The following blog post was written by Jen DeJong, who has served in a variety of capacities with TheHopeLine. Jen has been a hope coach as well as one who supervises them. She is now the project coordinator for The Tribe and the Prayer for a Generation events.
Won’t you please share this post with young people destined for leadership amongst their peers? The reason will become apparent when you read Jen’s post.
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As you know from the many insightful things that Tim and Debbie Bishop have shared through this blog, TheHopeLine is a ministry that strives to reach as many teens and young adults as we can with HOPE.
Undoubtedly, our ministry is on the front lines, taking calls and chats from teens and young adults who are often in crisis…struggling with cutting, suicide, eating disorders, abuse, bullying, addictions, sexual promiscuity and on and on. We hear the deep pain and desperation that so many of this generation are facing.
And so…we are left asking ourselves some pretty tough questions.
What will happen to America…to the world…to the Church a decade from now, when our damaged 15-year-old is 25? What contribution will our injured 25-year-old make at 35?
How many young people should be allowed to melt down, burn out, suffer, even die?
How can we possibly reach them all?
And this is what we have come to realize. All the radio programs in the world can’t reach them all. All the social media, mobile apps, and technology on its own can’t reach them all. Just like all the churches in the world, all the church youth groups in the world can’t rescue them all.
The only thing there’s enough of, to grab all the kids in trouble, is other kids.
So, now our questions have become…
How many young people could be inspired to reach out, grow, even thrive? What if we connected thousands and thousands of on-fire young people…like a Tribe? Could this Tribe be challenged to become wise advisors, truth tellers, to those in need around them? Could this Tribe connect their peers to God’s life-shaping love? One by one – hundreds, then thousands, then more…many, many more?
And so we’ve started to ask teens and young adults – are you willing to help your peers? Are you willing to do the next right thing and help you friends do the same? Are you ready to join Dawson McAllister’s Tribe?
We are just at the beginning of what God might do with this Tribe and we already have over 1,600 people who have signed up and said – “Yes! I want to make a difference.”
We are arming this Tribe with specialized training and resources (our mobile app, the website, TheHopeLine, the radio program). We are supporting them with an army of prayer warriors behind them. We are offering encouragement and advice along the way.
Now we are asking these questions…Could this Tribe become a movement? Could it reshape the world before it’s too late? In God’s power, why not?
And so from these humble beginnings we ask this of you.
Will you pray? We know that a transformational Tribe will not grow unless it is…unless they are…prayed into maturity.
Will you encourage the young people you know to sign up for the Tribe? They can do so here http://info.thehopeline.com/join-dawsons-tribe or from Dawson McAllister’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/dawsonmcallister. Once they are signed up, they will begin receiving our weekly training e-mails, prayer support and more.
We believe in this next generation. We believe there’s a hunger on the part of young people to share what they have received. We believe that a grassroots, Spirit-powered movement from within this generation can happen. And we want to do whatever we can to equip this generation to change the world through the love and power of Jesus Christ. Won’t you do what you can to help?