About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live in absolute poverty today and almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. With few resources to meet their basic needs, youth who are in poverty are trying to make ends meet in order to survive. This is a deadly disease and is a widespread pandemic. And believe it or not, income differentials are widening, which means the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.
Poverty is persistent, deadly and breeds hopelessness. But the local church is even more persistent breaking down the walls of impoverished people. In Southeast Asia, global youth workers are creating an entrepreneurship school. In Zambia, youth now have access to sustainable jobs and better farming techniques through youth worker training. In Malawi, youth are given HIV education in secondary schools, and the youth workers are empowering the youth through Farming God’s Way techniques to raise sustainable crops for their families. Holistic youth ministry instills hope into communities.
When I look at the church in Acts, I see a church that was all about the holistic needs of those around them:
- devoted to teaching (intellectual),
- fellowship (social),
- the breaking of bread (physical),
- and to prayer (spiritual).
All the believers were together and had everything in common; they sold their possessions and goods, and gave to anyone as he had need. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:42-47). When we love Jesus, we show him this love by feeding his lambs and by taking care of his sheep (John 21:15-17).
By creating sustainable jobs to provide income for local youth, introducing basic farming techniques to increase crop production, and training global youth workers to help meet the needs of the youth in the community, we see life transformation. At YouthHOPE, we believe that the youth of the world are ready for ministry now!!! Jesus invested his ministry into 12 youth who would go out and become the church that we read of in Acts. Do you believe in investing in the power of transforming the lives of youth??? Poverty will not be eradicated without divine intervention by Christ and his bride the church.
Not only do we believe in the potential of youth, we believe it is our job to partner with the youth in the community and meet the needs of those in which they serve. The youth of this world are not the future but the present, and we believe that Christ can empower change through them. The Church can meet the holistic needs of their community by investing in their youth. The Church is God’s tool for alleviating poverty.
About B Sue
