Our Core - Future Focused –

The Next Generation Is In Our Focus Passage

May 22, 2020

• Introduction:

  1. What a special morning!
     1. Bob Long – former youth pastor who was a key member of our staff beyond his ministry to the youth, who has deeply invested in our good brothers Mike and Josh and now is working with young leaders in the Philippines to prepare them for ministry.
     2. Kim Philips who for more than three decades has invested in our kids clubs here at MVC, which has not only impacted our kids but many from the neighborhood.
        1. One thing I have always appreciated about Kim and her husband Craig is that when there is a need behind the scenes somehow if you look you will always find these two there serving.
        2. Thank you two for your many years of service to this church
     3. How appropriate that the value of MVC we are going to look at this morning is future focused – the next generation is in our sight.
     4. In just a few moments, we are going to have Bob back up to share with us a message of the importance of investing in the next generation so I just want to explain this value for MVC.
        1. Put up the complete value

• It is pretty self-explanatory so let me just highlight a few points

• Our legacy

  1. Legacy means – a gift or something transmitted by an ancestor or predecessor to someone following them.
  2. This is important to us because we do not want to be one of those churches that die off from old age because we never made the intentional adjustments necessary to reach and invest in the next generation.

• Leverage opportunities to help the emerging generation

  • . Many generations within our MVC, at the very least six
    1. Silent generation – 1945 and before

• Baby boomers – 1946-1964

• Gen X – 1965-1976
• Gen Y/millennials – 1977-1995
• Gen Z/centennials – 1996-2010
• Gen alpha – 2010-2025
• Special attention to two groups I am going to classify by age
  1. First - birth to twenty five - children, youth, young adults – this is an investment into the larger kingdom of God as many of those will likely move on from MVC as life opens up for them
  2. 25-50 – these are important to the future of MVC as many are already established in this area and have 25-50 years of ministry in you where you can impact MVC and this area.
• But for those from 51-100 you are very important as well. The reason is that you have lived life and walked with Jesus long enough to have the finest wine of Jesus to pour into others.
  1. The role of us in this stage of life is to teach others the lessons we have learned along the way so they can navigate life from a better vantage point.
  2. You are the key people who can help pass on the legacy to the next generations.
• How does this apply to you
  1. But here is the question that every generation should be asking themselves, from teens to 100!
     1. Who is my next generation– age wise (with different seasons of life to go through) or spiritually (new believer, established, ministering, leader) that I can be investing in?
     2. Encourage you to look around to find someone who looks like they are walking alone and get next to them and pour into them, or join one of our ministries (crib – young adult) and experience the joy of doing what you were created to do, impact others for Jesus!
     3. Bob …