A small church had three youth in the church. So the pastor of the church prayed about it, and they tried something on faith. They hired a part-time youth director. He did a great job. Pretty soon thirty kids were coming on Wednesday night for youth group at the church. Most of these kids were not members of any church. They came from all over town. They played games and ate and prayed. The youth program was really good.
But then one day, something happened. Some church members got pretty upset because the kids didn’t pick up their plates on Wednesday night. And then something else. The kids got somewhat loud one night, and they bothered the choir. And then something else. Some church members saw a couple of the youth sitting on a table, instead of a chair. And there’s more. They discovered that the youth director forgot to turn off the lights in the church one night when they left. At the next Council meeting, they shared those feelings quite directly. The youth director, the pastor and the kids got the message very clearly.
Guess how many kids are in that church today? None. That church has no youth group or youth program. It’s all gone.
And now? It’s very quiet on Wednesday nights, like a cemetery. And nobody is messing up the floors or sitting on tables or leaving the lights on because no one is there. A true story. To me, a sad story.
I am reminded of Proverbs 14:4: “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean.”