Last week, I wrote about families, schools, and churches that are called to teach and train adults and youth in the gift of prophesy.
Call to Action: Adolescents and Teens’ for Devotional Spiritual Direction and Training in Prophetic Ministry
Today, I am writing a call to action aimed at regional Apostolic Centers that are called to train youth (ages 12-13+) in the Ephesians 4:11 leadership office of the Prophet. Though it may seem premature to make introductory training in the office of the Prophet available to adolescents and teens, I am writing this article because as individuals reach this developmental time period, there is a developmental focus on understanding personal identity, calling, and vocation. As some individuals pass through adolescence and explore their identity, they may experience increased prophetic gifting and/or burdens for specific kinds of ministry as an invitation from God to explore how he would guide them.
It could be that individuals have grown up with a persistent sense that God was real and that he is powerful. Individuals may have received pictures, words, or other revelation during worship events or in the process of daily life. Some children may have previously described sensory experiences related to angels or may have had powerful dreams that left them either very confident about the goodness of the supernatural, or in need of emotional support through sensing the demonic.
It could be that adolescents who have not experienced much of these things previously just have a strong desire to understand mysticism through the influence of the New Age Movement in the West, or through other faith traditions. Many may be unaware of Christianity’s rich history of mysticism or aware of how some modern Charismatics practice spiritual gifts in a way that ultimately helps support the ministry of the Church and influence the world. Adolescents may have an increased number of questions about how Jesus of the bible is still active in shaping current events through the Holy Spirit. Their growing spiritual maturity may develop parallel to increasing emotional and physical maturity in ways that are confusing and require care.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8
The Church must create resources to answer adolescents’ questions about Christian spirituality. We must also consider how to talk with younger children about the supernatural nature of God in a way that is accessible, relatable, and holistic, celebrating the Church’s history of encounter in a way that makes it clear that God still speaks. Through creating age-appropriate resources for devotional spirituality, the Church can better invite young people into a life journey of walking with Jesus. The Church can support all adolescents by valuing their interests, helping them discern their sense of vocation, and inviting them into the work of ministry.
And yet, for some adolescents and teens who will ultimately be called to Prophetic Ministry, discussing the nature and history of encounter from a Christian point of view will not be enough. During this period of adolescent and teenage years, they will have increasing dreams, visions, or other encounters with God. They will need safe communities that allow them to share their experiences, discern what is healthy or unhealthy, understand how God may be revealing himself to them, and how they can use revelatory experiences to guide their sense of vocation. Through going on this process, they can develop a stronger sense of agency and have clarity about ways God may be inviting them to serve him in diverse sectors of society, regions, and contexts. By developing close, conversational spirituality, young people may be better equipped to help our world flourish and support others to come close to God.
For young people who are prophetic or will ultimately act as Prophets in and outside of the Church, providing greater spiritual direction can support their holistic development and set a healthy foundation for interacting with God and others. Ultimately, this could lead to a generation of holistically grounded Prophets who honor God and others, who can be trusted with revelation that safeguards the wellbeing of nations.
Why Apostolic Centers?
Due to larger numbers, Regional Apostolic Centers may be uniquely designed to steward the weight of creating safe communities for spiritual direction and for training young prophets. Apostolic Centers tend to have more members and attract a more diverse range of individuals who are developing ministries of their own, creating. an environment that feels like a greenhouse. As students discern their own sense of calling and vocation, this marketplace environment of external-facing ministries may provide a greater number of safe environments for young people to begin to explore and develop leadership in ministry, based on their specific interests. Under the guidance of supportive and protective leaders, external-facing ministries may be safe places where young people can share their prophetic words for ministries and begin to get feedback.
My goal in writing this article is to offer an outline of leadership and administrative elements that must be in place to ensure that youth can be trained in the gift of prophesy and Office of a Prophet in an Apostolic Center Context. I recognize that small churches may also be successful in training young prophets and providing spiritual direction to adolescents and teens. It is possible that I am overgeneralizing, but I ask that my readers will take my words with a grain of salt and understand the heart behind them, to increase young people’s access to Christian spirituality as a path towards their thriving. Overall, I’m hoping to inspire leaders to consider how supporting adolescents and young prophets could empower and extend the ministry of their churches. I recognize that not every Apostolic Center or church will be called to create spaces such as these, but I believe that those who are willing to receive a burden for prophetic youth ministry will be mightily used by God both now and in the generations to come.
