Let's talk about our strategy to provide environments for those under 18 and for our adults. We must continue to make progress in providing a place where...

...preschool, children, and student ministries receive unparalleled resources to introduce kids to Jesus, lead them to faith in Jesus, and disciple them to become more like Jesus. Now I've never really been a fan of Whitney Houston, and part of it goes back to that sappy ballad, The Greatest Love of All. From the very beginning, that song gets on my nerves. You remember it... "I believe that children are our future..." That should bother all of us. CHILDREN ARE NOT OUR FUTURE. THEY ARE OUR PRESENT.

Now, you've probably been in some church somewhere and heard someone say about the kids, "They're the future of the church." Let me tell you what that really means. That statement means, "Yeah, they're the future, so let's teach them all we know about how we've always done church. That way, when we're ready to relinquish power, on our deathbeds, they'll follow exactly in our footsteps, and forever be driven by the maxims, 'Well, Brother so-and-so, wouldn't have done it that way' or 'Sister so-and-so would roll over in her grave if she thought we'd consider that.'" In the end, they're more concerned with passing along a mindset, rather than meeting the needs of the present or the future.

That's a downright shame! If we were really concerned about our children we would pay attention to the statistics that inform us that if a child has not made a personal decision for Christ by the age of 18, we face a tremendous uphill climb to reach them with the gospel after that. If we were really concerned about our children, we would weep when told that 80% of our high schoolers will leave church after graduation, and that only a fraction will return at some point years later--usually after they've thoroughly succeeded at making messes of their lives. That tells me that we'd better stop treating the kids as our future. We'd better be treating them as the here and now, or there won't be a future!

Given these trends, therefore, wouldn't it be wise for churches to pour their greatest resources into their ministries for those under the age of 18? Wouldn't it be "prudent" (thanks! George Bush and Dana Carvey) to give your best technology, media, and innovations to your kids? Wouldn't it be fantastic if those ministering to those under 18 were the best trained, most visionary, and most thoroughly committed volunteers in the church? Wouldn't it be beneficial to seamlessly coordinate ministries to them from birth to preschool, from preschool to elementary school, from elementary school to middle school, from middle school to high school, from high school to adulthood? Wouldn't it be smart to have someone oversee all those ministries as his primary responsibility? Wouldn't it... Wouldn't it? Get ready... We're about to do all we can to "bust" (yes, that is a word in South Carolina!!) those dismal statistics!

...authentic community drives our discipleship ministries to adults. If there's one thing that excites me about Gateway, it's our Life Groups. For those of you who don't know, our Life Groups are groups of about 10-12 people who meet in homes throughout the week. They meet for fellowship and discipleship. Groups are the greatest vehicles for discipleship that I have ever been a part of. Just in case you haven't "gotten" (also a word in South Carolina!!) it yet, I'll say it again, "I love groups."

Many people do not realize that one of our primary goals at Gateway is to have everyone not only serving in some capacity, but also plugged in to one of our groups! There are at least two reasons for that... First, groups are our first level of pastoral care for those in our congregation. Group members know that their group leaders and fellow group members will be the first ones on the scene whenever needs arise in their lives. Second, let's face it, for everything we offer for adults on Sunday mornings, our Sunday morning services are not designed to give you effective discipleship. You can come and sing, you can listen to the messages, but there is no structure for you to further explore what you've heard, to dig deeper. Now you can do so on your own, but honestly, how many of us truly have the personal discipline to effectively disciple ourselves? Very, very few. We can't even discipline ourselves to follow-through on our New Year's resolutions. Already, your calendars are littered with unkept resolutions, and it's only January 2! That said, the best discipleship in the world comes through having others hold you accountable for your growth in Christ. And yes, if you are a Christ-Follower, are not growing in Christ, and are comfortable with that, you need to get uncomfortable with it real quick. If you're not growing, you're rotting. Wait long enough and you'll be as spiritually appealing as month old bananas (fruit flies and all!). You need a group!

That said, Gateway is committed to your growth through Life Groups. 2008 will see us raise the stakes in Life Groups even more!!

Now before we call it a day, think about this...

We'll talk about processes tomorrow...

Sunday's coming!!

Thayer