Last week, I wrote about families, schools, and churches that are called to teach and train adults and youth in the gift of prophesy.

Creating Healthy Revelatory Greenhouses for Children: For Families, Schools, and Churches

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.

Love is Greater than Prophesy: Declaring the Abundance of Eternal Life

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,
    who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:1-8

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.

What could it look like for Families, Churches, and Schools to develop healthy revelatory greenhouses for children? Here are some ideas that I’m still unpacking, but eager to discuss further.

What is Holy Spirit-led Ministry?

I am writing today to explore several principles that I believe are important to apply to Holy Spirit-led ministry with children and teens (0-18s). While I often discuss prophetic ministry on this website, today I am writing about how leaders in schools and churches might create environments where young people are experiencing and exploring the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Mark 16:15-18. These gifts include:

• the gift of wisdom
• word of knowledge
• the gift of faith (can relate to Intercession)
• healing
• miracles
• discernment of spirits
• diverse tongues
• interpretation of tongues
• deliverance ministry

Each of these gifts should be practiced as led by God, in his right timings, context, and proportionate to what individuals’ faith (Romans 12:6).

Start with Exploration, Narrow as Needed

When it comes to understanding spiritual gifts, children and teens are bound to be curious. They will need time to observe and experience healthy practices for ministering in spiritual gifts before they are fully mature in ministry. Within schools and churches whthat value spiritual gifts, leaders should create opportunities for young people to progressively explore different gifts. When training in the gifts is led by young people’s interests, they are not prematurely tracked but partner with God to discern their own callings, which may or may not include the practice of specific spiritual gifts.

Individual Gifts are Calling-Specific

Emphasizing one gift (such as prophecy) may create pressure that can distract them from the unique ways God wants to guide them in the calling-confirmation process..

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

1 Corinthians 12:11

Each person’s calling is unique. As young people ask questions, God will guide their discernment. Communities of faith and caring adults can be conversation partners who offer teens resources and wisdom.

An Environment of Exploring God’s Character: From Encounter to Discipleship

Ideally, adults should aim to provide a safe, biblical, emotionally healthy environment where youths and God can mutually encounter one another. In such an environment, individuals seek God for the sake of friendship. By becoming God’s friend and exploring the range of his character, God will organically begin to guide individuals. He loves relating to people of all ages, and relating to him is primary. Understanding one’s calling and having clarity in direction are byproducts of knowing him, but are not the primary pursuit. God wnts friends and not just servants, and he will share what we need to know when we need to know it. Young people need support learning from God both within communities and coacing on how to deepend intimacy with God on their own. By creating opportunities for young people to encounter God both in groups and through self-reflection, adults can teach young people how to develop friendship with God.

From a place of friendship, God will share (Psalm 25:14). God will continue to guide young believers into their particular callings and remits of influence, but will not reveal too much before it’s time. In God’s own timing, he can unpack details like. an individual’s remit, regional calling, gifts, sectors of society, etc. Ultimately, he will share when it suits him. While God can augment and expand individual’s callings later in life depending on their choices, his plans for each one are good, and every day is a fresh opportunity to be led. Within a safe community, adults can support youth to develop curiosity and endurance in exploring. whoGod is, which will inevitable help them realize who they are . This process is true for minors just as it is with college students (18-22ish) or young adults (22-30s).

It is important that adults come alongside youth without pressuring them to grow faster or rushing ahead of how the Holy Spirit is guiding their exploration process. Especially for nations who struggle with over-performance (like America), families and organizations will have to be even more mindful to actively entrust their youth to the Lord and let him lead.

More Training Needed

Once young people are starting to demonstrate an inclination towards one kind of spiritual gift or show evidence of the Holy spirit moving through them, adults should ensure that they have the right support. Generally, you will know what gifts you have by the evidence of that gift (Matthew 7:16). These gifts will flow out of right relationship with Jesus, as a fruit of knowing God. If a child starts to increasingly experience one kind of gift (ie, prophetic dreams, words of knowledge about peers, etc), they may need more support. That support may include coaching in knowing how to parse what they’re experiencing, what to share or not share, and how to communicate what they’re sensing with others. This is especially true for children as they learn to filter unhealthy or dark things they sense and cyclically seek safety and clarity from Father God.

