Nationwide, children and young people without church connections are turning up on church doorsteps. This is happening at most churches we speak to, whether urban, suburban or rural. Your church needs to get ready, says Dom Conidi, SU’s Central Region Team Leader – because it could happen to you!
At a Newcastle church, two ministers were chatting after a midweek service when a young man in his late teens walked in, carrying a Bible. He looked around, walked to the front of the church, sat down and began reading. One minister went over to the young man, sat down with him and asked if he could help.
The young man said he had had a dream and, on waking, felt the strong urge to come to church and read his Bible. So, he had dug out his old school Bible and here he was. The minister then spent the next hour talking and praying with this lad. Now the two of them meet regularly for coffee and the minister is starting to disciple the young man.
Dom says, ‘There are dozens of similar stories from across the country. Some suggest that in a world characterised by global instability, online engagement and mental health challenges, young people are being driven to seek hope and meaning. But that doesn’t account for widespread reports of them having supernatural encounters, such as dreams or why there are five-year-olds asking their parents if they can go to church!’
More stories of ‘turner uppers’ from the SU community:
Wales: A teenage girl was contacted out of the blue by a friend she had not heard from in over a year. She’d had a dream telling her to go to church with her, so they went together. Then on a weekend residential the friend decided to follow Jesus. Since then, they have been working through SU’s So, What Next? book together.
South region: Two primary school girls with no church background both had revelations of Jesus and his love in their dreams. They decided to start a prayer club at their school.
Central region: In her desire to know God, a teenage girl prayed to every God she could think of with no response until she had an incredible revelation of the love of Jesus. She found a local church and began to read the Bible.
North region: A teenage girl asked her church-going neighbour if she could come to church with him. With her parents’ permission, the neighbour took her along. Two weeks later, she went on the church youth weekend away. Now she says she is a Christian and is ‘the happiest I have ever been’. She is working through SU’s So, What Next? book at home.
Online: A teenage girl who had been exploring dark spirituality online had a vivid vision of Jesus in a dream. She turned up at a local church on a Wednesday afternoon, found the church leader and through conversation began a journey of faith.
70 per cent of the churches at a recent SU seminar had had children or young people without church connections just turning up at church. Many had talked their parents into bringing them or had asked to accompany a churchgoing friend or neighbour. However, over a quarter of primary age children had come on their own!
‘Praise God for this work of the Holy Spirit,’ says Dom. ‘Every church nationwide needs to be ready to welcome young “turner uppers” safely and Reveal Jesus to them through a relational discipleship journey.’
Are you 'Revival Ready'?
We long to see a new generation with a vibrant faith in Jesus. Are those prayers beginning to be answered? Could we be witnessing a groundswell of children and young people seeking truth in God's Word? We are living in extraordinary times, that's for sure! Find out more about how you and your community can get 'Revival Ready' as we help equip churches in how to welcome and disciple this new generation of 'turner-uppers'.
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