God’s Work in the Next Generation

My wife, Jill, and I worked in youth ministry for over 20 years. We loved introducing teenagers to the love of Jesus Christ. Youth ministry has always been hard and every generation faces challenges and circumstances unlike previous generations. But lately we’ve thought, “This current generation of young people really has it tough. What must it be like to minister to them now?”

We all see the horrible impact of increasing immorality, the statistics that foster fear, and the stories of young lives destroyed in ways that were unimaginable a short time ago. It’s easy to get discouraged especially as we see this emerging generation assaulted by the enemy, and struggling to follow Jesus. How will the Church get from where we are now to being an equally yoked bride for Jesus? But when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord raises up a standard. I want to encourage those of you who minister to or parent young people—or if you are a young person trying to love Jesus and a few other people—you are not alone. There is reason for hope.

We regularly receive testimonies from those who benefit from the resources IHOPKC provides freely to the world. I wanted to share a couple with you that tell of what the Lord is doing in this generation through the ministry IHOPKC.

Here is an email we received from a student in Minnesota:

“I’ve turned on your 24/7 live stream a few times. But tonight was the first time there was a prayer request while I was watching. The request was for the high school graduating class of 2017. I’m an 18-year-old high school senior graduating from a Christian school on Friday. I’m not sure what the Lord is going to do with my life yet, and that uncertainty can be hard to press into. But I think God just wanted to show me your prayers for my graduating class—as encouragement and confirmation that God does have plans, that He is preparing works for me and my peers, and that God is going to do mighty things through the servants that are graduating in the class of 2017.”—Nick in Minnesota

And all the way on the other side of the world, another student sent us this email:

“First of all, I ask you to understand my poor English because I’m not an English speaker. Thanks be to the Lord, I am a student studying for university entrance exam. In South Korea, there are many personal tutoring academies that help high school students prepare and study hard for university entrance exam. I am attending one of those now, and in those academies, young students are stuck all day in one narrow classroom and just study. I was born again in Christ just five months ago, and I found that all students are stuck in a big, worldly lie of Satan: there is no God, there is nothing important except prestigious university, you yourself is owner of your life, you don’t need savior.

“Here in South Korea every teenager just run all day for one purpose: prestigious university. And every morning I listen and sing in mind to IHOP livestream and receive God’s mind. I once heard the livestream that call God’s people to awake for next generation, to fight for next generation.

“I started a prayer group here and nobody listen to God’s heart. Some of my friends escape quickly if I start to say Good News to them. My heart is so deeply disappointed at those times, but I every morning get power from IHOP livestream and find hope and Jesus’ heart for this academy and teenagers.

“I really believe your intercession and worship with Word impact this country. I believe Holy Spirit works through my small worship with IHOP livestream here in South Korea. And these days, one student sometimes come to me and asks about God’s Word. Pray for us! Thank you for sharing such a prophetic and lively worship through YouTube.” —Student in South Korea

The Lord always has a remnant even when there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of one. His Word is true, and the prayers you’ve prayed as a youth minister, a parent, or even as a struggling student rise to a just and loving King. Jesus is raising up young people who are seeking His face and wanting to love their generation into the Kingdom of God. There will be a Joshua generation in the midst of the wilderness. There will be young people willing to kick a hole through a roof to get their paralyzed friends in front of Jesus. The Lord will use what the enemy intended for evil to bring about a generation of young people radically committed to loving Jesus and changing their world. You can count on it.

Thank you for partnering with IHOPKC and making it possible for us to give away the webstream for free to the world. Every year we need to raise about $5,000,000 to broadcast the prayer room, provide the infrastructure, and give small stipends to singers and musicians going 24 hours a day. The sound, cameras, bandwidth, chairs—the list goes on and on. The keyboard company won’t warranty our keyboards because they built them to be turned off every once-in-a-while, and we never do! Nobody has ever done a live broadcast, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week before. But we believe the Lord will bring speedy justice to those who cry out night and day.

So don’t stop praying for the young people in your lives. Sing over them. Prophecy over them. Hold their arms up. Believe for them when they can’t believe for themselves. It’s remarkable how the weak prayers and frail songs from our little prayer room in Kansas City encouraged Nick in Minnesota and our friend in South Korea. We will stand with you for this generation believing that the Lord will guard these tender shoots and raise them up into the next wave of His army.

Question: How is God calling you to pray for and support the next generation?

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Luis Cataldo

position

• Senior Leader, IHOPKC

Luis and Jill have served together in ministry throughout their 31 years of marriage. For 18 years, they were on staff at Young Life, a Christian outreach to high school students. Luis was the lead pastor of a church in Charlottesville, Virginia, from 2001 to 2004, before joining the IHOPKC senior leadership team in 2005. Luis and Jill currently serve as intercessory missionaries, contending in prayer for righteousness and justice in all sectors of society, primarily the Church, the government, and Israel. Both Luis and Jill served on the board of the Zoe Foundation, resourcing adoptions as a positive alternative to abortion. They also served with Lou Engle and TheCall during two stadium solemn assemblies in 2008. In 2011, Luis was the director of The Response, a national solemn assembly modeled after Joel 2, which was initiated by Governor Perry of Texas. Luis and Jill live in Kansas City, Missouri, and have two adult daughters, Alex and Samantha.