Teaching Teens to Grow Closer to God.

The faith development of their students is something every yourh minister thinks about and works on. When I recently asked people from the ministry I work for what signicant things they had learned at Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park had taught them, growing their relationship with God was a top theme:

One response:

CYC taught me to make my faith my own, to make it deep and personal.

This reminds me of the idea that God has no grandchildren. Each new generation must be won for Christ if they are to know Him. But it also speaks to the differences between a parent's faith and the child's or a teacher's and a student's. Each young person must appropriate the faith for himself. They may have new methods of worshipping, new styles of music. They may walk a different path in terms of how they relate to God. But as long as Who they are putting there trust in is the same, it's all good. Teens who simply replicate the faith of others may end up simply going through the motions. That type of faith may not last.

Deep, personal does last. Through such a faith God is understood to be able to see a person through anything.

Another answer:

After a ruff year my freshman year of high school I learned how to rebuild my relationship with GOD. It made my life whole again.

God is always ready to receive us, to welcome us or to welcome us back. His love is so great that He will never abandon us. So many teens are hurting! So many are going through difficult times! Leading them to the Source of All Healing is a great privilege. Teaching them to rely on God, to put there trust in Him is important work and requires both intentional teaching and constant example. It is so amazing to help them to identify and use tools to strengthen there relationship with God.

It's not always easy to find engaging and effective ways to work with teens. Soon, I will blog about the how of leading teens.

In the meantime, have a great day!











Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park is a two week ecumenical conference for high school students held in August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine. The theme for the 2011 conference is "Face to Face" and will look at restoring relationships between God and individuals, and amongst people. Click here for more information.