In this article, I will address questions like:
- How soon should youth who are demonstrating a call to the office of a Prophet receive training?
- How much training should younger prophets receive prior to reaching an age where they can be taught the office of a Prophet?
- How can training be developmentally appropriate (ie, not just throwing them in with adults)?
- How can Apostolic leaders create developmentally healthy, emotionally balanced cultures so that children can emerge in their mantles as healthily as possible?
I will focus the rest of this article not on supporting adolescents’ devotional spirituality, but about some additional elements that Apostolic Centers will need to support prophetic training for youth. As of July 2023, I am currently developing curricula to support adolescents’ devotional spirituality through my doctoral thesis project. As I continue that work, I actually want to focus this particular article on the steps that lie beyond it.
In the remainder of this article, I will explain how Apostolic Centers with a mandate to raise young prophets should make it their primary mission to provide resources/training and a relational support network to help youth emerge in their spirituality as holistically and fluidly as possible. In this article, I will talk about how imagery of family and having an emotionally balanced prophetic culture is crucial to that vision.
Remembering the Reason: Vision and Mission
Before discussing spiritual gifts, we must understand that the goal of Prophesy is to reveal Jesus (Rev 19:9-10). Prophetic ministry is only one kind of church leadership yet like all church leadership roles, it’s goal is to help individuals and communities experience vibrant partnership with Jesus Christ. Jesus loves us enough that he gives us revelation that demonstrates who he is, so that we can come alive in pursuing him and co-ministering with him to others.
Prophesy is precious to the Church in that it allows prophets and prophetic people to hear Jesus’ voice, see his face, and enjoy him. From a place of deep intimacy with Jesus and genuine enjoyment of who he is, prophets develop mutual trust with God. Their usefulness to God and to the Church is dependent on that trustworthiness.No matter how old or young a person is, the only good reason to prophesy is more of Jesus. More of Jesus in our hearts, more of Jesus in our world, more of Jesus reflected in and through people for eternity. Ultimately, healthy prophecy is an act of worship towards God, who wants to draw all people closer.
The healthy effect of Jesus’ words in and through prophets causes the abundance of his life to restore and redirect nations, organizations, and individuals for the glory of God. Good prophesy results in change, producing the fruit of God’s wholeness, beauty, and majesty in groups or individuals, even when the prophetic words may extreme.
How do we invite young people to participate in God’s eternal, multigenerational love story to mankind? How do we invite them to explore their callings, coming fully alive in a sense of deep purpose, encountering God who uses our weaknesses to magnify Christ? In a world that markets age as the only measurement of authority and devalues the spiritual experiences of the young, multigenerational prophetic ministry demonstrates that there is no junior Holy Spirit and that all human authority is delegated authority from God.
When done carefully, including young people in prophetic ministry is unsurprising and unoffensive to the humble. The more people love God, the more they surrender to and recognize his voice, regardless of the speaker.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 10:27-28
Experientially Learning the Character of God
When it comes to operating in the gifts and offices of God, Jesus is the source. Individuals learn how to navigate spiritual gifts by watching Jesus in real-time. We do what he does and say what he says because we come to trust who he is. Spiritual gifts organically flow from knowing God’s character and responding at the level of the heart. Since the process of operating in the gifts is a direct result of relationship with Christ, training in the gifts should both be an invitation for novices to know him and a way to equip those who have already started their journey.
Creating atmosphere of worship increases the amount that individuals of all ages encounter God. In these organizations, individuals who are called to leadership offices (like the office of a Prophet) will demonstrate increased depth, accuracy, and remit in their prophecies over time. Apostolic Centers have the strcuture give greater training and support to individuals who are navigating the more intense waves of Holy Spirit prophetic utterance and vision. The more intense the waves, the more individuals need a healthy community of prophets and apostles, to draw upon their insight and experience.
Responsibility of Apostolic Center Leaders
Before Apostolic Centers are able to receive and train young prophets, Apostles must guarantee that several key infrastructures are in place. Like designing a nursery prior to a receiving newborn, these administrative and community facets ensure that young prophets will come into a safe learning environment.
