Life often has a way of closing in around us doesn’t it? The image that comes to my mind is the sights, smells and feelings of walking on Yonge Street in Toronto. It is noisy, busy, cluttered and chaotic. Often you can’t see the sun because of the buildings blocking the view. They call it an “urban canyon”: People pushing, everyone moving at a different pace. Through the windows media calls out – cheap sex, new perfume, leather or Armani. The smell of yesterday’s garbage mixed with the multiple scents of Mediterranean, McDonald’s and Pizza.
It is tiring, confusing, loud and enveloping.
I often wonder if youth don’t feel more and more like that every day in our society. Decisions, stress, relationships, family, finances…all push in on them and it’s hard to know where to look to find answers.
This year our theme is “Elevate”. On our poster, you will see that we have worked hard to communicate the importance of rising above the chaos, to find a new way of looking at life…to gain a new perspective.
The theme of “Elevate” has been designed to help you give your students a new perspective on some of the essential elements of life. How do they view the world around them? How do they view relationships? How do they think of God? What place should Jesus play in their decisions?
C.S. Lewis made an astute observation a number of years ago. He said, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” This year is about providing opportunities for you to pull your students out of the urban canyon and chaos of their lives, and allowing them to experience wide open spaces, clean air, and new visions.
We are deeply grateful for God’s leading in our lives. We believe that through our retreats, training events, outreach opportunities, mission experiences and curriculum that BCOQ YOUTH is providing significant resources to compliment the hard work that our leaders invest in local church youth ministry. Thank you for your trusted partnership in our work!
Darren DeGraaf
Director of Youth Ministry
BCOQ