It's Time

We are all born in the middle of a story. We are not isolated simply to our moment or our generation but connected and influenced by the generations that have come before and, through our actions, influencing the generations that will come after. Responsible with what we’ve been given by the past and responsible for what we give to the future. A new ripple is created every time we decide what to do next.

Joshua went to bed an assistant and woke up a leader. It was time. It was time for him to lead God’s people, for God’s purposes, into God’s promises. He could no longer rely on Moses’ past leadership or even his own personal successes. It was time to play his part so that the next generation could experience the presence and blessings of God.

God always raises up leaders and people who are willing to orient their lives for the purpose of seeing those who will come after them experience God’s presence and advance His kingdom. He did it with Moses to Joshua, from Joshua to his people in the promised land, and God is doing it with us to the next generation.  In short, it's time to play our part in reaching the next generation.

It’s time to see the need.

Just as Joshua had to survey the land to understand the road and obstacles ahead, it's time for us to see and feel the need of the next generation. The majority of statistics confirm that most teenagers who grow up in church will disengage as young adults. They primarily won’t disengage out of rebellion but something much more dangerous, apathy. The next generation needs to see a generation of believers for whom Christ is not simply part of their lives but is their life.

It’s time to take responsibility.

We know problems exist in reaching the next generation. We can look to all types of sources to blame for why they exist: culture, social media, the internet, TV., etc. . . . We can lament till Jesus returns on why these problems exist but at the end of the day it’s the church’s responsibility to address them. It’s our responsibility to reach the next generation.
 
It’s time to commit to God’s mission.

Joshua and God’s people stood on the edge of the promised land with only two options: stay where they were or enter in. Each one of us has a role to play in God’s mission of reaching, raising up, and releasing the next generation for the glory of God. It’s time for us to commit to the next generation and see God’s purposes accomplished in them.

Do we believe God is worth the praises of the next generation? Do we believe the next generation deserves for us to orient our lives toward reaching them? Do we believe the only option for faithful believers is to enter into God's mission? If so, then it’s time. It’s time to reach, raise up, and release the next generation.