Baptists could teach us a lesson or two
The Presbyterian Layman September/October 2000 Volume 33, Number 5, September 29, 2000
There is a tendency in the Presbyterian Church (USA) toward arrogant utterances about Baptists. Sometimes, Presbyterians get dangerously close to the Pharisee who said, “God, I thank you that I’m not like …”
Well, it could be worse than to be like the Baptists. Compare what they did for their youth at the end of 1999 to what we did in the PCUSA. The Baptists held a seven-city event called YouthLink. More than 46,000 young people participated. The Baptists saved money by cutting travel expenses that would have been much higher for a single site. Also, with satellite hookups, they broadcast the concerts, teaching and preaching to large screens in the seven cities.
The costs were $143 a person for three days, Dec. 29-31. There was no red ink because Baptist mission agencies had agreed in advance to underwrite the event.
The Presbyterians’ “The Dawn … An Epiphany” was held in Indianapolis Dec. 29-31. Organizers predicted 30,000 would attend. Only 2,000 did. There was $1.7 million in red ink, an average loss of $850 per young person who attended the event.
The financial comparison would be numbing by itself, but there was an even more significant factor. More than 15,000 of the young people who attended the Baptist event made commitments to Christian service. That’s an overwhelming statistic. One out of three young people experienced a reason to serve others through personal witness. That’s the kind of witness that continues to fuel the growth and dynamism of the Southern Baptist Convention. Organizers of “The Dawn” didn’t report how many young people planned to go into Christian service. We’re not sure the question was even asked. For some, it sounds “too Baptist.”
This edition of The Presbyterian Layman also includes an article about Urbana 2000, a millennial event sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Urbana will be held at the end of 2000. Nearly 20,000 young people will attend. Based on past Urbanas, nearly 80 percent of those attending will make a commitment to Christian service.
Our point: There are youth events whose organizers are not ashamed to challenge young people to stand up for Christ. And those young people who accept that challenge are the ones building the Church of today and tomorrow. It is arrogance to assume, as some do, that our denomination’s ministry to young people is superior to those that boldly recruit young men and women to take the Gospel to a sin-ridden world hungry for truth.