God Dependence Week June 5-11, 2016

THANKSGIVING

As we celebrate ISCF 60th Anniversary, it is good to look back and remember how the Lord has blessed and sustained us in doing this ministry. Surely when we do it, we will have a thousand or more reasons to offer Him thanksgiving and praise. Since I myself am not a product of ISCF, I have to do a little research about ISCF history to know how the Lord has been using this ministry to reach out to the high-school students and bless many people in the last 60 years. I have to investigate because I believe that in doing this I would also be able to somehow see and receive the good things that the Lord has done in the History of ISCF.

Then, wholeheartedly and with all sincerity, I can say “Thank You” to our God. Yes, because I believe that when we express gratitude to God, we enter into a cycle of joyful relating with him. We take in his love, feel a deeper connection with him and experience joy. Today’s passage invites us to express gratitude to God for his good gifts.

Warming Up to God

What is it like for you to receive a gift or a compliment? What is it like for you to be on the receiving end of someone else’s gratitude?

Read Psalm 65

Discovering the Word

Applying the Word

What are you grateful for ISCF ministry? Express your thanksgiving to God.

Pray for ISCF Chapters, being grateful of and motivated by God’s faithfulness, that they may move out further to reach out and engage other high-school campuses with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pray for every member of the IVCF movement – students, graduates, volunteers, donors, staff and board members – to always remember God’s faithfulness and be grateful to the Lord.

Behind the Scenes

Scene

Take a look how ISCF ministry started in the Philippines. Who are the people behind the scenes where ISCF existed for 60 years now?

The first Filipino staff worker, Tomasa Francisco, pioneered the ISCF work. ISCF clubs were formed in several high schools in Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan City, Cavite and Calapan, Mindoro. Tomasa was able to manage the work with the help of the ISCF sponsors (now called counselors) who volunteered their help to reach out and disciple high school students. Through their support, ISCF work expanded to different regions in the country. (ISCF Counselors’ Handbook, The ISCF Ministry)

Silence

Take a kneeling position and quiet yourself before God. Spend the next 5 minutes

Scripture

Read the verse below slowly. Re-read it and allow the words to echo in your heart and mind until you have memorized it.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.

Always give yourself fully to the Lord, because you know

That your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Seek

We must recognize that in life in the fallen world around us were all there were to life, our labor would be in vain.

Have you given yourself fully to the work of the Lord? What possible things that will hinder you as you do the work of the Lord? How do you overcome it?

Were you able to recognize the Lord in everything you do?

Pray for yourself according to how God’s Word has moved you today.

Pray for every ISCF-IVCF staff workers, GT, volunteers, counselors who worked with ISCF to stand firm- that nothing will move them as they work in the campuses.

Pray for the ISCF chapters that existed all over the country (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao).

Looking Back

Silence

Kneel down. Quiet your soul. Spend the next five minutes or so being silent

Scripture

Read the verse below slowly. Re-read them and allow the words to echo in your heart and mind until the Word speaks to you.

For the Lord is good. His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations
Psalm 100:5

Soul Search

Allow the spirit to search your heart using these questions:
Are you thankful enough for God`s faithfulness in your life?
What are your prayers for the next generation?

Pray

Pray according to how God spoke to you through His Word today

This year the Inter School Christian Fellowship will be celebrating its 60th anniversary. This ministry reached a lot of high school students throughout the years

Praise God for the willingness of the GT volunteers and staff in different regions serving in this ministry

Pray that they will continue to have the joy in serving Christ through this ministry and that more young people could hear the word of God.

