There are many valuable activities that help young Christians discover, explore, and proclaim the presence of the reign of God in our midst. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus' message to those who gathered at the synagogue in Nazareth was:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because God has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

In the first four verses of Revelation 21 we find these words:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out o f heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with humankind. God will dwell with them, and they shall be God's people, and God's ownself will be with them; God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.

Vision

It is important for us to claim the vision that Jesus and the authors of the Scriptures have set before us as the way in which we are to live in this world. We must begin to recognize the community of heaven in our midst by helping those who are blind to see and those who are lame to walk, breaking open the prisons of poverty and oppression, and working toward building communities where there is no need for crying and pain. It is important for the young people of the church to claim this vision and begin the journey.

It is important for young people to explore the Scriptures, which give us the vision we are to reach for and seek in our lives. Studying the parables of Jesus concerning the kingdom of God is a good place to begin. Spend some time as a group talking about the kind of community you would really like to live in. What would it look like, how would people be treated, what scriptural verses would guide the community?

Talents

After discovering with the group how they would recognize God's promise on earth, take some time to find the people and institutions who are already working and living for that vision. Also look for places in your community, volunteer groups, or other institutions that have a vision of God's justice. Invite your vestry to a youth group meeting to discuss ways in which your church is already involved in social justice ministry --- feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, drying the tears of those who mourn, and so on. Discuss ways that time, talents, and budget are used. You may be surprised at the amount of social justice ministry already being carried out in the name of your congregation and through the gifts and actions of its members. Explore with the officers of your congregation ways in which the young people of the church could offer their talents to carry out these ministries as well.

Visit places in your community or in nearby cities and towns where social justice ministries are taking place: a food pantry, a shelter for abused women and children, a night shelter for the homeless, an adoption agency, a crisis or suicide hot line, a drug rehabilitation center, the chaplain at a local jail or prison.

Volunteer

Discuss with the staff ways in which your congregation, young people and adults, can be involved with these programs in a personal way. Perhaps the night shelter will accept sandwiches made by congregation members to feed those who stay overnight. The neighborhood clothing center might need people to help sort, clean, and mend clothing. Remember to discuss why these problems exist along with exploring the solutions being offered by different groups in the community.

Have the group choose an area of interest to be the focus of a series of meetings and special activities in the life of the congregation. Choose something simple that everyone can feel comfortable being involved with, like hunger. Everyone is touched by a hungry child, whether the child is next door or halfway around the world. Plan events that involve both young people and others in the congregation to educate, increase understanding, and involve them in action.

Hunger

Study the issue of hunger during the regular youth group time. After you learn and understand some of the issues involved in world hunger, plan a special event to share the learning with the rest of the congregation and enable the congregation to act. Conduct a twenty hour hunger fast. During the fast, continue learning about hunger. Raise money for every hour of fasting through pledges from members of the congregation and other friends. For those of you who are more sports-minded, raise money by receiving pledges for every mile ridden by participants in a bike-a-thon, swim-a-thon, or walk-a-thon. For the more sedentary, try a rock-a-thon, in rocking chairs.

Kingdom

Help the youth group choose the institutions or organizations that will receive the money they raised. Give to organizations you know. Get a suggested list from your pastor or the session. The young people may choose a place that was visited by the group earlier in the program. The group could begin a long-term relationship with this place. Part of the money could be given to a mission site to be visited by the group as a mission work trip.

At the conclusion of the study, serve a meal from a third world country or simulate the world food crisis by showing the disparity between world population and food distribution. Choose an appropriate time of year for these activities, such as World Food Day in October or during the season of Thanksgiving.
Whatever course your group chooses in order to be involved in social justice ministry, remember that we have been given a vision to look toward as we seek the kingdom of God in our midst. As Christians, we must not shy away from our responsibility toward helping to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Being involved in social justice is not just making statements to the community about how things should be, it is setting before the community an example of how we can go about seeking and recognizing the kingdom of God in our midst.