That being said, it’s up to families and to determine when the right time to get additional training for their children. Just because a child has an aptitude for a particular kind of ministry doesn’t meant that they are developmentally ready to get more support.

Spiritual Development as Just One Part of Child Development

God values humans’ holistic wellbeing. God values children’s holistic wellbeing. He made each part of them to work in synchrony in relationship with him

Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Deuteronomy 6:5

Spiritual gifts are only one part of each child’s unique composition. In order to grow in Christ, it may be more important for a child with latent spiritual gifts to develop their capacity to speak respectively to a sibling, share school supplies, or learn to not retaliate during a conflict than it is to learn about spiritual gifts Does that mean that a child who is struggling with developmental milestones or social skills should not learn to spiritualspirit gifts when they have a noticeable gift for it? No, not necessarily. Just that their learning should be proportionate to their greatest needs and what they. are ready to receive.

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you.

Psalm 63:1

It is best to lead children with genuine humility and awe for everything God does. When adults are hungry for more of God, their children will mirror it. As children pursue the Giver and not spiritual gift, they will fall in love.

Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Exodus 15:11

All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”

Psalm 35:10

The LORD is exalted over all the nations,

His glory above the heavens.

5Who is like the LORD our God,

the One enthroned on high?

6He humbles Himself to behold

the heavens and the earth.

7He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the dump

8to seat them with nobles,

with the princes of His people.

9He settles the barren woman in her home

as a joyful mother to her children.

Hallelujah!

Psalm 113:4-9

The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.

Psalm 103:19

My ears had heard of You,

but now my eyes have seen You.

6Therefore I retract my words,

and I repent in dust and ashes.

Job 42:5-6

General Principles for Supporting Encounter for Youth

So then, what are some precepts that can help adults create healthy revelatory greenhouses for youth?

1. Come with Expectation

Awe, intimacy with God, and worshipful appreciation of Jesus’ beauty are learned by demonstration. When adults pursue Jesus as their first love and put him first in the middle of work and family responsibilities, children will value God. He is unconditionally worthy of our affection and adoration. Because of their age and often in spite of trauma, many children are inclined to relate to the innocence, joy, hope, and fascinating beauty of Jesus.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14

Whether you are young or old, God already wants to draw close to you. He wants to transform you in ways that touch every area of your life. If you receive him, he will invite you into lasting partnership and share himself with you on the journey. From a surrendered place of worship, the Lord will demonstrate his trustworthiness to children.

2. Let God Lead: Meet them Where they are At

In order to help children set healthy expectations for what it means to encounter God, adults must allow God to decide how he wants to move within a space. As adults, our focus should be helping children make sense of what they are experiencing and perceiving, not predetermining what we want them to know.

Lord, would you give us the humility to notice when we have put false responsibility on our young people to encounter you in a particular way? Give us the grace and humility to cede to how you want to move.

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

Regardless of the context, we must meet young people where they are at. We must acknowledge and support various entry points for youth who have a limited or extensive experience with Christianity, let alone spiritual gifts. Regardless of context, young people will have a range of ability levels based on their design, developmental stage, and calling.

Adults should celebrate all spiritual growth and be genuinely grateful for everything Jesus does within a space. “More of God” will look different for each child. As adults make room for God, he will gradually reveal different callings. Young adults and their families should enjoy the exploration process without trying to rush it or steer it into a particular form of ministry or sector of society. God has dynamic and marvelous plans for each child. If adults and children earnestly seek after Jesus as their most important thing and relationally pursue, he will route our children without striving.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

Proverbs 3:5-6

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

Increasing intimacy with Jesus may not lead to explosive horizontal growth (as increasing membership), but deeper discipleship. Deeper discipleship requires training children and teens to self-reflect, valuing Jesus’s “Well done, Good and Faithful servant.” We must challenge our children to delight in the joy that comes with obedience, that they would most treasure being spoken well of by God.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Matthew 25:23

3. Equip Youth to Discern

While they may be young, children’s discernment can be equally as sharp as adults.

