“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions” (Acts 1:17, NRSV).
In 1983, while I was serving as a student pastor in rural North Carolina, there was a young girl in our youth group named Susie. She had been born with a variety of physical disabilities, yet she was one of the most faithful members of our group. Susie and her family lived at the base of a mountain that our youth group often climbed, but Susie never had been to the summit.
One afternoon, when the rest of the youth group was preparing to set out on the trail, Susie arrived with her mother. As we said a parting prayer, however, Susie chimed in, “I want to go up there.” Her mother reminded her, “Susie, you can’t walk without your braces. The hike is too difficult. It’s several miles.”
“But I want to go up there, Mama,” she said. “I want to see what it’s like at the top.”
One of the other teenagers—a strong football player named Gary, said, “Take her leg braces off. We’ll take turns carrying her to the top.”
This is what we did. It was glorious at the summit that day. Susie was able to look down on her home in the valley, and for the first time in her life she was able to participate in an activity she had only heard about. It was a remarkable experience for the rest of us, too. We were one as a group that day, and we had helped Susie’s dream come true.
What dreams can inspire your youth group? What is the vision you have for the ministry? What can you achieve together?
