WOW! That’s the only way I can say it ... WOW! We just had over 30 sixth grade students and their families at our 6th grade Crossover this past Sunday. It’s an event that celebrates the 6th graders’ time in Children’s Ministry and connects them to Student Ministry ... Tammy and Mandy and their whole team have done such a great job of pouring into these students and laying a spiritual foundation in them. Now as they enter student ministry, they enter a crucial juncture in their journey. In the next six years, they will face the challenge of developing an independent faith – one that knows how to feed itself and can stand on it’s own, apart from the faith of their parents. A faith that is ready to withstand the storm of college academia and humanistic philosophies of our world.
The following excerpt from a Prison Fellowship Breakpoint article I recently read sheds some light on the challenges they face ...
From the double-edged sword of new technologies to the omnipresent media, today’s teens are facing unique challenges. And they often face those challenges alone—without input and guidance from adults.
Today, teenagers can go through days, if not weeks, without ever spending meaningful time with adults. The typical teenager wakes up, goes to school, and then to an extracurricular activity. They spend the majority of their waking hours interacting with other teens. If your teenager is like many today, he or she may not even eat with the family, but instead eat dinner while watching TV. After dinner, there is homework or chatting on the phone or online with—again—people their same age.
And what about Sundays at church? Even there, your teen may attend a youth worship service, attend Sunday school, or go to youth group—again, away from the influence of adults.
The result is that young adults—who desperately need the input, modeling, molding, and love of adults at this critical stage of life—are almost entirely devoid of meaningful interaction.
But even when we adults do interact with our teens, are we providing the kind of love and truth that is vital to their lives and to their souls? Of those teens in high school who profess faith, surveys by the George Barna group indicate that somewhere around 85 percent of “born again” teens do not believe in absolute truth. Nearly 50 percent said Jesus sinned during His earthly life.
I think there in a real connection between the things that students do or do not believe about Truth and how much quality interaction they have with mature believers. The things they believe about Jesus are a direct result of the things that they learn from adult Christians in their life. While the primary responsibility for raising kids in faith rests on their parents, the church can have a huge impact in the process. Adolescents need to be connected to other adults who can share life with them, who will mentor them, who will love them, who will speak truth into their lives.
I’m excited about the future of the Student Ministry here at Lakota / Center Pointe Christian Church. In the coming year, we anticipate connection with nearly 150 students grades 7-12... The key to deepening their faith will not be creative programming or fun activities. Those things are good tools and we will seek them out with great energy, but the key to our kids developing a deep love for God, a strong commitment to the truth of His Word, a heart of compassion that seeks to serve others, and the ability to lead others to the savior is the influence of adults that will be in their lives.
If you have a heart for students, we need you to come along side and share life with them. You don’t have to be an expert in teen culture or in teaching ... You just need to love God and have a heart for kids ... If you’re interested in talking about Student Ministry, either to get involved or to get your student(s) involved, contact me in the church office (513)779-8800 ext 43 or by email steve.poston@lakotachristian.org
For His Glory and His kids,
Steve Poston
Student Minister