among our nation’s youth. Violence is high, and you can’t watch the news without another school shooting or violent act being committed by the younger generation. This reality is also reflected in other countries, but few are aware of the real systemic problem behind the moral free fall among the younger generation. It is the conviction of this writer that Hezekitis is the problem—like King Hezekiah, we are either preoccupied with our own generation or unconscious of the desperate need of the younger generation for our proactive attention. Among this generation is a deep need realized or not for spiritual fathers—an older generation who cares for the souls of the up-and-coming Manassehs (millennials and Generation Z).
Just before the return of Christ, God will raise up a generation that will cure His church of Hezekitis.
But there is great news! God has a cure for Hezekitis and real hope for a Manasseh generation! God’s Word predicts that just before His return He will send “Elijah the prophet,” who will “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Mal. 4:5). Interestingly, Ellen White compares Elijah to those living at the end of time. She writes, “Elijah was a type of the saints who will be living on the earth at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be ‘changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,’ without tasting of death.”2 So just before the return of Christ, God will raise up a generation that will cure His church of Hezekitis as they wholeheartedly pursue intergenerational youth ministry.
Elijah the prophet was without question one of the greatest youth leaders in the Old Testament. He was a godly man like Hezekiah, but one who cared for the younger generation and did more than just preach “total youth involvement.” Elijah “rolled up his sleeves” and invested compassionately into the younger generation as if the future of the church depended upon it! Elijah understood that effective youth ministry is intergenerational, and he did three profound but simple things to cure Hezekitis!
Care: First, he cared for them. You will remember that when the widow of Zarephath’s son died, it was Elijah who carried the boy’s body upstairs, stretched himself over him three times, and cried out to God to bring him to life. Intergenerational ministry follows a simple formula: proximity + prayer = revival. When the older generation builds close relationships with the younger generation (proximity) and cries out earnestly for their spiritual revival (prayer), supernatural things happen! In Ezekiel 37 it was only after Ezekiel prayed for the Spirit to revive the dry bones that the army of God came to life (verse 10). I believe this prophesy applies specifically to our army of youth, but that’s another article. Caring for this generation is about praying earnestly for their spiritual revival as we pursue close relationships with them.
Challenge: Second, Elijah challenged them. On Mount Carmel he did not preach smooth and comfortable messages. Instead he shook the younger generation up by challenging them to get off the fence and follow the Lord wholeheartedly. “If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” he declared (1 Kings 18:21, NLT).
Yes, the younger generation needs to know that Jesus loves them and that His grace covers their sins and that justification is theirs by faith alone and not by works; but where are the challenging messages today? Where are the messages calling young people to live holy lives for God, keep His Sabbath, live pure, grow in grace, and be Spirit-filled and sanctified? Where is the challenge to live counterculturally for Jesus even when it’s dangerous? Where are the messages calling for health reform, mission service, tithing responsibility, and respect for religious and political authority? Moreover, where are the warning messages that the end is near and that faith, as well as repentance, is required of those who wish to be saved?
Call: Third, Elijah called young people. In the eyes of most, Elijah was an example of ministry success. He was well loved and respected by the church, but apparently, in the eyes of God, his ministry was incomplete. In 1 Kings 19:16 God commands him to pass on leadership to the younger generation! Ellen White writes: “As Elijah, divinely directed in seeking a successor, passed the field in which Elisha was plowing, he cast upon the young man’s shoulders the mantle of consecration.”3
While it may appear from the biblical account that Elijah was halfheartedly following God’s command by tossing the mantle and continuing to walk by, Elisha understood the symbolism of the act. He was being called by God for service! He requested to go and say goodbye to his family. Elijah responded, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you” (1 Kings 19:20, NLT). He was testing Elisha’s faith response. Would working for God be worth the sacrifice to him? Elisha accepted the call without hesitation. Jesus took the young people on His ministry team through a process that took three years. He began with observation (watch Me do it), then participation (help Me do it), and finally activation (you do it). Elijah did the same thing over several years. Ellen White writes: “Ministry comprehends far more than preaching the word. It means training young men as Elijah trained Elisha, taking them from their ordinary duties, and giving them responsibilities to bear in God’s work—small responsibilities at first, and larger ones as they gain strength and experience.”4 We would be wise to do the same.
Elijah grew to be an amazing mentor to Elisha. Some might even argue that he was so good at it that his young successor exceeded him! The greatest compliment to the older generation is the younger generation that they have cared for, challenged, and called into ministry becoming even wiser than they!
What matters most in these last days is that we pour into the younger generation and resist the urge to care only for ourselves and our generation. Now is the time for the Elijah leaders to step up and stand out on behalf of the younger generation. It’s time to intentionally care, challenge, and call them! As mentioned above, Hezekiah was a godly king, and no doubt he cared deeply for his son Manasseh, but life has a way of forcing priorities. If we are not careful, it is highly likely that our priority will be for ourselves and will naturally lead to neglecting the needs of the younger generation. But Jesus will help us; He prioritized children, and He can put this same desire within each of us.
Why not take some time in the next few days or weeks to come up with an intentional plan to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” in your area of influence?
1 Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
2 Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1917), p. 227.
3 Ibid., pp. 219, 220.
4 Ibid., p. 222.