Adults should aim to provide a safe, biblical, emotionally healthy environment where children and God can mutually encounter one another and develop friendship.

Instead of screening every threat or unethical source of media and culture, Christians should teach their children how to analyze sources for the amount of alignment they have with their family, school, or church’s values. Through open-ended conversations, children and teens can wrestle with good and evil in proportionate, developmentally-appropriate ways ways. Communities can provide the scaffolding (support) necessary to respond.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Matthew 10:16

The Church has an opportunity to provide resources so that children can discern good and evil for themselves. This can be as simple as training youth to consider the ethical implications of media like video games: What characters are like Jesus? Which characters are least like Jesus and why? What message does this source communicate about the worth of human beings? Are there bible stories that connect to this same theme?

Through conversation and modeling engagement with the outside culture, the Church will teach children to speak knowledgeably and clearly about their values. By relying on God’s strength and their community’s support, children will become increasingly comfortable taking a posture of grace but determined holiness. Through being set apart and gracious, they will provoke others’ curiosity about the Kingdom of God.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. 20For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 4:19-20

4. Share Gifts with Your Community

What our communities experience of God may provide grace for our regions. For example, if the Holy Spirit visits a Christian School and imparts a sustained grace for healing ministry over months (or years), the leaders of that school might consider how to create safe ways to invite their surrounding community to experience God’s power to heal.

God has not created his church to be aloof and hidden, but actively engaged conversation partners among our societies.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5;13-14

It is up to the school or church leaders to discern how God could be inviting them to share these gifts, what boundaries to enforce, and how to ensure that young people’s focus remains on Jesus, not just the practice of ministry.

Questions to Wrestle With:

Here are some questions that church and school leaders can wrestle with as they consider what supernatural ministry could look like in their context.

• When it comes to the supernatural, what does experiential learning look like?
• What can community engagement? Over time, what could prophetic evangelism look like?
• How can we explain encounter and Jesus’s character in accessible language for kids who don’t have much experience or bible knowledge?
• How can we provide rigor/challenge to support the zeal of children who are already more hungry for God? How can we honor their gifts without making them feel isolated for being outliers?
• What foundation needs laid regarding love in action? The supernatural is only as useful as it helps us love God and love others (individual, social level).
• How can we honor children with disabilities as they encounter the Holy Spirit?

Families

Before enlisting the Church or Christian schools, developing revelatory spaces must start with families.

God’s Generational Faithfulness to Families

When God looks at individuals and communities, he sees their ancestors.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Deuteronomy 7:9

God’s perception of time is different than ours. When he looks at an individual, he sees their entire family history (past and present) embodied inside of them.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day

2 Peter 3:8-9

When Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Hebrews 7:10

God’s “eternity in a glance” perspective means that he keeps faithfulness to generations.

So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.

Exodus 2:25

Hope is Prophetic: Establishing a Future for the Generations

Teaching the Psalms through History: God’s Faithfulness to the Generations

Multigenerational ministry models the steadfast love of God because when you make a deep commitment to caring for a person, you also commit to loving and helping raise their children. Just like family members or close friends stay committed to one another generation after generation, supporting one another to raise their children, the Church must respect parent’s authority while taking a greater interest in the well-being of their children.

Again, this is similar to the concept of god-parenting (compadrazgo, compadres) in Mexican culture. Parenting is so hard that parents need us to commit to their kids. How much more so in our current era! When children see that we genuinely love their parents without any malice or danger, they will feel safe to trust us.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 

Romans 12:9

Committed to Children’s Safety

Jesus gives us hope that the Church can be a safe place for families and children. And that families they don’t have to do it all alone.

When it comes to children’s safety (and the safety of his adult children), Jesus is not playing any games.

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Matthew 18:6

God has allowed denominational Church sexual abuse scandals to become increasingly exposed in the last 50 years because he is unwilling for anyone to harm his children. Seeing this much evil come to light has horrified Parents. The sense of betrayal that families feel when even one child is hurt within their regions demonstrates the amplified fracturing effect sexual perversion and abuse has on generations.

