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Originally Posted by jigsaw44
3.5 Do the LC members consider and reflect on the exodus of many young LC kids? Or do they brush it off aside and simply think they are weak believers or inferior? Do LC people consider the causes of people leaving?
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As a former worker in the children’s ministry (about 7 years) and the YP ministry (about 3 years), I can say it’s a strange combination of regret, shame, and apathy. Shortly before the pandemic (2018-2019), there was much talk among the children’s workers about this topic. There was a decision for all the children’s workers to read up on a book created by the leaders of The Lord’s Recovery titled Raising Up the Next Generation for the Church Life: Lessons and Ministry Excerpts for Those Serving with Children and Young People. The book says that the lessons contained therein were “compiled from the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.”
I do not remember all from the book, and I seem to have misplaced my copy. What I do remember is a deep lamentation within the text of how The Lord’s Recovery loses up to half of its church kids by the time they finish college and how there need to be changes to make sure the church retains its own. It also spoke of how many young ones were stricken with depression and suicidal tendencies due to a lack of love and attention. It emphasized a greater need to love and cherish the young ones and made light of the need of the children’s workers to teach them using the scriptures. There was this thought of “too much bible” and that it was not the goal of the children’s ministry to teach the children regarding such things until the children themselves felt they wanted to. Still, the teaching of the scriptures were to be left primarily to the families, while the children’s workers should focus more on just loving and cherishing and making sure the little ones grow up to be “good vessels” for the Lord who could one day partake of the ministry and perhaps gain their friends from school and bring them into the ministry.
I recall that when we started studying this book, we had over a dozen workers in the children’s ministry and a few more in the YP ministry. People would cycle, taking turns each Sunday to lead the children’s and YP meetings, and we would often read stories from the bible to teach kids about God’s people and whatnot. As the year went on, however, there were less and less workers willing to help out. Before I knew it, the only ones who fully dedicated dropped from over a dozen to just about three or four. The pandemic only served to make things even more difficult. By that point, it was pretty much just me and one other brother who were fully dedicated. The lessons had also dwindled to full expositions of the stories of men such as Samuel and Daniel to little blurbs about how to be made into “good vessels” for the Lord. This new format no longer included wider stories and experiences from the bible, but just several songs (10-15 minutes) followed a brief little speaking by one of the teachers about this or that with perhaps a few comments from the little ones (5-ish minutes) and the introduction of a single “memory verse” (about a minute or two, usually).
Anyhow, after about a year of studying this book, it was clear that many, for various reasons, no longer sought to work in the children’s ministry, and we were not able to replenish our numbers with more workers. When I conversed with the leading brother in the children’s ministry about getting into the scriptures more, he was resistant and sounded defeated, saying that if we use more scriptures, parents will get upset but that many parents were already upset and complaining that we did not get into the bible more. Less and less children were present in the meetings, and the pandemic made this number drop from about two dozen children on average to about 5 or 6. After the pandemic began to clear up and more people were willing to come to the meetings, I recall having a conversation with my mentor about the YP meetings (middle/high school). These meetings, I felt, were also dwindling in our use of the scriptures, especially considering that these were teenagers who were coming close to becoming young adults. By this point, I felt it pertinent to really dig into the scriptures with them and help them gain more knowledge about the God they believe in and what he has done throughout the ages. Keep in mind that Lee’s teachings were said to have provided for such things, but I know many here will agree with me that Lee’s teachings, in the very best of cases, often falls short of really building these young ones up.
After conversing with a few others who seemed to have a heart for the young ones, we went to the elders for guidance, and what they told us was that we should not worry about setting anything up or doing anything by our own effort. I raised concerns regarding the lack of workers, but we were told that the duty of an elder did not include telling others what to do, even through exhortation. We should just get together as the serving ones and “fellowship” until something spontaneously happens. Of course, this “fellowship” did not entail any actual planning or getting into the scriptures, but rather “calling” and “pray-reading” and praying for about half an hour. About once a month, we would check in with the elders, who would once again proceed to tell us to “fellowship” more so that we could grow in love and cherish one another, but none of that fellowship led to anything remotely substantial. After about three months of this, I became incredibly discouraged and decided to no longer participate in such fruitless meetings. About 9 months later, I pulled away from the YP meetings altogether after having served for about 3 years.
Sometime after my departure, I met with my mentor and let him know that I had felt disappointed in the elders and their apparent unwillingness to do much for the YP time or to exhort others in the assembly to do something to help. I was met with indignation and a repetition of the old Recovery adage that elders simply aren’t there to tell others what to do, even through exhortation. These things must happen spontaneously, “organically.” I brought up the apostles and how they often exhorted others to do what was right and care for others within the church, but I was met with more indignation. I recalled how there was a sister who was left on her own working with the YP meetings and children’s meetings and how it was not good to have done that to her, but I was told that sisters should not speak up about such matters as sisters should be quiet in the church. I once again mentioned the lack of workers, but I was told that it was no good because they did not have money to pay more full-timers. I mentioned a particular brother that I felt was fit to lead the YP time, but I was shamed for not taking more responsibility upon myself to do more for the young people despite being one of the five or so people left who was actually consistently and faithfully serving with the young people and children.
They had dedicated so much time and money and effort to the college students, even in the midst of the pandemic (you can see my testimony on this ministry over on the thread titled "Deceptions on Campus), yet they neglected to provide anything substantial to their own children in the church despite all the cries and lamentations of how the “church kids” were leaving in droves. It was such a paradoxical situation for me, and I was only shunned and shamed for speaking up about it (along with a sister who also worked tirelessly to do more for the young ones). After a few more months, I no longer had the heart to serve even in the children’s ministry to which I was even more dedicated after about 7 years of faithful service. No questions were asked by the other serving ones or the parents. No one checked on me to see why I had backed out.
This was the state of the Local Church in my locality for about the last 3 years or so of my tenure in the children's/YP service, and I left that denomination altogether about a year or two after that due to another shameful scenario in which a woman and her family were shamed, slandered, and shunned for questioning Witness Lee's teachings.