Keith Harrington is the lead pastor of Central Baptist Church Invercargill.

We humans are very good at making decisions that give short-term gains. The Stanford ‘marshmallow experiment’ created by psychologist Walter Mischel in 1970 is a classic example. Mischel and his colleagues used it to test young children’s ability to delay gratification. Each child was offered a choice between one small but immediate reward, or two small rewards if they waited. The experiment’s follow-up study showed that those who delayed gratification were more likely to be successful in life.  

As pastors and elders, we are continually faced with situations like the marshmallow experiment. 

Do I take the short-term gain or wait for and invest in the long-term one?   

Will we do cheap repairs on the building to fix the immediate problem, or spend more money on a job that will last 20 years?

Will we invest in programmes that keep the adults happy or invest in the youth who will be the future leaders of the church? 

The temptation is always to take the short-term option, which results in shallow pastors, dated and decaying buildings and an ageing (dying) church. Sound familiar? A bit too close to home, maybe?

The decisions we make today for short-term gain have long-term consequences. It might sound harsh, but the Baptist movement of churches is reaping the decisions made 15-20 years ago.

I’ve been a pastor for more than 30 years, so I get the struggle. Youth ministry does not give a short-term gain; it just costs you. Young people rarely add to a church’s income stream – they deplete it. Their actions sometimes annoy the people who pay the bills – and the pastor’s salary. However, statistics show that 90% of New Zealand Christians come to faith before the age of 20. Most of the remaining 10% who come to faith later in life have had some Christian input as a young person. What does that say about where the best place to put our limited resources is? It is a no-brainer if we are willing to think long-term.   

There was once a lovable but annoying young kid in our church youth group. His ability to do unintended damage to our building was astounding. (What do you think might be the result of releasing a car tyre down a flight of stairs when the pastor’s office wall is at the bottom?) His antics with his four-wheel drive endangered other young people. He boasted that one day, he would take my job. He drove the church leaders nuts. Yet our investment and that of other churches in him has resulted in fruit: seven years later, he is a youth pastor and is leading a church in our movement. (He will remain anonymous, but he is known to drink L&P…) 

The parable of the talents tells us we will be accountable for how we use our resources. Failure to invest in youth ministry is like the man who buried the money he had been given in the ground. And we know what God said about that.  

In the photo, Hannah and Cairo (two young people from Invercargill Central Baptist) are being baptised after sharing incredible testimonies of what Jesus has done in their lives. It’s inspiring moments like these that bring a sense of joy, hope and enthusiasm to our churches. Reminding us that Jesus continues to transform lives and communities as he has done for thousands of years.

Image: Supplied by Keith Harrington

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