The Church must take the lead in creating communities where the weight of God’s justice and purity is tangibly embodied throughout entire organizations, least of all through comprehensive child protection policies. The felt atmosphere of God’s justice and purity creates both fear of the Lord and administrative wisdom. Organizations must have a sense of both God’s fearful weight and protective love, and develop safeguarding structures that follow from it.

From a place of safety, the Church must come alongside parents to ensure that children receive justice in their educational environments, religious communities, and society in general. The Church’s commitment to justice for the vulnerable should drive their ongoing work of child protection in society, starting with the internal transformation that must happen at home, church, and school. The Church must pioneer new educational models so that whether through public, homeschool, or Christian education, Christians remain committed to the welfare of their societies and cultures.

Churches who dismiss their responsibility to raise generations wil be out of alignment to God’s values. When older generations devalue the young through passivity or by actively dismissing them, there are side effects in later years of division and alienation.

“The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Luke 18:16

Family Identity: Apostolic and Missional

In this current era, parents have the opportunity to partner with God as Apostolic Leders for their families. When parents receive a child, they receive the grace to raise them into the fullness of their calling, with the Church’s support.

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.

Ephesians 3:7

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

Training your children to know the Lord is an organic outworking of your relationship with God.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

As God leads families along, he will support them in despite their inevitable human limits.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Isaiah 30:21

God gives parents the grace to become parents, and qualifies them as they go. This is the same way he qualifies all of us to minister to other people: let by little, and through experience.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast in His presence.

1 Corinthians 1:26:29

Right now, I know a parent who is raising her daughter as is when it comes to Prophetic ministry. While this little girl has an inclination towards word of knowledge, sensing, and other encounters, her parents do not idolize the supernatural. Rather, they value their daughters gifts and help her grow conversationally, as part of their family routine. In spite of their fair share of challenging moments in parenting, they are raising their children in the grace that is organically on them to hear from the Lord. They aren’t superheroes, but they don’t have to be perfect in order for God to mightily use their home.

Whether through biological family or ministry, most people in the Church will wrestle with some kind of parenting. And their struggles will feel pretty similar because parenting and leadership are spiritually intertwined. The close tie between Parenthood and Apostolic ministry is why Paul sounds so much like an aggrieved parent dealing with wayward children in his Second letter to the Corinthians.

Have you been thinking all along that we were making a defense to you? We speak before God in Christ, and all of this, beloved, is to build you up. 20For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder. 21I am afraid that when I come again, my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of their acts of impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery.

2 Corinthians 12:19-21

The basic design of the family unit is the first God-given structure created to bring forth the Kingdom of God.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Genesis 1:28

Families can do this by supproting their children to love and imitate Jesus.

Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

Malachi 2:15

But families can also do this through the pure, humble, and holy influence they have on their surrounding communities.

Appoint elders in every town as I directed you— ⁶ if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,^[d] and his children are believers^[e] and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. ⁷ For an overseer,^[f] as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound^[g] doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Titus 1:5-9

While harmful or unhealthy family patterns can damage communities, a family who is intentionally pursuing God can bless their entire community.

 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 

Titus 1:11

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:31

And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Acts 16:15

For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

1 Corinthians 7:14

With God’s help, parents’ can raise their children to know Jesus’ voice on a dime, and be more sensitive to it than all other voices. Our children can be immediate in discerned obedience and brave for the Kingdom. May they be spoken well of by God! May they value his “Well done, good and faithful servant” more than our praise. May we raise them and guide them knowing that they belong more to the Lord Jesus than to us.

Families have the opportunity to create a shared Missional Identity. Parents can express their family identity through regularly reminding on another:

“You have been born into this family so that you can establish his Kingdom and invite others too. Go share what you have learned here with others.”

While being this intentional to pursue the Kingdom of God may mean there will be times where others think our children are weird, so be it. As long as their love and zeal is genuine, as long as it comes from intimacy with God and not pressure, who cares? Let them be in love! May they be unashamed of who sees it. May they be even more in love with God than their parents.

