leaders. Yet what can they do specifically to en courage youths not to overlook church vocations when scanning the occupational horizon ? The fol lowing are some possibilities: W hat C an P arents D o ? 1. Be active in your local church. You exert a tremendous influence on the lives of your children and young people. Therefore you should be involved in church work and find personal satisfaction in it. If you aren’t and don’t, how can you expect your young people to be? What you value in life affects that which your offspring will value. One writer stated that “ Adolescents who choose a church profession come from homes in which God is the Head of the household, not only on Sunday morning but all week long.” 2. Talk with your young people about church vocations. Actively encourage them to think of the vocational possibilities in Christian education. True, you shouldn’t coerce a teen ager to pursue any particular field. But on the other hand, don’t hesitate to suggest that Christian education vocations are worthy of consideration. Avoid giving your children the impression that Christian service is beneath them. Don’t convey by your attitudes and words that only a “ prestige vocation” with a high-pay ing salary should be considered. Instead do all you can to stress the high calling of serv ing the Lord. Exalt the Christian ministry! Point out that though church vocations do not offer the greatest financial returns, the rewards that come from helping others spir itually are unmatched. 3. Put your teen-agers in contact ivith Chris tian education ivorkers. Talking with an en thusiastic director of Christian education about his work can do more to interest a young person in that field than almost any thing else. One young person I know is now training for Christian service mainly be cause the Christian education director at his church shared the excitement of his work with him. See that your young people are exposed to missionaries in educational work, to youth leaders, to Christian education directors, to educational journalists and cu rr icu lum writers, to children’s workers, camp direc tors, pastors, and teachers. W hat C an C hurch W orkers D o ? Consider the following ideas (in addition to the three things suggested for parents): 1. Honor teen-agers who enter Christian serv-
least 25,000 different kinds of vocations are avail able to young people. No wonder teen-agers are baffled! Unfortunately, in this vocational maze Chris tian vocations often go begging. Many evangelical leaders are concerned that far too few youths ex press interest in full-time Christian work. This is particularly true of vocations in local church Christian education — a fast-growing aspect of Christian service. According to one survey of almost 200 churches, only half o f them are recruiting youth for re ligious vocations. In many of those churches, the rate is hardly one teen-ager in five years! There may be several reasons for this. One may be that other vocations often seem more appeal ing to young people. Somehow becoming a lawyer or doctor sounds more glamorous to young people than becoming a pastor, a director of Christian education, or an educational missionary. Voca tions in the secular world promise more financial security, more prestige, less sacrifice. A second reason may be*that high school vocational guid ance counselors often do not include church voca tions when dealing with youth. While I was in high school, my guidance counselor tried to dis courage me from entering Christian work! He felt I should get into something “more significant.” Opportunities to serve the Lord in education- related ministries are mushrooming. The follow ing is taken from a new brochure on church voca tions, published by the National Sunday School Association Research Commission: “More churches are recognizing the need for well-trained directors of Christian education, youth leaders, and children’s workers. “More mission boards are asking for educa tional missionaries — missionaries to teach and train nationals. “More pastors are sensing the need for training on how to supervise the program of the local church, which is largely educational. “More camps need well-trained directors and counselors. “More youth organizations need well-trained writers, editors, and artists with Christian edu cation training. “More churches need lay workers who are trained to teach God’s Word and serve effectively in the educational program.” The young, fast-growing National Association of Directors of Christian Education testifies, to the swelling interest in church educational voca tions. The “ placement department” o f this organ ization receives a constant flow o f requests from churches looking for DCEs. If more youth are to be enlisted in Christian education vocations, two groups of people need to shoulder that responsibility—parents and church
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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