Some of these facets may include:
- Child Protection / Safeguarding policies in place
- Families of prophets, where parents support their kids under the direction of Leaders/Apostles
- A community atmosphere where there is a relational grace for new members to get connected
- An atmosphere of pure, heart-engaged worship where people of all ages are invited to encounter God
- Youth who are semi-involved in decision-making. All ages of church members are periodically asked, “What do you need from us as your leaders/home base?”
- The Spirit of Adoption working through adults who hold a righteous standard to stand in the gap for children who don’t come from Christian/prophetic families (Priestly anointing)
Lastly and most importantly, Apostolic leaders must have a robust, emotionally balanced prophetic culture.
Robust, Emotionally Balanced Prophetic Culture
Apostolic Centers with a mandate to raise young prophets must raise them on a foundation of elder’s experiences, within emotionally-safe community. In order to do that well, older leaders in a community must be mature, relationally woven, and comfortable speaking vulnerably about the joys and challenges of leadership. In addition to other leadership offices, this may require older prophets who can model a standard of wholeness and participation in the life of the local church.
There must be a healthy measure of courage to talk about the suffering that comes with the office of Prophet, without hiding pain. When it comes to youth ministry, this degree of wisely stewarded openness flies in the face of Western culture’s tendency to either rob our childen of emotional safety by throwing them into the shock of life’s suffering without extended training or entirely shelter them. Instead, children should gradually acclimate to the intensity of the human experience, talking about challenges in a way that naturally unravels as they age.
So don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow can worry about itself. One day’s trouble at a time is quite enough.’
Matthew 6:34 NTE
While stories of the joys and pain of prophetic life may be stewarded formally through videos or writing, they will more often cohabitate, quietly filling in the empty spaces between people until the community is robust enough to bear more weight. Apostolic leaders must value sharing these stories so that emerging apostles and prophets have time to grapple with case studies and let God search their hearts. Later on, when emerging leaders confront similar circumstances, having marinated on God’s word and testimonies will allow them to navigate those circumstances with greater wisdom.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Psalm 124:1-8
who made heaven and earth.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
Proverbs 19:20
Becoming an Emotionally Mature Family
A community of wise elders will support children to acknowledge but navigate pain and risk in a way that demonstrates that there is more to life. Elders remind us that eternity is valuable, that life is beautiful, and that the rewards of knowing Jesus start right here, right now. Maturity is a heart posture, so while elders will often be chronologically older (the age of grandparents or parents), in a healthy prophetic culture, young people (20s, 30s) will also willingly take on the responsibility to nurture and be role models. Regardless of age, maturity can only be rightly assumed out of woven webs of relationships, where adults are friends with parents and strive to honor their children (within the context of safe and healthy boundaries). Sometimes, the reason that adults in their 20s and 30s have failed to pick up this mantle of maturity is that they have not yet experienced relationships that are vulnerable and accountable, challenging them to grow. Something happens to the heart when young people who are looking up to you with innocence and expectation. Taking gradually increasing responsibility for the well-being of others (including young people) is a result of heart engagement. it is the organic, relational authority that equips and inspires us to function as parents.
Emotionally Mature Prophets as Leaders
Prior to COVID-19, the Western Prophetic Movement tended to idolize the office of a Prophet, ascribing to it status like the celebrity preacher, where prophets would ride in on a cloud and sometimes be held little accountable for their actions. In a new season of the Prophetic Movement, communities of healthy prophets must master the slogan, “This isn’t the group I wanted, but the group I needed.”
We do need one another. We need people and places where we can talk about the:
- Times you prophesy something more extreme than you expected, the shock and even horror of that.
- Times you are in deep travail and have to ride the wave of mourning.
- Times you are in holy anger and absolutely cannot relent of addressing something that roils God.
- Times you are extravagant in worship and extreme, and you can’t hold it in. Or where you indignantly feel that Jesus requires/is worthy of such a more dramatic response, but no one is brave enough to extravagantly worship him.
- Times where you are more emotionally free than everyone else in the room, flitting around like a bird, and they have no grid for you. Times when your freedom is offensive.
Quite frankly, being called as a prophet is a lot. Prophetic and Apostolic communities need to be ready to talk about the full emotional experience of prophesy in order to appropriate model a God who invites us to know him in the depth and breadth of his emotions.
