Contending for the Next Generation

By Frank King

I found it necessary to write exhorting you to earnestly contend
for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.  – Jude 3

The 2021 theme for the congregation of Door Church Tucson is Contending for the Faith.

As Pastor Warner told us in his theme message of January 31, The Faith means “the core beliefs that define and make up the truth of historic Christianity; the specific body of beliefs or knowledge from which faith arises.”

This exhortation becomes even more pertinent to our lives when we consider that 2021 will be the year we that we dedicate and occupy our new Worship and Conference Center, which Pastor Warner has called our Next Generation Center.

During the ground-breaking ceremony, he specifically designated a child as his “feet,” to turn the dirt with the shovel. This choice – the son of the son of a ’70s convert – says a lot about this congregation’s vision for the future church.

It is the third generation of Door Church Tucson converts who will benefit most from our new building. We older saints may get the handicap parking, but the younger saints will be occupying the premises for a much longer time than we will. Parents and elders in our congregation must contend for that generation, that they might contend for The Faith.

This has been the history of The Faith: Elders teaching the youth, who mature into positions of ministry and then pass the torch to the next generation after them.

Asaph, the writer of Psalm 78, instructs the people of God in a proven pattern to contend for The Faith. The first verse commands us to “give ear” to the Law and listen to the Words that God speaks. Verse 2 tells us that Asaph (and by extension, we) will teach in parables, just as we know Jesus did. Verse 3 says that these teachings are those that “our fathers have told us,” and verse 4 admonishes us not to hide them from our children, but in turn transfer these truths to the next generation; specifically: that God is worthy of praise, and that He has shown us His strength and has done wonderful works on our behalf.

The testimony of our personal walk in The Faith must be recounted to our children because it becomes part of their preparation for their turn to Contend. The “parables” we tell to the next generation are the personal stories of our conversion, of our adventures in God when He has shown Himself strong for us, of our spiritual growth and our journey of discipleship.

Asaph was a Levite and one of the leaders of David's choir (1 Chronicles 6:39). When David brought the Ark of the Covenant (the focus of God’s presence) back to Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles 15, he instructed the Levites to assign their best worshipers to sing before it. Asaph was one of these. Then, in 1 Chronicles 16:37, we find that Asaph was chosen to “minister before the Ark continually.” According to Harper’s Bible Dictionary, Asaph also performed at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, as documented in 2 Chronicles 5:12.

I see a parallel between Asaph and the next generation of Door Church worshipers in the new Conference and Worship Center. Our children will be the ones who will be bringing the Ark into the temple. We must do our best to equip them to do so.

In Old Testament times, bringing the Ark into the Tabernacle brought God’s presence into the camp. Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. As we begin to praise Him, He manifests His power in our midst. Our children must be worshipers if God’s presence is to be with them. When the time comes for our children to invite the presence of God into our worship services, will they be ready?

Psalm 78 gives us a helpful clue for training future Contenders. Verse 5 reflects back to “a testimony in Jacob…a law in Israel.” This is a command to recall the times when God spoke directly to the forefathers, giving instruction and admonition that they were to pass the truth down to their children. We must instruct our children in God’s laws and declare to them that they may “set their hope in God.” If the children remember His works and keep His commandments, they will enter His presence.

This is exactly the goal of Next Generation Ministries. Through the ministry of Faith Sprouts, Little Lambs, Little Shepherds, Quest 119 Bible Hour, Children’s Church, and Young Servants classes, our youth are being taught the Word of God, and are being discipled to minister it.

But NGM is not the entire answer. When NGM was organized over 40 years ago, its mission was to assist parents. As a team during the ’90s we formalized that mission into a statement: NGM exists to assist families in equipping the next generation to claim its rightful inheritance as His Church.

Jude’s term earnestly contend is an athletic one set in the context of the Greek Olympic Games. The term refers to the kind of focused effort each athlete must put forth to win the prize. This should sound familiar to any parent whose child has been a member of an athletic team.

When a child joins a team, the parents join as well. We do everything we can to encourage and facilitate their success. We become their taxi to practices and games, their procurer of uniforms and equipment, and the cheerleaders who root for their victory. Should we do anything less in creating an environment for their success as they contend earnestly for The Faith?

If we are to assist the next generation in claiming its rightful inheritance as His Church, we must put in at least as much effort as we do for our soccer players. Our job includes transporting these spiritual athletes to Children’s Church and Vision Unlimited services and to ministry practice sessions. We should ensure that their equipment (Bibles, study guides, materials, and lesson plans) are procured, used, and put into practice.

Most of all, we need to become their cheerleaders, encouraging and admonishing, “Warning those who are unruly, comforting the fainthearted, upholding the weak, being patient with all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). But training is only part of our responsibility to the Next Generation Church. We also must be guardians against the apostasy that runs rampant in our culture.

Pastor Warner pointed out that the world is a battleground, not a playground; and that it is time for us to put down the harp and pick up the trumpet. In their early years, our children are on a cultural playground. They are usually in our presence or in the presence of those we trust, and (to expand on Pastor’s object lesson) our “music” to them is primarily the harp: a soft, gentle encouragement and exhortation to do right.

But as our children approach the adolescent years, they are increasingly moving out from under our protection. They have moved from the playground to the battleground. This is a good thing. Our children need to learn to stand on their own two feet upon the rock of God’s Word.

During these years, we need to sound the trumpet more often. Our children are facing the same apostasy as we are, but as of yet they are not as well equipped as Christian adults, either intellectually or spiritually. We can assist them by making every effort to keep up to date on the challenges that our children are facing.

There are multiple resources available to assist us. We just need to seek them out. Focus on the Family, James Dobson’s Family Talk, Parenting Great Kids with Meg Meeker, and All About Boys from Root Ministries are some of my favorites. I also have gleaned some great information from the Colson Center and from Axis Ministries.

Of course, parental discretion is advised anytime you look for resources outside your church family. When in doubt, Door Church Tucson has dozens of quality children’s workers to consult locally, and you can find a link to Ask a Pastor on our website at www.door.church.

Your children’s peers are powerful influencers; know them well. When I was growing up, my dad and mom made it a point to meet all my friends and advised me as to any dangers they perceived; we, in turn, did the same with our own children. Make your home a friendly place for your kids and their friends so you can observe them in their social interactions and look for warning signs.

Since today’s kids do so much of their socializing virtually, however, the character of their friends may not be as apparent. A good parent will take the time and effort needed to filter and track Internet activity that may be influencing their children.

Per Pastor Warner’s warning, look for signs of apostasy in your children. Today’s society, just as in the days of the Apostle Paul, tends toward a drift into bad teachings concerning God’s grace and the divinity of Jesus. Frequent casual conversations with your kids (not 3-point sermons) will reveal a lot about the doctrine they are exposed to daily. If they begin to veer off course, a redirection is much more easily achieved early on than when they are about to hit the rocks.

We should be encouraging our children just as Paul encouraged his disciple, Timothy:

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:1-5).