Wednesday, March 07, 2012

3 Common Traits of Youth Who Don’t Leave the Church* Part 1

*This is the intriguing title of a recent blog High School Pastor Jon Neilson wrote about youth that have stayed engaged in ministry past high school. 

It has challenged us on how I am Second can be used to help youth keep living like Jesus after they leave home. Here is Jon’s first point, with some thoughts about how to use I am Second to meet this need.  I'll comment on his other two points in later posts.

1. They really have trusted Jesus. Here is Jon’s challenge:

“We need to stop talking about 'good kids.' We need to stop being pleased with attendance at youth group and fun retreats. We need to start getting on our knees and praying that the Holy Spirit will do miraculous saving work in the hearts of our students as the Word of God speaks to them. In short, we need to get back to a focus on conversion. How many of us are preaching to ‘unconverted evangelicals’?"

Challenge: students in church actually have put their faith in Christ.

How can I am Second help? 

I am Second group materials focus first on helping people put their faith in Jesus. The Identity & Truth” discussion guide is one example. It is a semester long study of topics like self image, money, rejection and approval that leads students to the truth that a relationship with Christ is the answer to these struggles. Students are attracted by the authenticity of the I am Second films, then discuss how Jesus interacted with Bible characters with similar issues.

Also, there are discussion guides to help students reach their friends with the story of Jesus. "How to Start a Second Group" helps them pray and plan how to start a group with their friends. "What’s First?" is another guide that helps them develop their own story of how Jesus has , then share it with others.

Check out these and other small group resources at iamsecond.com/groups.

If you'd like to talk with one of our student ministry coaches, click here to contact us.

Next post we'll look at Jon's second point.


No comments: