JESUS YOUTH | KAIROS GLOBAL | JANUARY 2020

Jesus Youth is Youth for Life

The time was mid 1990’s and this young doctor was a regular visitor to my place. Her weekly day off was on Tuesdays and we would meet to discuss her dreams. Prolife work was Dr. Sindhu’s passion and she had quite an ingenious approach to promoting this positive awareness. She would gather groups of youth, together with them prepare promotional materials and engage in various prolife campaigns. A well-made set of prolife exhibition materials she kept at my place, which youth from near and far would take to conduct awareness sessions. In brief, hers was a tactic of ‘learning by doing’ or a hands-on-approach to learning, and this creative method was helping many youth groups take up a strong stance for protecting life. Jesus Youth has always been prolife, but Dr. Sindhu’s initiatives ushered in a new focus and fervor in the movement’s mission to protect life. 

The life and teachings of Pope John Paul II had immense influence on Jesus Youth movement. It was in 1978 that the first major effort to network young people in the Renewal movement started (which would eventually become Jesus Youth), and it was in the very same year that the saintly Pope commenced his papacy. No wonder the movement is deeply indebted to the vision and spirituality of this saintly pope, especially on its perception of the modern-day ‘culture of death’ and the possible solutions. Naturally, prolife concerns has been central to the various activities of the movement.

Prolife Dynamics in JY

“What are some of the distinguishing marks of JY?” I asked a group of teenagers. “JY families have a lot of children and many of them do home schooling”. This discussion was in the US and so homeschooling came up because that is a growing trend there. But large family is surely a Jesus Youth character in most parts of the world. Now, what are certain best practices that promote prolife attitudes in Jesus Youth movement?

1. A commitment to know and live God’s will: Forming an active Christian conscience is central to Jesus Youth movement. This often starts with an encounter experience and continues through a variety of faith formation efforts. Two important thoughts should guide the life of an active Christian – firstly, asking ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ and secondly, the firm decision to say ‘I don’t want to do what is not pleasing to God’.  Perhaps the foundation of prolife attitude in the movement is this continuous practical faith formation that goes on in the movement in its prayer groups, retreats and formation programs. 

   
   

2. Shining models: These days we often hear that young people go astray because they lack good role-models. But in Jesus Youth circles one very positive thing is that there are plenty of individuals and families that are well committed to safe guarding life. There are numerous families with six, seven or more children. There are so many in the movement who even at great risk to their own lives decided not to have an abortion. In Jesus Youth groups most people know these ordinary heroes and joyfully talk about them. In all the gatherings of Jesus Youth, the radiating joy of big families is a visible presence. No wonder the new generation wants to follow these good examples. 

   
   

3. A positive pro-life message: Whenever the Rex Band has taken the stage for public concerts in the past, there has been this very captivating solo presentation by Beena, ‘The Cry of the Unborn’ – a fetus killed in the womb of its mother narrating the harrowing experience with a musical refrain “Let me live”. Over the past three decades through hundreds of Rex Band shows, innumerable people have witnessed this ‘voice of the unborn’ and almost everyone has been moved to tears watching this deeply touching presentation. Leo’s short film ‘Tree of Life’ was another very effective media initiative in Jesus Youth that effectively highlighted the prolife message. Prolife exhibition has become an integral part of all major Jesus Youth programs. In all JY circles the message is loud and clear that from the moment of conception, human life is sacred and that any attempt against it is surely a most heinous crime. 

   
   

4. JY Healthcare professionals: Doctors and Nurses networks are quite active in Jesus Youth. JY groups in Medical Colleges and Nursing schools become effective nurseries forming committed pro-lifers. No wonder the movement has enough resource persons to conduct excellent prolife sessions, as many of these doctors and nurses come out as excellent healthcare professionals and committed guardians of life.  Naturally the wider church circles depend on Jesus Youth input for effective prolife campaigns. 

   
   

5. Different creative initiatives: When Shalini, an active Jesus Youth got elected as the Chairperson of the city’s famous college she persuaded her team of union leaders to take up ‘Life’ as the theme of their year long activities. The college witnessed some very special programs during the year, most of them with a strong prolife message. In another place, a series of webinars on the theme of prolife was organized by a group of Jesus Youth. Prayer campaigns, poster making sessions, street plays and a variety of other innovative approaches have been tried by enthusiastic JY groups to communicate to their colleagues and friends the message of the importance of safeguarding life. 

   
   

In Jesus Youth, there is also a dedicated Prolife Ministry that focuses on spiritual campaigns, imparting prolife trainings, arranging counselling for the needy and preparing trained personnel and groups for interventions of different sorts. But what is most noteworthy in the movement is the general culture of prolife that prevails throughout and a very positive attitude that it is able to build among other young people, not looking at prolife work as something strange and exceptional, but a sign of being a loving and joyful Christian.