The Days Beyond the Vote
November 6, 2008
Regardless of whether the election left you on cloud 9 or 6 feet under, if you care about young people, you can’t help but be excited about the droves of young adults who voted. It was interesting during this last month to see hip new T-shirts that said “Vote” in cool graphic treatments sold in small and medium sizes—perfect for teenagers.
How do we maintain that same enthusiasm in our students long after the candidate yard signs have been removed? How can we continue to unleash the spirit of activism year round?
In 2006, MTV conducted a nationwide survey of over 1,300 12-24 year-olds in order to understand how and why youth in America are already active in pro-social causes. MTV found that 62% of those surveyed say that the issues that matter to them the most are those that have touched them or someone they know. In other words, they hit the kids close to home.1
Last week I met one youth ministry team from New Jersey that is taking their role in government seriously. The youth pastor is a member of the city council, and will soon be mayor. Working alongside their kids, the youth ministry has identified local injustices that hit home and is connecting with other local churches and organizations to do something about it.
Maybe you don’t feel called to run for city council. To be honest, I don’t. But I do want to keep the “Get Out the Vote” spirit alive in kids. It’s more than a fad. It’s Kingdom ministry.
- See the Just Cause report at http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/research/pdf/Just.Cause.FNL.APX.pdf. [↩]
©2008 Fuller Youth Institute