Walk into most youth centers. Listen to the testimonies given by adults. They are often sad stories of consequences from disobeying God. While those stories have a place in youth ministry, often these testimonies are ignored by the very teens for whom they are given.
Teens often feel almost invincible. Of course those adults had problems, they obviously weren’t very bright anyway. Teens know they can “have fun”, disobey a selected few of God’s laws for several years and escape unscathed.
Probe a little deeper and there is actually just a wee bit more to the story. Ask a few more questions and you will often find the teen is terrified of living the obviously dull and boring life that is the fate of every Christian. I mean look at their parents!
What those teens and frankly, I am beginning to think their youth ministers and the vast majority of the people in the Church no longer realize is that you can have the most exciting, fulfilling, adventurous life possible and still keep the “big three” commands of the teen and college years (no getting drunk, using drugs or sex before marriage). In fact, you may even be surprised at the adventures some of the people in your congregation had and are still having. They just don’t talk about it in church.
Start asking people at church about some of the adventures they have had in their lives. Ask them if they had to sin to have those adventures. If not, invite them to share their stories with your teens and possibly the teens in your church. Make it as clear as you can that it is absolutely possible to have a ton of fun (with none of those nasty consequences) and obey God at the same time.
Changing your child’s world view of the ability of Christians to have fun and still be godly, may just increase the likelihood of them doing the same themselves. I think that’s a legacy any family and any church would love to have!
If your kids are exposed to any kind of media- social or otherwise – eventually they will read about a “famous” Christian who has sinned. They will read articles or tweets implying Christians should never sin, or when they do, they become hypocrites and have no right to try and share their faith. They will be exposed to people who accuse any Christian who shares God’s Words about any topic of being judgmental, while also reminding readers the Bible says not to “judge”. No wonder our kids are becoming so supportive of the “You can do whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt anybody, because who am I to judge” mentality so popular today.
Strange question right? Your kids have minds of their own and have been making their own choices for some time now. If someone asked them to explain what they believe about God though, what would they say? Do they understand why God wants people to be baptized to become Christians? Do they know what God considers sinful? Are they aware of the positive things God wants them doing in their lives? Could they share their faith in even simple terms?
As children begin to have independent prayer lives and study the bible, they begin to realize God is not the genie in the sky who must say yes to our every wish. Instead, God sometimes says “no” to us and our kids. Teaching your children how to understand and accept any and every “no” from God may mean the difference in whether or not they ultimately choose to follow Him.
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