And yet, Jesus. And Joy. As one memorable Apostle recently said, “We must retain the joy of the narrow road.” The intimacy and level of partnership that God calls prophets into. The feeling of his words in your mouth, his images before your eyes, going on assignments with him during the day and night, being overwhelmed and overtaken by his never-ending story. For each time prophets lives are not their own, and they are cast as actors in God’s great stage (ex: the life of Hosea), God shares gems from his own lived experience. It is like living two lives in one: our joys and trials overlaid with God’s.
Now and forever, our standard of wholeness remains Christ. Jesus, we need you! He will bring our communities into maturity and wholeness. He will use the least likely people to do it.
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
Romans 15:1
Showing honor to the … the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
1 Peter 3:7 (This verse is originally in the context of marriage, but in general, there is truth to honoring people who are weaker than you so that
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
1 Corinthians 9:22
Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
Lastly, we must be communities that prioritize balance. Aside from just living a more robust, holistically satisfying life, balance is prophetic because it loosens you up so you can flow better in the Holy Spirit. Pressure and performance create rigidity, which makes us panic and forget to draw our strength from the Vine. Under tension, we fail to embody the joy and peace of close communion with God.
And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment.[a]15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.
2 Samuel 6:14-15
Responsibilities of Prophetic Youth Leaders: Self in Leadership
I’m going to break the fourth wall for a moment to talk about what I believe Prophetic Youth Leaders need in order to be successful in their role. I am sharing this information though it is personal because I believe that the journey that youth leaders take into maturity matters. As someone who feels called to teach and train prophets of all ages, I want to share a little about what this process has been like for me and the ways God has developed dispositions in me that I believe are essential to leadership in Prophetic Youth Ministry.
My Process of Coming to Faith and Emerging into Leadership
Earlier in my life, I sporadically attended a mainline Christian church in Kansas where I heard about Jesus. Like many American churches, the leaders of this church valued Jesus’ ethics and life teachings but struggled to receive his Lordship and the full range of his character. While I had always intuitively known that God was both real and powerful, I had a difficult time understanding who Jesus was or how his authority claims could make a difference in my life. Still, I was relatively hungry to learn, asking many questions and asking for mentorship when it was sporadically offered. Despite some effort to remain engaged and attending the Church and its youth group through the end of high school, I remained alienated. Despite sensing that God was powerful, there was little to no discussion of the supernatural or internal spiritual formation, and I did not feel that my questions mattered. At this point, I had no idea that any 1 Corinthians 12 supernatural gifts were still practiced.
Burden for Youth Leadership began to form during Adolescence
Nevertheless, as I started to turn 12 and 13, God started sending mantles for my life that would later become part of my identity for ministry. One of the most notable mantles related to motherhood. In a contemporary US context, developing nurturing tendencies so early was isolating, weird, and difficult to navigate. I still remember my friends in the 8th grade (age 13) joking about buying me a Tickle Me Elmo doll because of my inclination towards nurture. Around that time, I noticed an organic grace on my life for engaging with younger peers as a role model. In High School, that natural affinity led me to set up a mentoring program to increase retention among younger band students and older teens (Girl Scout Gold Award project). In college, after I encountered Christ, God re-directed my life back toward youth by having me work as a tutor at the same elementary school where I was raised. I ended up pursuing teaching for the same reason. Even when I was teaching, I felt constricted working with one age group versus a range of ages.
Burden for Young People’s Wellbeing Increased as I navigated Prophetic Ministry
As a prophet, God has used my heart for youth to motivate and define the direction of my ministry. Young people’s well-being is the only thing that can drive me to tears in under thirty seconds. It is the only thing that will cause me to dig in my heels in protest and not relent until I see a change. It is the sphere where I am most protective and the most likely to take risks for others’ sake.
As a 5Fold Leader
As an emerging Apostle, God regularly uses my heart for children to speak to me about ministries and partnerships he wants to develop in the prophetic/apostolic sphere. As a WatchmanProphet, I often get dreams about emergent ministries through the lens of nurture. The age of the characters usually has to do with the approximate age of the ministry or nationality (ethnicity), and how much parenting (ministry development work) needs to be done. For the most urgent/new initiatives, he shows me the ministry as an infant. For the most mature ministries, I see college students. For ministries that span multiple organizations, continents, or nations, he shows me children of mixed ethnicities. For ministries that are focus on one ethnos (nation, ethnic group), I see single-ethnicity characters.
