Mentoring Children & Teens in the Church

As we move from church age to Kingdom Age, I want to dive into the importance of children in the church. We are raising up the next generation. It doesn't start when they are 18, it starts now. Tony just finished a 6-part series on Biblical Parenting that we just posted to Youtube on our Church Alive podcast. This will help not only parents, but everyone in the church body understand our hearts for our families and children.

If you look at our past blogs, you can see one I wrote called, "The Intergenerational Church", that describes this in more detail. Today I want to discuss YOUR role as a member of the body of Christ for our kids. Over the years, at my age, I became a short of bridge between young and old. I've been asked a lot how to talk to the younger generations, teens and college age. Truely, it's all about building relationships with them and their parents. Where you can mentor them, give them opportunities to ask questions, guide them, and equip them. If you waited a long time to get to know our young people, you'll be amazed at how smart and hungry they are for the Lord. 

I want to encourage our body to incorporate teens into our gatherings outside of Sunday Service, including Men's Group, Women's Group, and Home Groups. We will have more opportunities to fellowship as we move into the new space, doing Game Nights and outreach events. Remember though, you do not need a program to build relationships. Ask them out for coffee, invite their family over to play cards, go to their games and performances, ask to pray for them, or even sit with them at church. 

Building safe and appropriate relationships with teens and young adults helps them grow and learn in a way that the church in America has been avoiding. Of course, ensure you are never alone with a child, teen, or young adult. When we create segregated spaces, they don't learn how to be a part of the church body and that they are valued in that space. The statistics show 70% of 18 year olds leave the church, and only about ⅓ of them return later in life once they’ve had kids or gotten married. They don't feel like they belong, because they weren't invited or welcomed, they were only entertained. You are part of the change for the future for these kids, they need you too.