By: Curtis Schofield, Spiritual Insight

To help get the New Year started right our first born son, Stephen, and I usually attend the Congress on Evangelism. Most of the time there are from 600 to 900 attending. During the first week of January in one of the large hotels in Atlanta we were inspired by the preaching and teaching and fellowship with friends. But as we drove home we discussed something that troubled us. There were less than half the number of persons who usually attend and the youth were missing.

As we drove home instead of celebrating the inspirational moments we had experienced, we spent our time asking, “What is wrong with us since we are not reaching the youth?” Our focusing on what we could not see Jesus Christ doing with our youth caused us to lose our perspective of some of the blessings we had received the three days before. Then a few days later I received a letter from Stephen that gave some joyful insight into what Christ is doing today in the lives of some of our youth.

The following is a copy of that letter. I share it with you in hope that the good news will be a blessing to you too.

Dad,

While we were at our cozy gathering in Dunwoody, this is what was happening 10 miles away: “In a culture where fewer than 10 percent of young adults regularly attend worship services and 32 percent of individuals under age 30 claim no religious identity, faith is alive and well at the 2013 Passion Conference in Atlanta.

“Don’t count this generation out yet,” Passion founder and pastor Louie Giglio said at Tuesday night’s main session. “God is rising up a new generation.”

Approximately 60,000 students from 54 countries and 2,022 college campuses gathered in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome Tuesday night to worship with Christian music artists Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Kristina Stanfill, and Christy Nockels before hearing a message from Giglio focused on “a God capable of accomplishing more than you could ask or imagine.”

 Sixty thousand evangelicals with most under the age of 30  the Lord is moving!

Biblical Insight: Jesus said to his disciples, “Lift up your eyes…The harvest is great, and the workers are few. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers for his fields." (Matthew 9:37).

Curtis Schofield is a retired United Methodist minister. He and his wife, Clara, have served two churches in Dade County. In retirement he volunteers through Trenton United Methodist Church to help small churches.