How would a teenager define a Christian?

My husband and I help lead one of the high school small groups at our church. As such, we meet weekly with the students and try to impart whatever seeds of wisdom along with reading and discussing the Bible, having fun and sharing a meal together. Last night I was taken aback at something one of the students said, and I think it's worthy of a blog post. In the midst of the point this student was making, they stated something to the effect of, "not all Christians believe in God," and kept talking about their point. I couldn't focus on the rest of what was said until I dug into that a little more. I asked them to backup and explain more of that statement. It turned into a larger discussion with the students in which I realized culture has muddied their understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Of course, I know this is happening but I didn't realize it was at such a basic, foundational level. When I asked the group at large to tell me what they think it means to be a Christian, they started listing qualities that essentially equate to being "a good person". Like, they're nice to people, they don't cheat, they listen to the teachers, etc. When I explained that the word "Christian" comes from the word "Christ" and that it was used in the Bible to describe the group of people who follow Christ, therefore essentially meaning "a Christ follower," it was apparently a new concept for them. To give context, these students are from various backgrounds but essentially are all "raised in church" (going to church frequently, participating in small groups and summer camps and events with the youth group). But what I found to be a profound paradigm shift is that in their world (context of being a student in a public high school), their use of the word "Christian" just means someone who is commonly thought to be a good person. In their understanding, Christians could believe in God, or not believe in God. There was no concept that being labeled a Christian meant you needed to have any kind of relationship with God. Of course, they all agreed that most of them do. But not all.

Wow. Let that sink in for a moment. So when some of our young people (even those who are "churched") are hearing things on social media, or in school, or on the news or even in their own homes and youth groups talking about Christians this and Christians that... their minds are going to "people who are generally well liked and well respected", not necessarily to people who outwardly profess to have faith and follow Christ.

It's a blunt reminder to me that our youth NEED relationships with older Christians. They need adults who have walked with Christ for years to be pouring into them on a regular basis. And because of the nature of the teenage years, they're not necessarily hearing it from their parents - EVEN IF their parents are talking to them about it. I mean, duh, teenagers generally think their parents are dumb and "out of touch with reality". So if you've got an opportunity to invest in someone else's young people, please do it. There are parents everywhere praying for someone to speak into their child's life- someone their child might actually listen to.

Slight rabbit trail here, but I'll tie it all back in, I promise. Working with teenagers takes patience. They look at their phones more than they look up when you're talking, they have side conversations and when you ask direct questions you often get blank stares and responses of "huh?" It not only takes patience, it takes prayer. And endurance. And faith. I remember being so discouraged at the end of last semester, wondering if any of them had absorbed a single thing we'd talked about that semester. But they keep showing up, so I guess that's something. Well this semester it finally clicked. They're comfortable enough with each other that they speak up. Even when their eyes are glued to their screens and you'd swear there's no way they were listening, suddenly they interject a comment or thought that's right along with the topic at hand. Or they'll share some really deep "take away" from the conversation which blows your mind. And when you start each week asking, "so what have we been discussing," and they all shout out something that's relevant... And then to hear one of them tell us last week that he had started reading the Bible and was on chapter 22 of Genesis... it makes my heart sing for joy and praise that they actually ARE catching something out of it! So for all the youth workers and youth volunteers out there, take heart. They probably aren't listening to much of what you say (ha!) but they ARE listening to some of it.

If you're not volunteering with youth yet, I encourage you to pray about opportunities to get involved in your own churches. Student Ministry is often severely lacking in adult volunteers, and boy does this next generation need Bible-based mentoring and discipleship. Not only the students- but our youth pastors really need support and encouragement as well. So if you're not comfortable to volunteer IN the youth group, maybe start by investing in the youth pastors. Invite them over for dinner, or take them out, or offer to bring them a meal. They're definitely under-paid for the amount of heart, energy and work they pour into our kids.