Unless The Lord and the Pandemic Population

June 22nd, 2022

I am reading Tim Elmore’s book, The Pandemic Population. I love Tim Elmore because of the research he has done on young people and the research he continues to do. The world is changing rapidly and I decided I wanted to see what Tim had to say about how the pandemic has changed our young people and possibly how we can help.

I didn’t want to just be a jerk and act like they just needed to toughen up. Although I have thought about it many times. I want to be acutely focused on how, I, as a pastor can become a help for these young adults and how I can begin to help them become highly functional family units in the future.

So…. I decided to see what I could do, which must start with my research into the matter, which led me to this book. What I can tell you, is that this generation might be the most educated, the most technologically advanced, and the most riddled with mental health issues. They are a group of young people who lost two very important years of their lives and they are now in the catch-up mode. If you think about it, many milestones were missed due to the fact that we were shut down, and many youth couldn’t start college, or even have normal graduation. Those who had recently graduated from college were expected to wait to begin their careers, and now many of those careers don’t exist. Young families that thought they might be able to buy a home have been thwarted by a booming seller’s market and now are watching as interest rates and gas prices skyrocket. So who am I to tell them to buck up. I was the parent who raised them and mowed down the weeds so they could have a great childhood.

The question I am now asking is, “How can I help them navigate this new world when I don’t even understand it?” The answer is simple. Jesus. Jesus knew this was coming, He knew that children would be hijacked, and He knew they would need Him. The Church must step up and lead these young people by loving them in a way that only the church can, with the love of Jesus. We can’t sit back and hope they find Him without our help. Unless the Lord is top priority in our churches, we will fail to meet the most essential needs of these young people and will watch as they continue to become more and more post-church, and post-Jesus. Let’s not be people who think we don’t have the answers, instead, let’s give the right answer through our actions and our strategies.