Let me get straight to the point. The things that our students have been hard at work preparing for – it’s all getting canceled and postponed indefinitely. And the disappointment of losing so many academic and social markers of growing up is going to be crushing for our students.
Some of the highlights of my life are things like high school graduation, prom, spring performances, sports championships, and the like. But for current students, all the anticipation and hard work now lead to a trail of disappointment.
SATs & ACTs are canceled, and the likelihood of Advanced Placement testing getting canceled or postponed is very real as well. This is going to have an impact on the future of our students’ lives, and they know it.
On top of that, many students are beginning to worry about their livelihoods as they begin to see their parents starting to get stressed out and worried about their income and their jobs.
This is going to get very real, very fast. We as youth pastors and youth workers have to get ahead of it. We have to proclaim that Christ is enough when everything we want to do is getting canceled. We have to proclaim that what we see in the light is still true when the lights go out; God is good in the midst of a global pandemic and an economic meltdown.
But how do we minister well when we can’t be with our students physically? We have to use the available tools to meet with them, even if it’s virtual. We have to hear their voices and see their faces. We have to pray with them and listen to them as they share their disappointments and their worries.
Too many youth pastors are focused on how they can lead online games with their youth groups to pass the time — what a tragic misuse of the opportunity that lies ahead. Many Generation Z students will see their idols crumble before their eyes. Financial stability, living your best life, and personal success — all of these idols will topple over by the time this is over, and we must be there to help them see that these worthless gods cannot hold a candle to Jesus Christ. But not only are they not worthy, but these idols were also chains that held them back from embracing eternal life by knowing the Father and therefore the Son. (John 17:3) So here are three things youth workers need to teach and remind their students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. We must be there to remind them that suffering is God’s tool to shape us towards holiness
Our students are going to ask why they must suffer right now. They’re going to be bitter and angry towards God and their circumstances. We must teach them to bring these disappointments to the Lord right now – and we must also show them that God is dealing with the issues in our hearts. Did we really only love him for what he gave us? Or can we love him when life abounds in disappointment?
2. We must be there when family life gets hard
Let’s face it, many of our students have no idea how to have a healthy family life, and neither do their parents. But all of sudden, the house in which everyone was busy all the time is stuck together at home every single day and every single moment.
Though they’re family in their living conditions, what are the ties that bind them besides blood? Our students are going to need support in order to re-learn how to be a family and integrate back into the primary community God blessed us with. This isn’t going to be easy. They’re going to discover that they’re more selfish than they thought they were and far more impatient than they ever could have imagined. Their sinfulness will be on full display, and they’re not going to like who they become or who their family members become. They need space to talk about these things, and we must listen and counsel.
3. We must be there to remind them that Jesus is still king
And he’s not just a king reigning on some throne far away, but Christ is in our midst as we seek to love him and love our neighbor at this time. Jesus isn’t worried about the coronavirus. There is not a molecule in the universe that he isn’t aware of. And in him, we have our hope. In him, we have a guarantee that redemption is coming. Jesus died on the cross, but three days later rose again to prove this.
We may not be able to gather for Easter Sunday, but we can help our students to long for the final Easter, when we will be resurrected with Christ, no more tears and no more mourning. What the coronavirus is showing us is that we have put far too much hope in the things of this world, and not enough hope in Christ. We have the opportunity of a generation to show our students this truth — let’s not waste it.