The Duties of the Church to our Youth

We love our children dearly, although on occasion, burdens and heartaches sometimes come our way because of the misadventures of this next generation. There are several biblical responsibilities that we must fulfill as responsible parents. With such emphasis, someone may possibly fail to observe that the divinely appointed task of the church to provide spiritual direction and development for humanity (1 Corinthians 15:58) also places a measure of responsibility upon the church to positively impact the lives of its youth. Though the home has primary responsibility in providing spiritual direction for youth (Ephesians 6:1-4), the church should cooperate with parents in addressing spiritual matters related to youth. May we, as parents and as members of the body of Christ, work together to guide our youth unto spiritual perfection. The previous generation so guided many of us. Jesus said, “freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). The potential benefits to the next generation are indeed without measurement. May we, therefore, heartily endeavor to teach our youth so that the next generation will be pleasing to God.