What's Next? : The Next Generation | Matt Roden | Part 4 of 4

Let's welcome everybody who's joining in on YouTube, our podcast, live wherever we are, and everybody on campus, thanks for being here.

Welcome in.

One thing before we get started, we are for our next series that starts in two weeks, we're doing a series called QA where we're taking questions from the audience or questions from you, and uh, and you're submitting those, and then we're gonna try to make our best attempts at the answers.

These are questions about could be about faith, God, life, whatever it is, and I need more questions.

People are being really shy about it.

And I'm like, dude, just get on.

So scan that QR code.

You can even do this.

I'll let you do it while during the message.

I don't even care.

I just need the questions.

So we just need more of them.

But uh we have we have quite a few, but I want to like get a good variety to pick from.

Uh, and then we may even, we've talked about doing something after the series is over after church, where we may take some, like do some of the questions that we weren't able to cover in the series and try to answer some of those.

So send those in.

We'd love to have your questions.

Now, I'm gonna start off.

Uh we're gonna play a little another game at your seats.

I know you're like, is this a youth group or a church?

I got it.

But this game, you can just think if this game's called uh, what do you think of when I say these words?

Okay, so just think about it and hold it in your head.

For instance, if I say tacos, you may think carne asada or carnitas or something like that.

Or if I say the boardwalk, you may say the fun, a fun, or rides, or giant dipper, or traffic or whatever, you know.

Uh or I may say food in Santa Cruz, and you may think of Abbott Square or West Side or Wildly Only Beach Town in California without an in-and-out burger because everyone's driving electric cars.

You could have a drive-thru, and I'm not saying you put it as a boardwalk or the wharf, but you could put it in Capitola or Scots Valley, and I know it's a chain, but you can't, you know, local businesses can't sustain the entire economy of a city because of lack of capital and lack of scale.

I mean, just whatever comes to mind when I say these words, okay?

So here's the what do you think of when I say the next generation?

Now, think about that in your head.

Does someone come to mind?

Or maybe is there a feeling?

Like, do you get excited about the next generation and what they can be?

Do you are you concerned about the next generation?

Do you just see the future and you're a little bit more apprehensive?

Like, what's your thoughts?

Like, how you know are you just maybe not sure how you feel about those that will be here long after you're gone?

We talked about and had a pretty interesting conversation about generations a couple weeks ago.

In fact, I'd invite you to go on our YouTube, go on our podcast, go back, listen to some if you've missed any of the weeks in this series.

There's some been some interesting conversations because we talked about the dilemma that's gonna be happening in churches all across the country that's already started regarding Gen X and millennials having to replace a much larger baby boomer population.

And what is that gonna look like over the next decade?

But let's talk about the future.

Here's the three youngest active generations by their year of birth.

So if you were born between 1997 and 2012, you're Gen Z.

2013 to 2024, Gen Alpha.

Uh, last year to 2039, Gen Beta.

And that's where they are currently.

And I really hope they change the names eventually because the next ones are Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon.

It's just all gonna sound like a sorority or something at some point.

You know, we need to kind of change it out.

But anyway, but if you watch a lot of news, they're definitely trying to make you concerned about the younger generations, right?

They're dating robots.

You know, they speak in something called brain rot, you know, they're still doing six, seven, and that was years ago, and they're still doing it, right?

And all these things.

One of my favorite stories I saw recently was that more kids, and this is true by the way, more kids are tracking their parents' phones than parents tracking their kids' phones.

Now, do you know why?

It's because if they're at Starbucks, then they can text them and get their order in.

Or if they're at a restaurant, they can crash and come in and get a free meal.

And it's happening so much, they're calling the phenomenon fambushing.

To be fambushed by your own kids.

And we showed our kids this news story because we thought it was absolutely ridiculous, and they did not think it was that ridiculous.

They were like, Yeah, that's a great idea.

I mean, we've done that.

Like, yeah, we watch where you guys are, and I'm going, okay, let me be real clear about something.

If you show up at a restaurant while I am on a night out with your mom, we're gonna dine and dash on you and you're gonna pay the whole bill.

