rebelling against low expectations

Don’t Waste Your Christian School

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What are we doing here?

We’re all in high school. But what does that mean for us? There’s nothing we can do for God – there’s nothing we can do to spread the love of Christ, we don’t have to worry about our relationship with God right now.

Wrong.

There’s a rumor going around, it’s hit every church and every school and every youth group, young and old. The lie is this: the teen and college years are meant to be wasted developmental stages.

Again, wrong.

Because this is way too difficult to fit into three points, I’d like to just talk if that’s okay with you. Well, type – but you know what I mean.

I went on a college tour yesterday at Freed-Hardeman University. It’s a tiny private Christian college located in Henderson Tennessee (i.e. really small town and even smaller college).

My biggest concern was how secluded it was. I mean, there wasn’t anybody for hours around! If I attended there, it would just be Christians and nobody to reach out to. I’d be stuck for four years. But after some careful thought, I realized something. I was completely wrong.

You might think the same thing about your Church or your Christian school. There’s no one to reach out to. And that’s the point. Within your “organization”, there might not be anyone to reach out to because everyone’s a Christian. That’s an advantage you have. Your home base is sound. That means you have better opportunities to reach out.

Use this as a launch pad.

Me being the future thinker I am, after having this revelation began to think about what mission fields I would have access to and the resources I would have at this Christian college. I’d have a computer. Several friends. Professors. Books. I could reach out to girls in surrounding schools, start projects, plan short, all-girls mission trips, my mind wouldn’t stop racing with incredible thoughts.

The lesson here is this, use where you are right now as a launching pad.

You don’t have to be stagnant. You might not be able to drive. You might not have a lot of money. Your pile of homework might feel like Mount Everest, but God has incredible plans for you.

Think about what mission fields you have access to: your family, your extended family who don’t believe in God, your friends, those who visit your church, those you partake in extracurricular activities with, your social media following, and strangers who sit beside you in a restaurant.

These are those you are called to reach out to. These are your “mission fields.”

I was explaining to my brother how much I cared about people today and the example I used was a woman I saw at an airport recently. She had such passion. She was funny. She had friends. But I knew the things she was talking about and the language that she used meant she couldn’t be a Christian. I will never see this young woman again.

Despite that, it pained me to think that she wasn’t going to Heaven. I’m waiting for the day when I can muster up the courage to talk to someone about their faith on an airplane.

If you don’t have a burning desire that every person on this planet should be saved from their sins, I think you’re heart is in the wrong place. In fact, I’m sure it is.

You have mission fields.

Never believe that it’s too hard to do something. Planning a Bible study is just a series of steps and requires a love for the people you’re ministering to. Prayer doesn’t require anything but a notebook, belief in God, and a few minutes.

I want you to know other people have already done it. Teenagers have written books. Teenagers have led Bible studies. Teenagers have planned mission trips. Teenagers have brought people to be saved by Christ.

You can too.

What are your mission fields?

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'” (Matthew 28:18-19).


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About the author

Katie Beth

Katie Beth is a fifteen-year-old, homeschooled sophomore with a love for the keyboard. Some of her biggest accomplishments are her nearly published book, her active participation, and leadership in her Christian scouting group, and the daily devotionals she writes and posts on Medium.com. In the future, she aspires to continue to serve God and preach Christ through her writing, her actions, and in her numerous friend groups.

5 comments

  • This really is a much needed article Katie. We often forget that God is right there for us, and that He placed us right here, right now, to live, and witness Christ. We need to take the opportunities He gave us, and use them the way He intended us to reach the people around us.

    Great Job! Keep doing hard things!

  • This is such a great encouragement, Katie! It’s easy to think that we can’t do anything for God where we are, but we all have mission fields that we can reach that other people can’t. Thank you for writing, friend 🙂

  • Wow Katie! You just gave me some ideas. Thank you and I love your down to earth informal way of writing.

  • Your message was clear, heart-spoken and a needed reminder: “Use where you are right now as a launching pad.”
    Thanks, Katie Beth!

  • Princess-in-training, you changed your name! Yes, I try to check Rebelution only a few times a week, since the computer seems to suck out all my time:p Question: is Kyra Lynne a double first name, as in you tend to go by both of them? The reason I ask is because I have a double first name (Cricket is a pen name) and it’s not often I run across someone else with one.

By Katie Beth
rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →