January 19, 2021
Dear friends,
Every year at this time, we prepare some statistics for our Annual Report and for reporting to the Synod. As I was working on this, I rigged up the chart you see below out of curiosity. It shows the distribution of ages here at Concordia. So, the left-most blue bar shows you how many people are between the ages of 2 and 20. The next bar shows how many are between 20 and 39, and so on. Not surprisingly, the 57-75 age range is the largest:
I wanted to share this because of how tall that first bar is. There are a lot of young folks around here!
Why does that matter?
It does not matter in the way that statistics tend to matter in our lives: to compare and see how we stack up against the competition. That’s not it at all. Don’t think that way.
Instead, I’m showing you this chart because it reveals a tremendous responsibility and opportunity, which belong to all of us – to every last one of you.
We have a responsibility together as a church to help train up children in the way they should go. We make this explicit at every Baptism, as we witness together the work of God in washing that child, and as we welcome together a new member of God’s kingdom. As we hear the promises made in Confirmation, we rejoice that the same faith we confess has now been confessed by this young adult.
We have an opportunity simply laid before us to see God’s Word in action as it builds up and sustains the precious faith of those who have entered the kingdom of God just as Jesus described: as a little child. It is an opportunity to carry on the mission of the Church – spreading the Gospel so that more may hear and believe – right here within our own families. For someday those children will have children of their own, and what they learn now through us will be what they also teach in their own families. What an incredible opportunity to spread the Gospel!
With all of that in mind, let me encourage you to take that responsibility seriously and to take advantage of this opportunity. You matter more than you can know to those children, even if you only ever see them in passing on a Sunday morning. We are all members of one body. They are your family.
Here’s what I mean practically:
1. Come to church every week. Children learn primarily by imitation. They will follow your example. If you think that nobody cares that you’re here, much less any of the children, you’re simply wrong. For one thing, kids notice far more than we realize. And they imitate far more than anyone wants to admit. You do so much good when the kids see you here every week because they learn that worshiping God with their family at church is essential to their life, just as it is essential to yours.
2. Pray for the children, their parents, and our whole church. Pray for faith, courage, and discipline, and thank God that he has given us everything that we need to stand firm in this life, trusting in his promises.
3. Be encouraging. Whenever you can, talk with the kids about Jesus and about how wonderful it is when they’re here. When you don’t see them, show them that you’ve missed them. Encourage their parents to keep up the good work and to be diligent in their task.
Again, I can’t emphasize enough how much all of you matter in this effort. God has given us so many gifts. Let us always be thankful for them! Let us rejoice in him and show our love for his precious children.
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs