A couple weeks ago, students from Berean Christian School came to the YOKE House to volunteer. These students spent their day outside, pulling weeds, planting flowers and mulching. They heard from our executive director, Eric Palmer (Mr. Palmer as many students know him), about the importance of the YOKE House and why their work means something. They got to enjoy lunch and each other’s company as we got to learn why service is something God has called us to do. Many of them, having been middle schoolers not that long ago, found it impactful to think of helping students of that age. They realized, though it may not make perfect sense, that doing yardwork could lead to a student becoming a follower of Jesus.
Today, high school students are often labeled as lazy, selfish, and addicted to their phones. Being able to partner with these high school students, serve alongside them, and truly get to know them, it was easy to see how that is a misconception and not a defining characteristic of this next generation. It is important to us at YOKE to continue to nurture middle and high school students alike, to push them to be better people, citizens, and followers of Christ. Much of this is done through learning how to be selfless and working hard for others’ gain instead of our own.
Philippians 2:3 states, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Serving others, volunteering in your communities, church, and outside is what God is calling us to do. Focus on others, count others as more important than yourself. This is an important message for our students, but also for us at YOKE as we continue to partner with others to continue Christ’s mission and calling in our lives. We will continue to pray for and partner with our communities, serving one another for the common mission to love God, love others, and lead more people to Christ.