Yesterday was our Corps Cadet Sunday. A Corps Cadet is a young person training to be a Salvation Army soldier, and the meeting was prepared under the very able leadership of two mature and experienced ladies. I must admit, however, that I'm a little nervous when the young folk lead because I've had some pretty bad experiences on such Sunday's. Teenagers who are prone to giggle through the reading of scripture, kid's who don't know how to lead a song and ill prepared Sermons. Indeed, I remember working with one young man on his sermon but, when he came to preach it, he decided to talk about something else and gave three minutes of preaching and about 5 more of waffling around the same point. I had to get up and rescue him as he looked at me despairingly not knowing what else to say.
Yesterday, however, I witnessed something quite different. I saw young people confidently lead songs, read scripture, and take up the offering. In addition to this, I heard a sermon that was prepared, rehearsed and clearly delivered from a young man who has just turned 17 years old. I came away from the meeting on a high, excited at what the future holds for the Fredericksburg Corps. In addition to all of this, I was privileged to enroll a lovely young boy as a Junior Soldier...that is always thrill for me.
We must invest in our future, and I know that I need to trust our Young People more. At 17 I was already a leader in my home Corps (Church) in Coventry, England and I made a lot of mistakes. But I realize how important that experience was to me and my future as a Salvationist, and I feel that somebody empowering me at a young age was crucial to my calling. With all of these things in mind I will work at letting our Young people grow by allowing them to make mistakes knowing that these mistakes are preparing them for their calling.
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