Present Realities

Reaching Generation Z

Read: 1 Cor. 9:19-23

Sixty years of reaching the students in different high school campuses. Students change from one generation to another. Inter-School Christian Fellowship had reached four generations for Christ. The first Generation reached were the Baby Boomers (1945-1946). This generation expected some degree of defense to their opinions and is often described as workaholic. The second generation is described as a generation who is comfortable with authority, hardworking as needed, and values the importance of work and balance. This generation is known as Gen X (1965-1979). The third generation is Gen Y also known as Millennials (1980-1993) where most of the ISCF counselors come from. This generation strongly believe that respect must be earned. They are tech- savvy, goal and achievement oriented. The present type of high school students we are reaching belongs to Gen Z (1995+). They are identified as digital natives, fast decision makers, and highly connected.

We praise God for how the Lord sustained us and equipped us by His grace to reach-out these generations. Pause for a while and thank God for what the Lord has done to ISCF Ministry through the years.

God’s call for ISCF is still the same. We are called to know Jesus and make Him known to this present generation and to the generations to come. Wisdom suggests that we take extra effort to understand and learn how to reach this present generation.

Generation Y is also known as Zees, Global Gen, iGen, Click ‘n go kids, Screenagers, Bubble wrap generation, Tweens, Zees, Gen Z, Cotton wool kids, Upagers, The Zeds and Teens. According to Martin Saunder, Gen Z are highly connected digital native. They want to change the world. They are worried about the future. They embody diversity. They are morally more conservative than their elders in terms of use of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.

The following are the six defining characteristics of Gen Z from a study of Dr. Tim Elmore.

1. Cynical. While the students I met were fairly happy and well-adjusted, they are not giddy like so many Generation Y kids were in the 90s. They tend to be more realistic not idealistic, seemingly jaded from the tough economy, terrorism and complexities of life.
2. Private. Perhaps it’s because they watched their older siblings get in trouble from posting controversial content on social media, but younger teens don’t want to be tracked. Apps like Snapchat and Whisper have seen explosive growth in the last few years. In contrast, Facebook has lost 25 percent of this demographic since 2011.
3. Entrepreneurial. Like Millennials, these students plan to be pioneers, not merely settlers in a career. 72% of current high school students want to start a business. They feel like hackers, not slackers. Since they’re more jaded, they know life is hard and requires work.
4. Multi-tasking. By almost every measurement so far, these Gen Z kids will take multi-tasking to a new level. They prefer to be on 5 screens at once, not 2 screens like Millennials. Get ready to communicate to them while they look around, not into your eyes.
5. Hyper-aware. Generation Z has communicated enough with marketing researchers and academics to reveal that they experience: 4D Thinking. Because their minds are streaming in so many directions, they’ve become post-moderns who are hyperaware of their surroundings.
6. Technology-reliant. This one won’t surprise you. If we thought Millennials were addicted to technology, get ready for more. In surveys, these teens put technology in the same category as air and water. They cannot imagine living without being connected all the time.

During Graduate Team and Graduates Conference, Di Fernandez, the IVCF Field Director and former ISCF National Coordinator, shared her personal experiences with this present generation of high school students. According to her, Gen Z are more connected but less secure, more provided for but less satisfied, more information but not always wisdom and more choices but not always coherence.

She emphasized the following needs in engaging the youth;

1. We must balance the positive and negative impact of the parenting style of Generation X.
2. We must capitalize on their interest to grow up and be wise. Share insights on how to save and make money as well as plan for the future.
3. We need to offer hope and vision to a generation who grew up watching unemployment and global conflict.
4. We must help them think long-term and have a view of the big-picture.

We still have so much to learn from this generation. Because knowing them is a gateway in addressing their needs and becoming relevant in reaching them for Christ. We need to do more one-on-one mentoring with emphasis on coaching, more accountability, more modelling on responsible media use and more equipping for media literacy and capitalize on teaching moments.

Pray that ISCF ministry will be more relevant, efficient, effective and faithful to its calling to reach, disciple students and raise leaders.

Sources:
1. Youthscape, Martin Saunders
2. See more at: http://growingleaders.com/blog/six-defining-characteristics-of-generation-z/#sthash.7tglcpSO.dpuf
3. Understanding the Present Generation, Di Fernandez.