Second Wednesday of every second month is a good day for me, it's the day when the employed parish youth workers/ministers meet up to share, pray and eat, often called networking! During that time there was quite a discussion which, when boiled down was about how we pass on faith... It started when one person noted how they put more time and energy in supporting those who seemed the most committed and wanted to grow in their relationship with God. From this the question, how do I encourage the others to value their faith more and for both groups how do I help them to recognise that they have to want to read their Bible and pray, not just because I want them to.
The conversation covered whether we can actually influence them that much unless they want to; the different ways in which people engage with us in any learning (life) situation and how we ultimately have to recognise God's work in that situation.
It is easy for us to get into blaming ourselves for everything in relation to our work with people, particularly when they don't seem to want to go where we are offering or guiding. The general view was that it doesn't get any easier if for you, faith is really important. Each of us has to ulimately take responsibility for what we do - or don't do, which includes our relationship with God.
In the end we have to live out our lives, knowing we are being watched, but also knowing that the things we say and do will influence, hopefully as a result we may see changes in people's lives, but often we only see a glimpse of the impact that we have - only when they tell their story will others learn about that influence.
Life can be tough, but what a great challenge to work out our faith knowing that others are watching!
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