Later on in ministry, if leaders or nations complain about how much these kids love Jesus, the Church need only say, “Ask them why they love him.” As in, “Listen to them.“

When family members support one another to embody and establish the Kingdom of God in their workplaces, educational settings, friendships, marriages, and communities, people will know Jesus.

Family Identity: Hospitality

The natural outworking of a family with a Kingdom of God mission is that they will need to add more seats to their table. Like Mary, Martha and Lazarus were hospitable to Jesus, and like Paul and Silas were invited into the home of the Philippian Jailer, Christian families must be known for being generous.

Parents can challenge even shy children to make room in their hearts for individuals who are both easy and difficult to love. God created the family as a mechanism for belonging and healing. It has the same effect when biological families invite others in.

While Parents can ask God for wisdom about safety, providing hospitality gives children opportunities to navigate the brokenness of people and learn to respond to their great need in a safe environment. While the world would encourage individuals to keep their families as isolationist as possible, the Kingdom of God relies on both wisdom and hospitality to expand true belonging. By showing hospitality to the strong, the vulnerable, and the broken alike, we can teach our children not to be afraid of the world’s mess, but to pursue its wholeness.

I have known too many stories of Christian families who were motivated by fear in how they treated their communities, children’s friends, and schools. Instead of believing that God’s power is greater than individual brokenness, they alienate others. While Christian families should be deliberate in setting safe boundaries, they must constantly consult the Holy Spirit to discern which “boundaries” are actually just white-washed fear.

After considering how, where, and who to invite, Christian families must cultivate the confidence to believe that if someone comes into their home, whatever brokenness they bring with them is lesser than the power of God who dwells there. Family dwellings just as much as corporate gatherings will host the glory of the Lord. This is the mindset behind the house church model, but the Church has yet to see families that embody it with the degree of power and wholeness God is sending.

Just like times where deliverance ministers pray alongside people who are under oppression, you have got to assume that if someone comes close, they will wind up more delivered. You cannot be afraid of “catching” their demons or brokenness, the demons will want to leave when they sense the purity of the home.

Whether or not we realize it, each of us was invited to join God’s household in the exact same way.

“When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. 13But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Luke 14:12-13

The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

22‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’

23So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’ ”

Luke 14:21-24

God the Father prepared a place for us, and invited us in regardless of our degree of mess. In the Spirit, we live in that place now and forever.

In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am. 

John 14:2-3

In the same way, Jesus has overcome the world.

God the Father prepared a place for us, and invited us in regardless of our degree of mess. In the Spirit, we live in that place now and forever.

In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am. 

John 14:2-3

In the same way, Jesus has overcome the world.

Partnering with God for the Rest of the Work

Once the Church has enlisted families, there are other priorities to create a healthy revelatory space for youth. All of this work has got to be empowered and led by God, as the Spirit wills.

• God must show Parents how to support their kids to be who they already are.
• God must guide Church leaders on how they can support their teams to work with youth.
• God must empower entire Churches and Schools (Not just Youth Leaders) with the grace and specific training they need to guide children.
• God must weave together international networks of like-minded organizations through relational alliances.
• God must empower schools and school leaders to develop curriculum that does not idolize historical figures but allows them to be human. How can the Body of Christ learn from predecessors flaws even as we celebrate their accomplishments? What does it look like to redeem the legacy of controversial predecessors, even as God we honor them? How could this exercise teach children to honor the positive aspects of their parents while redeeming their mistakes by making better decisions?

We must actively seek God’s help to do all these things and partner with him at each step of the process.

Child Development and the Supernatural

In order to support youth at all the stages of their development, Christians must examine how the strengths of each age range support them to understand different aspects of God’s character.

Chip Wood’s book Yardsticks is a must have resource for every parent, teacher, and youth worker. In Yardsticks, Wood discusses the physical, emotional, social, and ethical quirks of each age. For example, Wood’s section on 8 year olds mentions that they are generally prone to anxiety, biting on the ends of erasers and pens, and love routines. Knowing children’s approximate developmental stage helps adults understand what parts of God’s character they may most intuitively understand. While individual differences in childhood development matter, these trends are helpful to know. For example, 8 year olds love of collecting small objects like shells or special rocks. Their love of collections may give them a unique appreciation for God the Creator, who authored of all nature. The increased incidence of performance anxiety among 8 year olds also primes them to appreciate Jehovah Shalom, “God our Peace.” Teaching kids about different aspects of God’s character as they have hunger and need of it will likely result in different manifestations of God’s power among youth, in family, church, and home. For example, 8 year olds may be trained to discern spirits quickly because of the amount that they grapple with fear.

