Hi Moms and Dads. I’m John, and I’m a Youth Pastor.
My job is to set the table for students to have a conversation with Jesus; to challenge and encourage them, and to infuse them with the life-changing words of God, directing them on a path of integrity and purpose.
Now I consider myself pretty wily and versatile… I can work with just about any teen; apathetic, obnoxious, weird, shy, rebellious, gassy, etc.
The only teenager I can’t minister to, is one who isn’t there.
Where your children on Sunday nights? The mall? The movies? The couch? The bedroom? What are they doing, while tons of their peers and caring adults are gathering for worship, fellowship, and to seek things bigger than themselves? More importantly, who is leading them during those times?”
Here are some things I hear all the time, from wonderful, loving, attentive Christian parents about their kids:
“She’s thinks she’s too old for youth group.”
“My son says it’s boring.”
“They tell me it’s too cliquey”.
“I don’t want to force him.”
“It’s too big!”
“It’s too loud.”
“I’m worried I’ll turn them off of church.”
“The little kids bother him.”
“She doesn’t like the music.”
“He thinks he doesn’t need it.”
And I’m left with the same response to all of these reasons… “So?”
You see, somehow, we as adults know that we need to be in community with our peers and in the Word regularly. (At least that’s what we say).
We know that the Christian life is not a once-in-a-while, crazy, mountaintop party, but a daily, disciplined, (and yes, sometimes boring) commitment to seek God’s will in our relationships, in our ordinary and in the mundane.
We know that the Christian life is about doing the daily work to grow and learn, even when we don’t quite feel like it or enjoy it.
The problem is, we often decide that when it comes to teenagers, that these things are more negotiable… If they don’t like something, or if they aren’t entertained or enthused, or if they are too busy, we decide that maybe it isn’t the right time for them. We give them an “out”, when maybe what they really need is to be nudged further in.
Moms and Dads, there are 168 hours in your child’s week, and there are 2 hours on Sunday that can profoundly change all the others.
Help make those two hours valuable in their eyes.
If your son or daughter is in 9th grade right now, we probably will only have 150 total hours with them until they graduate high school. I need you to fight for that time for me.
Translation: I’m asking you to FORCE your children to go to church. You force them to eat, to study, to bathe, to seek medical attention, and to do anything else that you decide is crucial to their health and future. (Can you imagine your son breaking his arm, and you saying, “I don’t want to force him to go to the hospital. I don’t want to turn him-off of doctors.”).
Look at it this way: If a student is combative or bitter or resentful at youth group, but while doing so, they hear God telling them they are valuable; that they matter; that they are wired for compassion and designed for greatness, it’s still a win. (God can speak through Pharaohs and prostitutes and pagan priests, I think He can handle a 10th grader with a bad attitude).
Together, let’s teach teenagers that the Christian life is not about being entertained or catered to, or stimulated, and it isn’t just about something that is cool, or fun, or loud, or even easy. It is about a daily, committed walk with their Creator, alongside others seeking that same, elusive narrow road.
Parents, be encouraged today, in the hardest and most important job there is in the world, but know that you’re not alone.
Mom and Dad… Get your KID in church.
