“The spiritual decision I made this year in camp was not to steal, no fighting, and no lying. May God give me understanding and love to people, not to be bad to any people in this community.” –Jos ECWA Camp Youth Alive Camper
Two youths at ECWA Camp
As I read over this evaluation the other day, I could not help but wonder about the camper who wrote it. Was he involved in the recent Jos crisis? Did he have an opportunity to retaliate and involve himself in violence? Did he choose not to in the name of love and Christ-like humility? Has he been an agent of peace and comfort to those in his community now in the wake of the crisis? All of these questions started swirling around in my head and I started to have a new perspective of the situation we’re living in.
Like the rest of the Jos population, the events of late November 2008 set me back on my heels and made me take another look at the city and community I live in. As someone who has devoted her life towards working with youth, specifically, Nigerian youth, my heart ached when I heard that youths were the ones carrying out many of these atrocities.
Youth, who have little to gain, and everything to lose. Youth, who have the brightest smiles, the most passion, and the most opportunity to achieve something great. Youth, the ones ECWA Camp Youth Alive longs to reach and see draw near to God.
What if more of the youth in Jos had been able to attend ECWA Camp Youth Alive over the past five years? What if they had heard, really heard, what it means to love your neighbor, regardless of ethnic, religious or political background? What if they learned that there are things more important than power, prestige, and dominance? What if they learned about Christ and how he taught his followers to put away the sword?
What if they memorized scriptures like 2 Corinthians 4:8,
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going...Yes, we live in constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies.”
Or James 1:2-4,
“Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”
Would youth have seen the attacks as an opportunity to be united with Christ in his sufferings? Would the violence have been less extensive? Would some of the initiators have been won over by the fearless love and grace?
Christian author Shane Claiborne has said, “grace is contagious, just like violence.” What if we were able to channel the passion and energy of the youth into spreading grace and not violence? On January 19, Americans celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who championed the peaceful resistance approach during the Civil Rights movement. Despite his house being bombed, threats made on his and his family’s lives, and physical attacks, Dr. King refused to retaliate with aggression. His words spoken in the 1960’s resonate with Jos in 2008 and 2009, “These are extreme times. The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?”
Oh, what if, the youth of Nigeria were known as extremists for love? Take a moment, my fellow readers, and just imagine. Now, I do not know how to get us from here, where machetes and petrol and clubs and money and hands did incalculable damage in a matter of days, to there—where political and religious and tribal and language division lines are breached in the name of peace and love. Right now, I have a hard time even imagining Nigeria in such a way.
Yet, I know that Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream for ethnic barriers to be broken down in the US, and on January 20, a black American was inaugurated as president. Ethnic bigotry has seen such a decrease in America that the majority of citizens willingly chose a minority to be their leader. That encourages me to dream the impossible, and start working toward that end. Could progress be made in peace, reconciliation and unity in Jos? Could church and community leaders have the courage to dream like Dr. King? Could those same leaders see the enormous potential in the youth and start investing in their spiritual development? Could ECWA Camp Youth Alive play a role in helping to realize this dream? I’ve asked many questions in this article, and have not offered many answers, but at least for the last one, I believe I can answer a resounding YES!
In spite of all the pain, destruction, and loss, out of this crisis comes a clear conviction that ministries such as ECYA are crucial to the peaceful and successful future of Jos, ECWA (and sister churches), and the country of Nigeria as a whole. If Nigeria wants to become a successful, upright nation worthy of emulation, it has no choice but to heavily invest in the next generation of leaders—the youth of today. This is my prayer. And I pray it with the anticipation of Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or even imagine, according to His power at work within us. To Him be the glory through the church in Christ Jesus, Amen.”
By René Marshall, SIM Missionary working with ECWA Camp Youth Alive