In my journey as a Watchman/Seer Prophet, I have struggled with the emotional intensity of these dreams. There have been times when it’s felt especially extreme on God’s part to use my heart for children so consistently to get my attention. And yet, God has used it to motivate me to prepare for future ministry. He has used my dreams and other forms of revelation to put nations on my heart that would have not previously been on my radar. The revelation he sends motivates me to stay up to date on current events, pray, and intercede.
As I’ve traveled with God, he has taught me how to become better at filtering the intensity of what I’m seeing. And yet, I can see why God would use extreme means to communicate with prophets who are entrusted with youth. Children need much greater protection than grown adults. I believe the intercession process has been more extreme in proportion to the amount that I will need to be trustworthy. God is teaching me how to balance the intercession process with the help of supportive prophetic communities.
In this section, I shared narrative stories because first and foremost, I believe that effective prophetic youth workers need to have a similar measure of personal identity/investment in the work. They need to have gone on a comprehensive formation process with God, and cannot have rushed their preparation if they want to become holistically well-formed leaders.
Teaching the Mature: Navigating Pitfalls and Opportunities of Training Generations in Prophecy
So when should youth start to learn about the office of a Prophet?
When there is evidence of maturity. Given that the office of a Prophet is an Ephesians 4:11 leadership office in the Church, training maturity children means preparing them for leadership. Instead of enforcing an age, prophets should simply pay attention to the mantles that start rising on youth, and give support in proportion to them. That being said, children’s unique development and emotional maturity provides evidence to wait until the early teenage years as a lower limit for when office of a Prophet training can formally start. Traditionally, the Hebrew age of maturity corresponds to this time, at 12-13 years old. However, focusing on age instead of maturity can breed restrictive religious and entitled thinking.
Maturity matters more than age! If children are starting to pass into their teenage years but do not know Jesus as their friend, Lord, and Savior, they will have no means of safely navigating the spiritual gifts (as he is the only safe source). Furthermore, like all spiritual gifts, growing the seed of the gift of prophesy should be gradual release. The progression may look faster for children who have a strong foundation in the love of God and are called to the office of the Prophet, but they will still have to grow into their role over time. Lastly, as I stated before in “Creating Healthy Revelatory Greenhouses…”, other physical, emotional, and social milestones may be more important for children to focus on than spiritual gifts! A church that is truly spiritual will recognize the importance of attending to one’s holistic well-being, and not over-spiritualizing or rushing spiritual growth. In general, we are most spiritual when we rely on Jesus, not when we try to be spiritual.
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
1 Corinthians 2:13
For this reason, many prophet parents and prophetic youth leaders may start to train prophetic children in the gift of prophecy as part of their family or community identity. It is easiest to simply introduce them to the gifts, and let God lead from there.
If anything, prophetic youth leaders will need to evaluate the mantles rising on children by asking questions like:
“Among this group of teens and pre-teens, who is starting to show increasing frequency and intensity of encounters with the Holy Trinity?”
Especially given the age of young prophets, a mentoring structure (with several cohorts of prophets running simultaneously) may support youth best. Each level of training could be like a stepping stone, grouping similarly skilled prophets roughly together and responding to the needs of a cohort like the needs of a classroom. From there, students may be further grouped based on their needs, call as a prophet (as in, Seer, Nabi, or Watchman prophet), and interests.
Under a mentoring model, Youth leaders can differentiate (adjust) the amount of support they give to each young person. While mentoring requires more relational investment of leaders, it creates a better quality of care. Leaders must be sharp and discerning, engaged enough to sense the kind of care each teen requires.
Young prophets (teens) should not be trained in the same formal programs as adults. Their emotional maturity needs time to develop, and they need to be around peers so they can support one another and process the office at the level of their development. While teens should be part of a prophetic community where they have friendships and mentors of various ages, they may need their parents’ help to discern the character of elders. You don’t want older people to latch onto them for prophecies because they are vulnerable, OR for the enemy to try to send abuse so that they will be more emotionally fragmented and less likely/able to pursue their callings.