You better not go to the bathroom because when you come out, we're gone, and there's the bill.

And I'm like, I told you, I told you we'd do it, right?

I just was like, we are absolutely not putting up with that nonsense.

But you know, it's crazy.

So uh, so what do we learn from this?

Number one, don't watch too much news, okay?

Because you're just gonna hear about new problems and new things and more lettuce you can't eat and stuff like that.

But number two, is if you're not, and I've seen this kind of be true, and you might see this too, if you're not involved with the next generation, then you're just gonna be concerned about them.

Because you don't know them, right?

And so it just seems like they're they're kind of out there and different, you know, and and and I don't know these people, but God wants to change our point of view.

And for because for some of us it's just as hard to imagine with uh you know culture always changing and emerging technologies that now we don't really understand what the future is going to be like.

But can I give you some hope?

There's a passage, uh 1 Corinthians 2 9 that says this no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.

Now that's always talking about the future, but the good news is that you may love your kids or you may love your grandkids even, but God loves them even more.

And just like your generation and generations before you, God has plans for the next generation and the next generation.

Because here's the thing that doesn't change with AI or anything else.

God is still on the throne, he's still in control, and though we may not be around in a hundred years, God will be and beyond.

Now I know some of you heard me say that, and you're like, you grew up in church, you're like, Matt, none of us will be here in a hundred years because the end of the world is coming really soon.

I know because the end of my world is coming soon.

So I think the whole end of everyone's world needs to come soon.

And I've I've heard that, right?

I watched the weird movies back in the day that the world's gonna end and we're the last generation.

And I want you to understand that people have agreed with you and felt passionately about that for the last 2,000 years.

There's an interesting book on it if you're into that stuff, uh, in times of prophecy stuff.

There's a book called The Last Days Are Here Again.

And uh it's one of my favorite books about like the study of weird things that people have done around that.

But I want you to know you're not alone in that.

In fact, a lot of the writers of the New Testament believe this.

Like, in fact, most scholars believe that like Paul, Peter, and other writers had no idea that their writings would be scrutinized for centuries.

Because when you read their writings, it becomes pretty clear.

They thought their churches would benefit from them, but pretty soon Jesus is gonna come back.

Like, and we don't have to worry about this and that and all stuff.

I mean, that he's gonna come soon.

And it's not that they were wrong, it's just that God had plans beyond what any of us can comprehend.

Just like what I just read.

No eyes had seen, no mind had conceived what God really had in mind.

Because they could not see a world beyond the world that they were living in.

But the truth is, God sees it all, and we can rest in the fact that even though we can't imagine a world without us in it, here's the good news Hebrews 13, 8.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Every generation after us is gonna have the same hope and the same God working in our lives.

Now, you may ask, okay, Matt, that's all wonderful.

What in the world does this have to do with me today, and why are we talking about this today?

And the reason why we're talking about this today is because God's plans that we talked about for the next generation involve the current generation.

Involve the ones that are around today.

God does not ever want you worrying about what's next or even ignoring what's next.

God wants you involved in what's next.

Now, when I say the term what's next, that's been a you've heard me say that a bunch over these last few weeks, because that's the series that we've been in that we're kind of finishing up today, and we've been talking about steps that anyone can take over these last few weeks, whether when your spiritual life feels stale or stuck, or you're starting out, and we've really been talking about steps that anyone can take that might really seem a little uncomfortable, but they're decisions that you'll never regret making.

They're big steps that you take that move you toward growth and maturity in ways that some other things just really can't do.

And today you need to know that God wants you involved in the next generation.

Whether you're a now I want you to hear me say this, whether you're a parent or not, whether you're single or married, whether you're 20 or 90.

Okay.

And let me show you where this comes from and why we're kind of talking about this today.

Psalms 78.

I'm gonna start in verse four and let's read together.

It says, We will not, he says, We will not hide these truths from our children.

We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.

For he issued his laws to Jacob, he gave his instructions to Israel, he commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them.

Even the children not yet born, and they in turn will teach their own children.

