I lead a group of 11th and 12th grade girls in Bible study on Sunday mornings. I feel blessed to work with such an amazing group of young women! This week one of the girls was telling us about a book she had just finished reading. I can't remember the name of the book, but it was about a youth group that decided they were going to stop sweating the small stuff and start going to God for every decision no matter how big or small. This eventually led to the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) phenomenon.
I decided to do some background research on how WWJD came about. I found this story at www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org
What Would Jesus Do? - How This All Came About
"What Would Jesus Do?" all started with a youth group from the Calvary Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan. As members of "Generation X," they wanted to influence their community for Christ. Inspired by the 1896 Charles Sheldon Book, "In His Steps" (which asked the same query), these youths were moved to apply this question to the daily choices that they all faced. As a tangible reminder, they had simple cloth bracelets made that used the abbreviation, WWJD. The bracelets caught the attention of friends, classmates, parents, and town's people. Soon, almost everyone was wearing one of these bracelets. As their popularity grew, the bracelets were mass-marketed, causing the retail revolution that we see today.
To the youths of Calvary Reformed Church in Michigan, "What Would Jesus Do?" had nothing to do with fad, popularity or wealth. They asked this question because their lives had been transformed by what Jesus taught and did about 2,000 years ago. They desired to influence their community by living their lives the way Christ taught. They wanted to give their faith a tangible connection to their everyday lives.
What Would Jesus Do? - How This All Came About
"What Would Jesus Do?" all started with a youth group from the Calvary Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan. As members of "Generation X," they wanted to influence their community for Christ. Inspired by the 1896 Charles Sheldon Book, "In His Steps" (which asked the same query), these youths were moved to apply this question to the daily choices that they all faced. As a tangible reminder, they had simple cloth bracelets made that used the abbreviation, WWJD. The bracelets caught the attention of friends, classmates, parents, and town's people. Soon, almost everyone was wearing one of these bracelets. As their popularity grew, the bracelets were mass-marketed, causing the retail revolution that we see today.
To the youths of Calvary Reformed Church in Michigan, "What Would Jesus Do?" had nothing to do with fad, popularity or wealth. They asked this question because their lives had been transformed by what Jesus taught and did about 2,000 years ago. They desired to influence their community by living their lives the way Christ taught. They wanted to give their faith a tangible connection to their everyday lives.
The premise behind the concept is a good one. We don't have to wait for the big things or the emergency situations to call on God. God WANTS to be involved in every aspect of our lives no matter how big or how small. These teenagers from a small town in Michigan began to do this and unwittingly influenced a whole generation of people.
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