Team-building is essential. Leaders will also need to be intentional to help them connect with one another by valuing the unique remit of one another’s calls and having fun together. Greater friendship and fellowship will kill jealousy and competition, and prevent youth leaders from creating an orphanage. Just like in a traditional classroom, youth will need to be coached in letting others be different, knowing how to bring their unique part of the puzzle, and letting leaders respond to each one based on their needs. To be fair, adults usually need to be coached on these things too (lol).
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
1 Corinthians 12:11
Responding to prophets’ needs and skill level is important for keeping them safe. When it comes to the prophetic, both need and merit start to blend together. As gifts increase, individuals may experience increased spiritual warfare as a result of needing guidance navigating at higher levels of calling. Therefore, to grow to one’s full stature as a prophet or apostle, individuals must abide in a healthy prophetic community with engaged leaders. Prophetic youth leaders should train young prophets to do as best they can on their own, but then support their zone of proximal development (ie, come alongside them to extend their capacity).
In order to know how to maximize their energy while still giving a responsive amount of mentorship to each individual, leaders may need to weigh factors like teens:
- Degree of Social rejection/isolation (Who lacks services locally?)
- Intensity of Encounters
- Family background (limited or high degree of support navigating the office/gifts)
- Other risk factors that add stress (like past/current history of ACES)
Given that all Prophetic Youth leaders (not volunteers) will have passed out of their teenage years to meet universal guidelines for Child Safeguarding / Child Protection, leaders need to acknowledge the age barrier between themselves and those they lead. Leaders need to be regularly asking teens, “What do you need of us as leaders?”
If teens feel supported and equipped to grow into the office of a Prophet, they will desire to take on leadership. That leadership could look like:
- Volunteering to teach young kids the gift of prophecy
- Volunteering to coach other, less skilled teens in the office of a Prophet
- Working with their parents to create church/regional youth groups for supernatural gifts, the gift of prophecy, or the office of a Prophet
- Increased local prophetic evangelism
Over time, who can say what increased youth leadership could lead to?
Teaching the Littles: Prophetic Ministry as Discipleship rather than Performance
Within the Western pre-COVID Prophetic Movement, prophetic training for young kids (0-12) tended to mimic some of the same imbalances as training in the gift of prophesy for adults. While it is true that individuals should “earnestly desire love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophesy”, too many adults have eagerly desired to prophesy for influence, power, money, or prestige. Sadly, the heart is deceptive, and we are not always aware of what motivates us until it is exposed painfully in public.
When prophecy hasn’t been exploited for personal gain, some leaders have focused on the joy of practicing spiritual gifts without the expectation that the gifts be stewarded for the Kingdom of God. By focusing on the delight of flowing in the River of Living Water (close Partnership with Holy Spirit), they have forgotten that humans were not created to linger in the shallow end of the Ezekiel 47 waters. Passing into maturity means allowing revelatory currents to pass over your head (as in, no longer being able to drive/control the experience). In those moments, we learn to most greatly trust Jesus and let God be the one who drives our destinies. Not for the faint of heart, but absolutely part and parcel of growing into maturity. Ultimately, focusing on the shallow waters of the gift of prophesy keeps individuals with a call to the office of a Prophet from fulfilling their callings. You had better believe that leaders who actively encourage bad stewardship will be accountable to God for their motives and carelessness. We should be more excited to come into increasing partnership with Jesus than to flit around in the gifts (hyper-grace).
“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:20
This principle is similar to times when individuals ask for personal prophetic words for others out of performance.
When an individual puts pressure on themself to prophesy, the source will inevitably either be wrong, or in mixture. Only by focusing on the love Jesus has for that person, that nation, or that organization will you be able to convey his heart for them in a way that adequately corresponds to his depth of feeling. While Jesus provides increased grace to novices in discerning his voice when they ask for it, growing as a Christian means continuously training yourself to prefer his voice, his ways, and who he is as a person over your own methods.
By pressuring oneself to prophesy without abiding in the source, an individual is also less likely to share words that they receive, because they don’t have the courage that love gives. God holds us accountable for the words we do not deliver, so it is important that we prophesy with gratitude and the genuine desire to see people made well. Again, that genuine desire will carry us into action.
