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This is a message to all
our young people. The devil is after you because
you are the present and future of our church.
He wants you to feel worthless, unloved, and willing
to do anything to get accepted. But remember,
YOU ARE ALREADY ACCEPTED. God loves you, and you
are created in His image. It is time for all of us
to realize that we are children of the King, and if
someone treats us otherwise, we need to make them
recognize. It is in Christ Jesus that we have the
victory. He did not die for us to feel that we are
unworthy, but that we are heirs to the Kingdom.
We need to realize that every problem and situation
in this world is temporary, but His love is everlasting.
Now to our adults of the church,
we need to model this love to our youth otherwise they
won't get it. Too many families are living in violence,
divorce, or are just not having any type of love at all.
This is what our youth ministries are fighting with most.
It is not the media, friends, or society that we are
battling against, but the family or domestic church.
We can teach and minister for 2 hours out of the week,
but what they have grown up with at home or deal with
when they get home will shape our young peoples' mindsets
about love and relationships.
Well back to Allen. He had a
great time at prom. He came to my office the next
Monday and showed me some pictures of him and his date
that his family took. I was proud of the boy.
He then said, "Oh Mr. Augustine…. I'm still a virgin."
That boy had the biggest smile on his face because
he knew he did the right thing. He told me that he
had a talk with his girlfriend about how he cared for
her so much that he did not want their relationship
to be built on physical activities, but on love and
trust (I think I will have Allen lead a workshop for
our adults in the church). What can I say except I
was proud of the young man, and I hope this couple
can be a model about what dating should be about,
and that you do not have to give in to what everyone
says you should be. In conclusion, our youth are
not lost, they are just following the examples of
the adults in front of them.
Ansel Augustine is a 26 year old
Director of Youth/Young Adult Ministries at
St. Peter Claver Church in New Orleans, LA. Ansel
graduated from Loyola University of New Orleans with a
BS in Sociology. He also received his Masters in
Pastoral Studies/Youth Ministry from Loyola's Institute or Ministry.
Ansel also received his Certificate in Youth Ministry from the
Xavier University Institute for Black Catholic Studies.
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