So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

And then they'll not be like their ancestors, stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

Now, in this passage, which is an Old Testament passage, we're challenged to not hide the truths from the next generation, but to tell them what God has done and why is that, so that every generation renews its hope in God and won't be like generations before.

So this is kind of a challenge laid out to people who love the Lord, to people who follow the Lord, right?

To to say, listen, guide the next generation, help the next generation, invest in the next generation, help them see who God is and what he's done.

To be a lifeline of support to those who follow us.

Now, this first passage, the first part of that passage talks to parents because it says our children.

And then it shifts gears and talks to everybody, kind of an all-skate, when it says, we, all-encompassing we will tell the next generation.

So, what I want to do is I want to look at first parents and how how do how do they navigate this, and then I want to talk and span this to kind of all of us, but I do want to talk to parents first because let's be honest, and this is true in your life, no one is more influential in cultivating a child's faith or character than a parent for better or for worse, right?

I mean, no one has more influence on what a child believes and who a child is than their parents.

For you, you you made one of three decisions.

You decided to be similar to your parents because you appreciated how you were raised, or things that they did.

Uh, you decide to be nothing like your parents, so you kind of shifted into opposite gear, or for some of you, you kind of took a mix of the two.

There's things I like, you know, you take the good, you take the bad, and something facts of life, right?

Okay, and that's kind of what you did.

You took it all and just kind of mixed it up, right?

But if that's for some of us, but you can't deny that the decisions you make today have been influenced by the decisions you've seen your parents make and the things that they they they decided and and the lives that they live.

That's heavily, heavily influenced you for better or for worse.

And parents have a hard job.

I mean, keeping a kid alive, warm, fed, and clothed is hard enough, but you got to keep them out of traffic.

You got to keep them from online weirdos, you got to keep them from their own underdeveloped brains sometimes, right?

I'm so glad we found out about the prefrontal cortex and use that as an excuse for all kinds of stupid stuff, right?

But how do you teach truths to the next generation?

If you're a parent, how do you talk about God or talk about things like this without turning them away?

How do you help them find hope on their own, but to be there as a guide and to help coach when the time is right, right?

How do you do that?

And there's three ways I feel like over time, um, that really three things that you can focus on to keep things simple.

I think because a lot of times I feel like when when people or pastors or churches talk to parents, we give them like this list of a hundred things and it's just overwhelming, and you just, you know, it's already like none of us feel like we're nailing it, right?

You know, kind of a thing.

I mean, I I just know as for me as a parent, when I showed up at those things, I'm like, oh, I'm not doing that, I'm not doing that.

Am I even parenting?

Like, what am I even doing, you know, like all these lists, we're not gonna do that.

I just want to tell you three things I think you can focus on that'll help.

And the first one is this something to remember, character is more important than talent.

Because I'm gonna say it again, character is more important than talent.

Let me explain that.

Oftentimes, parents focus a lot, a lot of time and opportunities on developing a kid's skills or abilities or things that they are interested in or whatever they're good at, and that there's nothing wrong with any of that.

That's a great thing.

But I want you to remember that who they are is always gonna be the limit of what they can do.

Because it doesn't matter how talented they are or how skilled they are, who they are is gonna determine the limit of how far that goes.

And sometimes we can be so focused on what they do and who what they're doing, but we're not as focused on who they're becoming.

And a person's talent can only take them as far as their character can keep them.

I want you to think about this for a second.

Think about all the professional athletes or famous CEOs or tech innovators or whatever you want to think of, people who had insane talent.

They had all the skills, but what happened?

Their character imploded their careers.

They got to a point, some scandal happened, something they said, something they did, and then it's over, right?

Because what you do is always going to be limited by who you are.

One of the examples that sticks out to me was in 2013, there was a player named Johnny Manzel, a college football player.

Uh, he was nicknamed Johnny Football.

He was the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, and he had this incredible record-breaking season for Texas AM, which again earned him this famous name, Johnny Football.

He was just crazy on the field making these insane plays, all this stuff.

