When I was a teen not so long ago, I did lots of service hours. I’m talking tons. I don’t know how many service hours I had by the end of high school, but it must have been somewhere in the hundreds or thousands. I mean, I got awards for them! Now, mind you, I did not volunteer with the mission of “I want to get an award” but “I enjoy doing this, it takes care of a requirement, and hey, people are helped—so everyone feels good!” But it took waaay longer than it should have to realize what my true mission was and how my true reward was so much more than any paper certificates could be.
Mission is a call from God to serve his people. It’s a call to serve his mission to go out into the world, spread the Gospel, and make new disciples. Mission is more than just a service project, volunteer hours, or trip to a foreign country. Mission can be praying with a friend who’s upset, writing about your faith on a blog, or doing extra chores for your dad. Mission is mission when, in the spirit of Christ Jesus, you share God’s love to the world. Mission is about those you serve, not about you.
Of course being on mission can be something you already enjoy doing and can make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But God is calling you and your work to a higher purpose: he wants you to feel the joy of helping others just for the sake of the others, to continue helping others feel good—even when you’re not. Because our “reward” for mission isn’t meeting some hours requirement or recognition—it’s that God was made present to someone who needs him.
In this book, you’ll hear from teens like you who have started on their missions, serving others in many different ways. After each story, there are two prompts for reflection. Take some time to think on them, pray with them, and act on them. Some will just be questions to consider about yourself, your relationship with God, and your own mission. Others might have Scripture quotes or other churchy things to look up, so it might be helpful to have a Bible handy. If you’re not near the Internet to look stuff up, don’t worry; you can always come back to them later. There’s no set order to read them in or work through them. Pick a new story or question. For those writerly types like yours truly, you can journal your answers.
Now that I’m all “grown up,” I continue to serve. And God continues to work on my mind and heart. The way God asks me to be of service to others has shifted in terms of what I do and how I do it. Now I serve with the ever-present focus of “How is this mission? How is this benefiting God’s people and bringing them closer to him?” The call to mission is ongoing; there is no final stop; the work is never over. But right here, right now, in this time of your lives, God is calling you. Get ready to listen, prepare yourself, and respond to him.
Pope Francis believes you are the best person for the job. In his closing homily at World Youth Day 2013, he said, “Do you know what the best tool is for evangelizing the young? Another young person. This is the path to follow! . . . The Church needs you, your enthusiasm, your creativity and the joy that is so characteristic of you.”
Well, what do you say? Are you ready to share the mission?
Go.
—Britt Leigh, author of the teen novel
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