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’
Ezekiel 33:6, Extreme but truthful
Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-3
Poor prophesy results from a lack of keeping staying close to Jesus as you navigate new or increasingly challenging circumstances. The goal of increasing Christlikeness is to remain close to him for the full course of our lives, going from glory to glory in every circumstance and life season. We cannot be afraid of letting him lead us into uncertainty and change. He’s particularly good at it. Taken out of healthy balance, the money, pride, performance, and other idols are only false insulation that the enemy makes available to us. His goal is to tempt us to insulate our lives away from being useful to God (ie, comfort).
So what can be done?
Joy is vital, but it is not the only facet of God’s character. God wants to bring even the chronologically youngest children to maturity by knowing the full range of his character and emotions. Ironically, very young kids will immediately relate to the extremes of God’s emotions. As humans, they may get upset over things that are different (ie, having to put on socks), but they do understand intense feelings. At each age, children’s developmental strengths equip them to understand a different aspect of the character and emotions of God
When the Church disciples children to appreciate and adore the full range of God’s character, they will see his delegated authority rise on every generation. Maturity means understanding and receiving him on his terms, with his full range of character and emotions. Adults can help coach littles by helping them enter into encounters (seeing in the Spirit) and coaching them how to ride the current of their words (nabi prophesy).
Ultimately, Jesus is the object of our affection, and he is worthy of all of our worship. When we reject part of who he is, we not just wound his heart, but alienate God instead of receiving him on his own terms. We become unfit for partnership because we fail to perceive him as he truly is, and thus cannot trust how the Holy Sprit wants to move.
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
1 Corinthians 3:2
Can you hear Jesus’s grief in this verse?
I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.
John 16:12
“If only you wanted me for MY sake and not for your own selfish appetites! If only you would help me build MY kingdom!”
Realistically, adults will need to be discerning to help littles navigate the gift of prophesy. By helping them focus on what it feels like to really love someone, they will be able to help children discern the incredible, endless love of the Father. Over time, that discernment training will help them prophesy out of God’s innocent love.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Romans 12:9-13
It seems likely that young children will shock the world by how brave they are in prophesying, in their choice of who receives a prophetic word, and the unorthodox methods they use to prophesy. Given children’s love of justice, they will likely lead adults into holy risk for the sake of the Kingdom. Adults will need to be standing guard, with the benefit of their experience and wisdom, to provide a safety net as children lead the Church into the unknown.
Adults must hold the space for the young ones as an Intercessory covering. Some of the littles will be called to the office of a Prophet, but it wont be time for that information to be known to them or others. Just because children are younger and are formally practicing “just the gift” of prophesy does not preclude many of them from operating in the full delegated authority of the office of a Prophet. God loves surprises, and he will use them.
Food for Thought: Navigating Extreme Responses to God in Children
What is it like when the Holy Spirit comes on a flock of children? How could they communicate their emotions/experiences differently than adults?
Recently, I was reminded of the unique ways children encounter God when spending time with a group of prophets and one prophet’s young daughter. While this little girl was about 8, her skills as a Seer were pretty advanced for her age. However, the way that I most knew that she loved Jesus was by her dancey love of having a good time. Instead of crying, shaking, or other heavier manifestations of God described in H. A. Baker’s “Visions beyond the Veil”, she experienced Jesus’ freedom through movement.
In moments of zeal for the Lord and worship, she got extremely hyper under the Holy Spirit. In those moments, she looked to see which adults would jam out with her. While her exuberant joy was part of her personality, it was made even more extreme by the freedom that is in Christ. I tried to mirror some of her dance moves so that she would feel understood, but also for my own sake. I needed her to show me how to have the emotional courage to be that wild in response to God.
As adults surrender to God’s leading, how could young prophets teach us about the full character of God?
Prayer
Lord, would you give us the capacity to steward healthy communities for young prophets,
Where they can grow under the protection of mature, emotionally whole leaders,
With parents who will help them navigate the heights and depths of your emotions,
And grandparents who have experience explaining the width and length of your character,
Would you help us retain the joy of the narrow road and use our lives as prophets to enjoy spending time with you,
In every season of life, would we find you again and again,
Give us the grace to rise with you into increasing partnership,
Responding to support youth as they opt into leadership in your story,
For your own extravagant sake,
Amen.
Age of the Unexpected 
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