Could 4 year olds be developmentally inclined towards word of knowledge, given how often they blurt out their thoughts without a filter?

Could 9 year olds be developmentally inclined towards mercy ministry, prophetic action, justice, and healing ministry, based on how they are led by emotions, concern for the social welfare of the group, and compassion?

What else could God do or say?

Not a Formula

However, knowing the developmental trends of children is not a formula. Ultimately, the Spirit of God will decide how he wants to meet with a group of youth, and adults must follow his leadership. Realistically, adults must first find out, “How is God already encountering these kids?” by discerning his pre-existing activity and his past history with a group of students. Helping them name these experiences and worship him for his faithfulness in the past can be a great starting place.

From there, teachers and youth workers can work with children to describe what they are sensing. By giving them language and introductory training in different supernatural gifts, children will have a grid for greater encounters as God continues to show up.

The Supernatural and Differently Abled Children

What would the Church look like if we actively honored the contributions of youth with disabilities?

How could honoring differently abled children teach youth and their churches about God who gives us all a unique measure grace for our specific vocations?

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8This is why it says:a

“When He ascended on high,

He led captives away,

and gave gifts to men.”b

Ephesians 4:4-8

On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, 24whereas our presentable parts have no such need.

But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

1 Corinthians 12:22-23

How could honoring differently abled children teach us about God’s understanding of strength and weakness?

In fact, we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection.

2 Corinthians 13:9

⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:7-14

How can we train our children (and adults) to verbally acknowledge the contributions of differently abled children, speaking to them and not just about them?

Could it sound something like:

“_____, when I see you (action), it makes me think about how God (actions)”

or

“_____, when I see you (action), it makes me think about how God is (character).”

This accessible phrasing of honor may provide greater opportunities for children to dialogue with one another and with adults.

Midway through Chapter 6 of John Swinton’s “Becoming Friends with Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship, Swinton describes the story of Katie. Though Katie does not verbally communicate, God used her swaying dancing and nonverbal prayer to heal the broken ankle of her Church Youth leader.

How has undervaluing people with disabilities stopped the Church from experiencing greater miracles?

What could full inclusion of differently abled children in revelatory spaces look like?

Prophetic Ministry and Teens

Similar to the developmental stages of children, introducing teenagers to prophetic ministry could strengthen their pre-existing interest in identity development.

• How does prophetic ministry intersect with teens’ strengths and insecurities?
• How can leaders empower teen’s to pursue their own sense of calling?
• How can leaders support their discernment in filtering prophetic words?
• How could teenagers’ inclination towards justice provide opportunities to offer prophetic ministry to incarcerated teens? Could providing non-incarcerated and incarcerated teens opportunities to learn about God’s anger and express godly anger or grief be part of healing ministry? Some incarcerated teens are bound to be prophets.
• How could teens and older generations develop healthy, intentionally countercultural, collaborative ministries?
• How can adults support teen’s to create their own conversation maps (webs) as they communally wrestle out questions about God?
• How can teens (and other prophets) create their own personal timelines, asking God to explain what he was doing at each point in their personal stories? How could God use this exercise to break off shame related to past events, wasted time, or rejection? What would it look like to support teens to come out of intimidation or fear as early as possible in their prophetic journeys?
• How could teen’s be supported to write and continuously revise their own prophetic identity statement? How might personal storytelling provide them greater confidence to speak boldly when God gives them challenging words?
• What does it look like for teens and children to be fully confident and fully alive in their emergent callings?

Conclusion

God still has so many ways he wants to reveal supernatural ministry to the generations. May we celebrate every good thing he teaches us in the coming years and steward it as treasure.

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

John 21:25