And he became a first-round NFL draft pick.

And then over that next year, his career imploded.

Now, why was that?

Well, because of narcissistic behavior, substance abuse, hard partying, ignoring the rules, ignoring the expectations.

And at some point, he was such a problem that teams were anxious to release him.

And at some point, he didn't last long in the NFL.

He went and played in the Canadian Football League, and wasn't very long before he was banned from ever playing again in the Canadian Football League.

Do you know how like how much trouble you have to get in to make a Canadian upset?

Like, it's a lot.

Right, it's a lot.

And so he got banned from the CFL.

That's insane.

And the bad thing about Johnny Manzel was like everybody wanted Johnny football to overcome his issues, to get over himself and become the player that we all know he could be.

But his decisions led to the downfall of his career.

Why?

Because who you are always overshadows what you do.

Your career will only move as far as your character can keep you there.

Because character trumps talent every time.

Now, if we, and here's what I'm saying, if we pay more attention to what they do and not who they are, I would invite you to focus on character, focus on those things of who they are.

Now, how do you do that?

There's a couple simple ways you can do it.

Talk about things like integrity and wisdom and why they're important.

Talk about in your life how you've tried to do these things.

I mean, here's a really cool thing.

Secondly, talk about decisions you've made or regret it.

You know, and just say, like, you know, this is something I did, it didn't work out.

I wish I'd done this differently.

You know, it mat these things matter.

Who you are matters.

Another third thing would be to invest in spaces um where others can help develop their character.

Church.

Excuse me.

Youth group.

Sorry, I have something's going around.

But no, okay, like things like church, you got these are these are good environments to be in.

I always thought it was insane.

And this is just my own personal soapbox, but I did student ministry for 17 years.

And when a kid got in trouble, the parents would pull them from youth group.

And I'm like, that's the place they need to be more than anywhere else right now.

Like a place that's helping them become better as a person, and we're gonna pull that from them and be like, you sit at home and play on your phone.

You're grounded.

Like, what?

Like, no, you know.

So those are just things to think about, investing in spaces that help develop who they are.

Now, second thing, you know this one, but we need the reminder.

Conversations are better than lectures.

You told your parents this, and your kids probably won't tell you this, right?

Um, it is hard to talk about God or faith with kids.

I'm gonna go ahead and acknowledge that.

I'm gonna go ahead and tell you that kids will ask questions about God and faith in life that you are gonna wonder, really make you wonder, do you actually know anything at all?

Have you had any time like that where you're with a kid and they ask a question and you're like, I have literally never wondered that in my entire life.

And I don't even know how to answer that question.

Well, that's normal.

Listen, I'm a pastor, I've studied the Bible for almost 30 years, and my own kids have asked me things that I'm like, I have no idea.

I don't even know what that means, like what you just said.

Like, I don't know, and it happens, right?

But here's what's the good news is kids aren't that interested in the answers to stumpy questions.

What they're interested in is seeing how your faith affects your everyday life.

That's what they're trying to figure out.

And so when there's natural conversations where you're asked about something like this, those are the best times to just talk honestly about, you know, well, I don't know how it works, but God helped me in this situation, and and this is why, you know, faith has meant a lot to me, or I was facing this problem, and this is something that God showed me, you know, or had to teach me in this, and that's why, you know, faith is important to me, or whatever it is.

It's just talking about the undeniable parts, which is your story.

It's not trying to answer these super hard questions, it's just talking plainly about look, I don't understand all the way God works, but I can tell you how he's worked in my life.

And this is kind of what's happened to me, right?

Um, because really, when you try to force those conversations um or preach at them, it's just not that effective, right?

You don't like it when people come up to you on the street or you know, are just like, hey, how are you doing?

Oh, hey, how are you doing?

Well, do you know the Lord?

You're like, What?

Like, whoa, what happened?

I don't even know your name.

Like, what are we talking about the Lord for?

Right?

You walk out of the bathroom stall and there's some guy at the sink and you're like, hey, how are you?

And he's like, hey, hey, I'm just forgiven.

Are you forgiven?

