Reaching the Rising Generation - Colin Tinsley

For this very particular topic, we welcomed Colin Tinsley from Hope for Youth Ministries. Colin is an experienced children’s and youth evangelist, and a friend to Listooder Youth Fellowship. Opening the Word in Deuteronomy chapter 32, Colin highlighted the phrase in verse 20, which speaks of a ‘froward generation, children in whom is no faith’. Sadly, as Colin pointed out, this is a very appropriate picture of the world in which we live, particularly in Northern Ireland. Children are growing up without a knowledge of the Scriptures, without a knowledge of Christ and without knowledge of their own sin. It is this reality that presents a challenge to today’s Christian youth worker. So how do we meet this challenge? Colin’s encouraging message exhorts us not to give up. The God who has saved countless men, women, boys and girls of all kindreds, tribes and nations throughout history, has not changed (Malachi 3:6). The message of Salvation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), has not changed, and fundamentally the children of our land have not changed either. In his experiences, Colin recounted many occasions where children received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour the first time they heard the Gospel. The men and women of our nation have very little interest in the things of God, and as a result children are no longer brought under the sound of Gospel, yet in the opportunities we have to speak to them from the Word of God, they are as responsive as they have ever been. So the challenge facing the Christian worker in these difficulties days is: To reach the children, we must go to them, rather than wait for them to come to us. We should make the Word of God available to them in schools, in parks, at camps and in their homes. And if we are faithful to this challenge, our God, who changes not, will be faithful with his healing power and, as in days gone by, will once again bring many young souls to Himself.