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Recently I walked past Newtown Mission, a church I’d supported back in 2012 where we cooked meals for the homeless and disadvantaged in the local community. In walking past, I again found myself confronted with the homeless begging on the street corner out the front of Newtown station. Whilst on one hand feeling thankful that the Church has become a refuge for them, I was also struck by a profound sense of loss that in the years of ongoing service by the church and the effort I’d put in, that some problems just don’t get solved. I turned to prayer, what else could I do with this sense of helplessness?

Perhaps you’ve felt the same, perhaps not. Either way, our kids do. In research by the Gallup-Walton Family Foundation, Generation Z (Secondary students) are the most disillusioned and pessimistic generation alive, particularly about their future and the future of our world. Early statistics on Generation Alpha (Primary students) aren’t looking promising either.

So, what do we do? What wisdom does God have to offer us in the face of hopeless problems?

We begin with looking to the God of hope. He is the one who fills us with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope (Romans 15:13). While we don’t know what the future holds, we do know the one who holds it.

Alongside this, God calls us to not look passively upon the impact of sin in our world, but ‘to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8b). In Year 10 Biblical Studies, this verse is a key part of our term-long project where students research and then present practical ways young people can make a difference to world issues. The temptation to cushion our children from every harsh reality of the world is strong, but not wise. Either they learn now with our love, support and guidance that they can make a difference, or become disillusioned with the world later. Where do we even begin though? Jesus’ wisdom for us is:

• Start with your neighbour: The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) helps us to see that loving your neighbour is for all we come across who are in need and who we can help. Each year group in our College has their own service organisation that we partner with and support. Start by asking your child about theirs. Over their school journey they’ll have the opportunity to make a practical difference for at least 14 issues in our world, however this gives us the chance to grow hope in our students by just confronting one issue at a time.

• Start with what you have: The Widow’s Offering (Mark 12:41-44) shows Jesus’ praise for those who give what they can, rather than those who give boastfully. We want our kids to give what they have. We are more interested in the attitude of their hearts and their hands than about looking good by throwing money at a problem. For those suffering their own financial hardships, we want to free you up from some of the burdens of parental guilt. Helping students find practical ways to support or fundraise is far more impactful for the sorts of children we want to raise. We have students who support through doing extra jobs at home, offering to mow people’s lawns, and those offering their time to make a difference in other communities through our Outback
Service Trip and Mission Fiji trip.

A deeply impacting moment in my own faith journey through High School was discovering that the three friends who first invited me to a Youth Group, also financially supported a Compassion Sponsor child between them through busking in my local neighbourhood. These were not young people who felt hopeless. These were young people who had a God of hope on their side and knew God’s wisdom to see how they could bring hope to others.

Julian Elton
CHAPLAIN