To Tell the Coming Generation Sean Lucas
For my first full-time ministry position, I served as a summer youth pastor at Chicago Corner Christian Church, Harrisburg, Indiana. The pastor under whom I served (and who would do Sara’s and my wedding a couple of years later) taught me so much as we went through the paces of ministry together that summer. Above all, I had the great joy of serving children and students; whether through activities or Bible studies or Vacation Bible School, my main objective was to tell them about Jesus, his faithful love, and his welcome for those who believe. After I graduated from college, I came back to that same
region to serve with Child Evangelism Fellowship as the East Central Indiana director. Sara and I were newly married and lived in New Castle, Indiana; my ministry was much the same as what I had done before: Backyard Bible Clubs and Vacation
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Bible Schools, telling children about Jesus with a wordless book that preached the Gospel to them. I mention this because these two first ministry experiences drilled into my heart something fundamental about ministry: one of our key tasks is to tell the coming generation about Jesus. And so, I am passionate about children’s and student ministries, about our covenant children being in worship with us, and about growing up the next generation of faithful Jesus-followers. That passion is not mine alone, of course: it is the Bible’s passion too. One place where that becomes clear is Psalm 78. One of the longest psalms in the Bible, stretching 72 verses, Psalm 78 is a historical psalm, meant to convey God’s faithfulness to his people through all of their sin and failure. But who was this song for? To be sure, it was for the adults as they sang, reminding them of the failures of their parents and grandparents. It wasn’t primarily for the adults, however, but for the children: “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the