Do you know the Lord?

Are you going to hell?

Like, and you're like, What?

Like, I just want to wash my hands, leave me alone, weirdo.

You know, it's that thing, right?

Kids don't like that either when we kind of force those conversations in this kind of janky way in the car or in the colour.

We're just kind of like, you know, just kind of forcing it.

You just have to wait for the right organic moments when they're actually interested in it, and then just try to answer as honestly as you can.

I mean, honestly, we've tried the sit down.

Bible devotions as a family.

I don't even want to talk about that.

Uh it just don't, it just hasn't worked out for us.

Maybe it works out for you.

That's great.

But I have found that the conversations in the car that just kind of happen out of nowhere, the conversations where we're sitting on the couch and something comes up and we just talk about that's always been just so much more effective of a way to have those conversations because they want to have the conversation.

The Bible described conversations between parents and kids in this way.

In Deuteronomy 6.7, it says, talk about God's instructions when you're at home and when you're on the road and when you're going to bed and when you're getting up.

Now, what that's not saying is talk about it all the time and drive your kids nuts.

That's not what it's saying.

But it's saying that what it was talking about then is God's commands in the Old Testament that we will talk about, like we want to talk about those as we're going through life, as we're you know, going here or as we're getting up or going over there.

Like we just want to still just talk about those in these natural organic environments.

And even though they were talking about God's commands in the Old Testament, this still applies to New Testament Christians when you talk about your everyday relationship with God and maybe life principles or whatever.

It's just saying that there's organic opportunities.

And don't feel like you have all the answers, but just don't waste those opportunities.

But don't try to force them either, right?

And that conversations are always better than lectures.

So, so character is more important than talent.

Conversations are better in lectures.

And the third one, this one might confuse you when I say it, but I'm gonna explain it.

Another voice saying the same thing makes a huge difference.

I'll say it again.

Another voice saying the same thing makes a huge difference.

Here's what I mean: every parent needs another voice in their kid's life saying the same thing that the parent is saying.

Do you know why?

Because when they get older, they listen to you less and other voices more.

And I know that some of you have six or seven-year-olds, and you're like, not my little angel.

Little Timmy, he'll always listen to me and he'll say, Mom, what should I do?

And I'll say, Timmy, you little angel, here's what you should do.

No, Timmy's gonna have his AirPods in, and you're gonna ask him one day how his day was, and you would think he, you know, you said like we shot the dog or something like he's gonna look at you with such disgust about you asking about his day, you know, be like, What do you mean how's my day?

Ugh.

And he's gonna go in his room and you know, listen to whatever, right?

It it happens.

They get older and they don't want to listen as much.

And that's when you need other voices saying the same thing.

That's really why, if you want to know why churches offer kids' ministries, youth ministries, things like that, it's because part of our role in helping develop families is to have other voices there saying the same things that you would say, but they're gonna respond to that more.

They're gonna because they're already starting to tune you out as a teenager.

Like, for example, let's say your 16-year-old daughter is dating a guy that's not so great.

And we're just putting it nicely, right?

He's just not so great.

And you tried to warn him, you you've you've had, I mean, you've tried to tell him, you know, it was dinner, and all of a sudden you pulled up a flow chart, and you're like, here's how bad he is.

Up, and then here's how bad, you know, you're you're trying to show all the stuff.

And every time you talk to her, she just runs closer to this boyfriend.

And so you're like, everything I'm doing is making it worse.

But let's say she's in a youth group, she goes out and has pizza with a leader, and this leader's younger than you are, but has some sense, right?

And she opens up about the relationship, and the leader starts talking about, well, you know, and makes some good points that the daughter hadn't thought about, and then she breaks up with the guy.

And you're going, what happened?

I said the same thing.

Why did the daughter listen to some volunteer somewhere and not her mother who has loved her her whole life?

And the answer is really simple.

Because she's 16, that's it.

You know, beyond that, I'm not quite sure how to answer that question.

It's just because she's 16.

She's tuning you out, but she's tuning other people in.

