"What Can We Do Together?"

“What can we do together?” Pope Francis asked this week in Geneva during his address to the World Council of Churches, representing 350 Christian denominations and over 500 million Christians worldwide. It is a question which echoes through my mind after spending a week with delegates from Catholic dioceses and parishes from around the US at the 6^thAnnual YL Catholic Adult Guest Camp at Timber Wolf Lake. We’re all asking, “What can we do together to reach young men and women who are struggling without a sense of worth, belonging and hope that can only be found in Jesus?” 

We begin with spiritual friendship. Spending time together throughout the week made us realize that underneath the titles and positions, we are all human beings with names and families, joys and hopes, hurts and frailties. We listened to one another. We prayed over each other. We laughed our heads off at club and we cried through so many beautiful moments. We tackled the ropes course together and we heard the gentle voice of Jesus beckoning us forth. This week we became not merely co-laborers in the Lord’s harvest but friends in Christ.

Second, we committed to a common path. With eyes focused on Jesus, we stacked hands on introducing kids to Christ and helping them grow in their faith. We honored our differences without getting mired in disagreements. We chose a path of graciousness and trust rather than arousing suspicion and putting up walls. We discovered that we want the same things – for kids to know Christ, to place their trust in Him as the source of their lives, and to reconnect to the Church, each according to his or her tradition. 

Kathy Goller, Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry at the Diocese of Buffalo, NY shared, "My experience at the Catholic Adult Guest Week convicted me more than ever that the Catholic Church can, and needs to, partner with Young Life to reach our young people with the hope and love of Christ. Further, it gave me clear ideas and a plan for how to transform those convictions into actions for our diocese!"

Third, we leaned into hope. We all know the state of affairs today. We know that faith is out of fashion and that for every 1 who enters the Church 6 leave. We know what kids are exposed to through social media and modern “entertainment.” Yet the power of the Resurrection compels us forward with hope. God is writing a beautiful story. We saw it right before our eyes. The victory of goodness over evil is real. Walls are coming down. Reconciliation is happening. Lives are being transformed. “The best of Young Life is yet to come,” Jim Rayburn proclaimed in his last days. And I believe that includes widespread partnership with the whole body of Christ – Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. 

“What can we do together?” A lot, it turns out. And the best is yet to come. 

Sunset on Timber Wolf Lake