Making Disciples—Youth 101

Some of the most common questions pastors and youth pastors discuss when we conference together are:

“How can we equip teenagers to truly live out their faith in today’s world?”

“What is the secret to mentoring kids to own their faith by the time they leave home?”

“How should we actually disciple teens today?”

The truth is, we can use words like “disciple” and “mentor” all day long, but that doesn’t mean we are truly making a difference in their lives and increasing their faith.

I’m proud of youth leaders in our church like Galen Beck, Bre’anne Northcutt, Tyler McKinney, and Danny Himmel that are investing significant time to build relationships with our youth…for relationships are key! Youth Pastors have known for decades that the biggest players in a young person’s spiritual development are their parents. The reasons for this are simple—relationships, relationships, relationships.

Over 85 percent of Christians in America send their children to public schools (The Harsh Truth About Public Schools by Bruce Short, page 199). Imagine the alarm that would sound in these Christian homes if parents learned their children had graduated from High School without learning how to read, write, or to calculate simple math problems. I imagine you wouldn’t be able to hold back the flood of parents working to overhaul the education system. In the same way, imagine how the alarm should sound in the church and in Christian homes today with the knowledge that over 70 percent of our Christian youth are graduating High School without the ability to clearly articulate their own faith and belief system. In fact, studies show most of them (70-88% depending on which region they attend college in) will drop completely out of church by the end of their freshmen year of college (Battle Cry for a Generation by Ron Luce, page 34).

Most churches and Christian homes today are producing “moralists” but not “followers” of Jesus Christ. This means that our students may be successful at identifying right and wrong behaviors; however, when asked to articulate the fundamentals of our Christian faith, their answers are unimpressive and sometimes simply wrong. Christian Smith, a sociologist and expert on America’s Christian youth, argues that this inability to articulate their faith is crucial to discovering why so many Christian youth are deserting their faith upon leaving their homes (Soul Searching by Christian Smith, page 131).

The bottom line is: we need more people spending time with our youth, loving on them and earning trust through relationship. We must be proactive and tackle this problem head-on and urgently. And, we must pray for, support, and encourage all you parents to set a godly example for your teens at home. For, it is certainly true that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” (quote from every grandparent who has ever quoted anything)!

What are you doing to make disciples of our youth?