And I'm telling you that after 17 years of doing youth ministry myself, smart parents find other voices for their kids to help them because sometimes they're not coming to you, but they'll come to someone else.

And you want to make sure that they're saying somewhere the same thing, pointing them somewhere in the forward direction, you know, of growing and becoming a better person.

And I'm just gonna tell you if you don't have other voices in your kids' life, what it means is you're trying to do all this alone.

And that is exhausting.

And that's why churches are here to help you.

So let's wrap it up.

Focus for parents, focus on character, conversations, other voices.

Those are things that you want to focus on when you're not quite sure to do.

I think those are three things that are super simple, maybe can help direct you in a moment where you're not sure what to do.

Um, those are three things I think can help kids find hope.

But let me say this to all of us regarding the generation, and you may not like this for, so this is for everybody who's not a parent or whatever, or you're not currently parenting, or whatever it is.

Every follower of Jesus carries an obligation to support the next generation.

I know.

Thanks, Jesus, right?

And I'm gonna show you part of where this comes from, but all of us don't need to sit and look at the next generation and just go, oh, they're so scary.

Or oh, I'm just gonna ignore them.

No, we need to love and support them.

And can I say something to you?

God's not looking for experts.

He's just looking for people who are willing to open their hearts and open their lives to someone younger.

I remember that you remember when Jesus told us this.

This is part of where this comes from in Matthew 18, 5.

He says, when you welcome one of these children because of me, you welcome me.

Now I want you to think about that.

Because whether your parents are childless, or whether you're single or married or young or old, Jesus tells every one of us, when you welcome the next generation, when you love and support them, you are welcoming me into new areas of your life.

And that's a good thing.

We want to welcome Jesus into our lives.

But this is one of those ways, he says, this is one of those ways that you do it.

Um, when I was, I'll talk about this.

When I was a teen, I went to church, I started going on my own because I was invited to youth group.

Y'all know that I was invited uh to get girls' phone numbers.

That's how I got to church.

Didn't get any of them, so that was a but whatever.

But stuck around for Jesus.

That worked out pretty well, right?

So the thing is, is that I was going to youth group by myself, and what would happen is I'd go and hang out with my friends, and then I would go after church sometimes to someone's house, some of these families that I didn't know.

And they treated me like I was part of their family.

But I was obviously not because I didn't grow up in church, I was rough around the edges, I'm telling dirty jokes, I'm flirting with your daughter, like I'm eating all your snacks.

You know, that's not great, right?

But they kept inviting me, and you know, kids are pretty good bull detectors.

I could tell if someone was just putting up with me to try to be a nice Christian, right?

People weren't putting up with me.

Like there were families that genuinely cared about me, and I'm I could feel it when I went over there.

I mean, I felt like I was part of their family, and I could see a better model of what family could be.

I mean, I've told you guys this before, but I remember the first time that we sat and had dinner, and someone said, Let's say grace.

And I'm like, Grace.

I mean, like, what why would you, you know, what does that even mean?

They meant pray for the food, and so we're all sitting there and everyone's heads went down, and they started praying for the food.

I'd never seen anyone do this, and I'm like, what is wrong with the food?

That we were all like, before we eat this, we better, you need to do your dealings with the Lord.

Get right or get left, and we're gonna eat this lasagna or whatever.

And I'm like, Well, I never I didn't know what that was.

Like, I had no idea.

And uh just seeing these things happen, it just was amazing to me.

I I'm telling you this that this is this is true.

Sometimes I would crash their family dinners.

I had no idea how rude and awful that was because I thought these people love having me over so much, I'm just gonna surprise them today.

Be like, guess what you get to do?

Hang out with Matt.

Woo! You know, like what a what a bonus for you.

Like, I and they're sitting there going, like, well, we weren't expecting that.

But you know what they did?

They'd grab me a plate, they'd ask me about my day, which was new for me.

That stuff meant the world to me.

Of people just being kind to the next generation.

They welcomed me and it influenced me so much that now I make sure in every environment that I work in and do that others are welcome to.

That wouldn't normally be welcome.

