I know lots of parents of young adults who are worrying about their kids who don’t currently attend church.  I’m one of them.

But here’s what I know.  God can use the habits we form with our children while they are growing up to call them back to the church.

That’s what God did with me.

Growing up, missing church was not an option. I’ve got the perfect attendance pin and accompanying year bars to prove it.  (For those unfamiliar, you were allowed only two absences each year to qualify for the pin.)

While away at college, however, I didn’t go to church.  I tried the United Methodist group at William and Mary once or twice, but never really felt a connection with anyone there, so I didn’t go back.

It took me a year or two after graduating from college and moving up to Northern Virginia before I started attending again.  I think I have shared this before in another devotion – I felt like I was playing hooky on Sunday mornings.  I wasn’t where I was supposed to be.  God was calling me back to church.

Now that I am on staff at our church, I see all the incredible work that goes into creating meaningful and fun experiences for children and youth.  Experiences that help families establish an active and vibrant faith; one that is rooted in a love for God and expressed through worship, learning, and service.

Joy Rangel, our Children’s Ministry Director, puts so much thought and effort into everything she does.  She has such a heart for our children, and an enthusiasm for helping them grow in their faith.

Sean Gray is our new(ish) Youth Director, and he is actively trying to identify those extracurricular activities CUMC’s youth are involved in, so he can attend some of those activities and really get to know the kids in authentic ways.  I think he’s the real deal:  one who has a heart for Jesus and cares about our youth.

With our church’s heart for mission, there are an incredible number of opportunities to teach our kids about the importance of service, and build within them that same heart for helping all of God’s people.  I can’t count the number of times I have heard about youth who go back to Sneedville again and again, because they fall in love with the experience and the opportunity to be a part of something big for God.

“One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.”  (Proverbs 11:24)

In their devotional book on Proverbs, “God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life,” Timothy and Kathy Keller wrote: “Spiritually wise people realize their money is seed, and the only way for them to turn it into real riches is by giving it away in remarkable proportions…. The more you give away wisely to ministries and programs that help people spiritually and physically, the more your money becomes the real wealth of changed lives in others and of spiritual health in yourself.”

This Sunday is Consecration Sunday, and we have all been asked to turn in our pledge cards.  Prayerfully consider the impact of scattering the seeds of your resources, knowing how God can use those resources to gather His children to Himself.