Adults set the standard. Adults are who teenagers look to and who they want to emulate when they get older. We may not realize it, but teenagers are looking to us for examples of how faith is supposed to be represented. So why are we not setting the examples very well?
As adults, we have an extreme influence on teenagers and how they understand faith. We need to help them get a better understanding of faith through how we live, help them gain a fuller understanding of living faith by growing with them.
As adults, specifically parents, we have an enormous task of setting the example of faith to teenagers. Parents are being watched more than any other adult in a teen’s life because they share the same roof. As parents, we need to set the example starting in our own homes. Although I am not a parent yet, I grew up in a home where faith was not always discussed. I had to go elsewhere for my information and never was afforded the opportunity to ask my parents about their faith. We never had time set aside for learning more about the Bible, and they did not ever mention it unless someone else brought up the topic.
As adults, we should be setting the example for teenagers who are around us: This includes youth pastors, coaches and any other primary adult in a teenager’s life. If they see a Christian living a life of sin and not following Christ, what impression does that leave on them? They will assume they can live that way, too, and not have to follow the Lord. Theologian and author Chris Hill shares in his book Grace-Based Youth Ministry: Helping Teenagers See Themselves Through God’s Eyes, that there is a fine line between believing in faith and living it out. He says, “There’s a difference between finding Christ and finding life in Christ: When you have only found Christ, you’re ready to go to heaven; but when you have found life in Christ, you’re ready to live on earth with the earnest expectation of also going to heaven.”
If we as adults are not teaching teenagers how to live in faith because we are not living in faith ourselves, how will they learn? We can help them see an example through talking to them about our own faith and living a life worthy of Christ. One of the biggest ways to help a teenager understand faith is to answer his or her questions. We are often too busy with our lives to listen, but if we take time to listen to the questions they ask, it could change their lives completely, probably more than we realize.
A few ways that we can help teenagers get a better understanding of faith include spending time with them in Scripture, doing service projects — and answering their questions! It is important to have the teens spend time daily in Scripture. By reading Scripture with them, you will be able not only to get them into God’s Word, but also be able to help them understand it better yourself. Often when we read Scripture, especially as a teen, we cannot fully grasp what is being said to us. If adults spend time explaining the things teens do not understand, they will grow stronger in their faith with Christ through understanding what He has planned.
Also, getting teenagers involved in a service project is a great way for them to learn a vocation. They may not be interested at first, but they may end up loving it later on and find that this is what they are passionate about and what God is calling them to do. It also gets them involved in their communities, helps them build relationships with other adults and allows them to share the gospel of Christ with those who may not know Him.
Again, by taking time to listen to teens, you find they have great insight and are very wise. By answering their questions on faith, imagine how much wiser they can become and how much more likely they will be to pass along that knowledge to others. Another way to answer their questions is to help them get involved in church. By attending church and listening to a sermon each Sunday, not only will they be immersed in Scripture, but they’ll learn the answers to questions they maybe didn’t even know they had!
Finally, as adults we constantly are growing in faith ourselves. Growing in faith is a never-ending cycle. We cannot just tell teenagers to do this and do that; we need to do as we’re instructing them to do. If we tell them to do something such as attend church or read Scripture and we aren’t emgaging in Scripture study, we are hypocrites. We need to walk alongside teens, not in front of them and certainly not behind them. We are not perfect and never will be. As fallen human beings, we need to study Scripture with teens, attend church with them, and not only answer their questions the best we can, but also ask questions ourselves.
By walking beside teens, they will see we are just like them. We are learning and growing just as they are, and it will encourage them to continue to grow in their relationship with God, too. We are on the same journey, but we need to teach and grow with them in order to help them continue on the path when we are no longer with them.
