At YouthHOPE, one of our core values is that we believe that youth are capable and ready to do ministry now. It is our goal to involve them in the work that we do in their communities. It’s about doing “with” them instead of doing “for” them. I read this article the other day What the Indian Youth thinks today, the World will do tomorrow. It was very interesting to hear from the perspective of an indian youth about how they felt that their generation could make a contribution to the world. Here are some of the characteristics that Pratiksha Chauhan had to say about today’s young people:
- The young minds of today have the courage to stand among the odds
- Youths have a modern thinking
- The young think of the whole world as a global community
- Modern youths always try to obtain full advantage of the developing technology
- Youth have great stamina and hence can strive hard, they are determined, hard-working and responsible
- young are matured earlier and thus can face and fight the odds or difficulties of life
It is very encouraging to see that there are global youth that are viewing their future in a positive light. Now here comes my cynical side…Is Pratiksha part of the minority of youth in developing countries that have access to opportunities like education, health care and other resources that are needed to succeed in today’s world? Is it possible that this optimism comes from access to financial resources or truly a belief in self? At YouthHOPE, we want for all youth to have that belief in self, that God created them to be something special and to make a difference in their community. So we are asking questions about how we can instill that sense of worth and capability. I think that Pratiksha has a hit a chord when she quoted Einstein, “The world we have produced is the product of our thinking. It will not change unless we change our thinking.” We can begin to work with youth on changing their thinking, their believing and that starts with their believing that God has a plan for them, a plan to prosper them and to give them a hope and future (Jeremiah 29:11).
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