What is the one thing young people long for the most? Thats a question I have been pondering recently as I have been considering the format our youthwork should take. And one of the key things I feel matters most to young people, and indeed all of us if we are honest, is a sense of acceptance and belonging. The peer-group influence is one of the most influential in the lives of our young people. And with that comes alot of pressures : the need to conform, wear the right clothes, go to the right places, listen to the right music, socialise in the right scene. As Linkin Park put it "I wanna find something I've wanted all along, Somewhere I Belong"
An article I was reading by Bill Cummings entitled "The Church On Monday" expresses this need to belong as follows:
Even in a culture of individualism, independence, humanism and self-gratification, the foundational need of human beings to connect to other human beings still exists deep in the heart of every person. We long to belong. We are in desperate need to love others and be loved by others. We need to know we are part of something bigger than ourselves. God not did create us to be independent or alone. Even He is not alone.

So how does church fit into this, how do we as a church address this need and provide a positive environment where young people are accepted and belong. Our readings of the Early Church certainly suggest that this relational atmosphere of caring and belonging was central in its ethos.

The Fellowship of the Believers

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)


Surely this should be what we must strive towards again if we are to see a fresh revival of the Church of Jesus Christ on these shores again.