Because that was me at some point.

And so let me ask you who are you welcoming?

Is there anybody younger that you're invested in?

And I understand, look, well, Matt, they're not as mature, right?

Well, you should hear their viewpoints.

They have such wildly different viewpoints than I do.

Yep.

Sometimes I think they're speaking a different language.

I still don't know what 6'7 means to this day.

Yeah, absolutely.

But they are worth your time.

They're worth your heart, they're worth your prayers.

I remember this guy told me he was, he was like in his uh by the way, fun fact, I've never met anyone who lived over 90 years old until I moved to California.

Because we're from the South, right?

And the biscuits and the diabetes, and it just takes us all out.

Anyway, so we just don't make it that long.

It's fine.

You go down there, everybody's blood pressure is like insanity.

It's just, you know, it is because barbecue and things like that.

Anyway, so but um, there was a guy who was in his 80s, one of the oldest people I'd ever met in my life.

I was a teenager, and his name was Darwin, which I always thought was funny.

He was a Christian, but that's an inside joke.

But anyway, so uh just a little something there if you get the joke.

Anyway, but he would come up to me and he'd say, I pray for you every single day.

And I literally had never heard anyone tell me that.

I thought he was like lying.

I thought it was like something you know people say, you know, like, or whatever.

And he he would tell me, every way, you know, I pray for you, tell me if you ever need anything.

I'm not kidding.

I was going through something at college, and I found his number in this thing called a phone book.

Like, you probably don't have any idea what that is.

But I I called someone in my hometown.

I said, get the phone book out.

And I called Darwin, who's this 80-something-year-old guy, and I said, Hey, darn it, it's Matt.

Remember that guy you're praying for?

And he's like, Yeah.

And I said, Could you pray for me on something?

And he was so tickled to death that I called him because I had no one else to call because I didn't know anyone else that was praying for me except an old man named Darwin.

But it meant the world to me.

And who can you be praying for?

So here's the thing: if you're not connected to the next generation, your church can help you.

We can help you get connected to things like kids' ministry, where you can volunteer, youth ministry, and you're like, oh no, no, I'm not an expert.

Great, because we're not looking for them.

We're looking for people who care for the next generation and want to support them.

And so I'll put this QR code if you're here in the room or you're watching online and that's an era you've thought about volunteering in.

Listen, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna leave that off the table.

Put that right there, scan that in or talk to someone after the service, and we'd love to get you connected to that.

But here's the question for everybody who needs your welcome?

Who needs your support?

Because you may find that helping the next generation, just like Jesus said, it actually ends up helping you more than you're helping them.

Because you start to catch on to the hope of what's coming next and not the dread, and you start to realize like this is what I'm called to do.

You have no idea how many younger people are dying, literally dying, for someone who's farther along than them to just talk to them, support them, pray for them, give them some type of advice, but make sure they ask for it first, right?

You have no idea how many are out there.

And as Jesus followers, we want to welcome them because that's how you leave behind a legacy that goes far, far beyond the lives that we live today.

Let's pray.

Father, I just pray as we wrap up this series of talking through all these different steps that we can take.

Father, I lay it out there for people to welcome those who follow them, to not dread or fear or ignore these younger generations, but to welcome them.

Father, I do pray for our church that we can be a place that is constantly and continually welcoming the next generation, allowing them to take ownership, allowing them to take the reins and grab hold and take part of this community of faith and push it into the future.

Father, we just pray for ourselves and maybe for those who are farther along on the road.

To not just look so focused on the end, but to maybe look back and invest in the lives that will be here long after we're gone.

That maybe we know someone who's struggling, and maybe a good meal would be helpful for them, or or just some reach, or maybe a phone call to just say, I'm just praying for you today, and anything I'm gonna be praying about, I'm just thinking of you.

That we continue to be bridge builders, not bridge breakers.

There's so much influence on us to push against, to live in a bubble, to isolate ourselves from others.

But we know that's not the way.

And that's not the way you taught us.

It's to welcome those so that people might renew their hope in you.

Because we renewed our hope in them.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.