But this takes time and persistence. Teens today need us to make this kind of investment and reshape the way we do life and ministry.
2. Consistency
The methods of reaching this generation don’t just include embracing a more communal aspect of faith. Today’s church leaders must check themselves regularly to make sure that they are preaching what they are living and embracing God’s Word as good and meaningful themselves.
In this study, teens report that, along with parents, church leaders play one of the most prominent roles in supporting their knowledge of the Bible. More than half of Bible-engaged teens have had a pastor, priest, or minister teach them how to read and study the Bible. The posture that leaders embody and model matters to teens today. Those in leadership positions of any kind must place a high priority on listening to teens and allowing themselves to be open to what they have to teach them. Today’s leaders must be real and honest, willing to engage in the hard topics already on the minds of teens today.
This generation doesn’t need coddling; instead, they need models who look like Jesus and places to wrestle with hard topics in order to find God’s goodness in our broken world.
Key Takeaway for Church Leaders
Scripture is raw, real, and can be confusing, but these things don’t scare this generation. The message of the Bible doesn’t need to be shaped — teens today already believe it to be good and meaningful. But what does need to be changed is our methods of communication. As church leaders live integrated lives that mimic what they teach, and when their churches become spaces where teens feel welcomed and embraced, we will begin to see a fuller picture of what actually makes scripture good and meaningful — and it is that God’s people, of all generations, are enjoying Him together, in community.
Yes, teens today are calling us out and calling us to more. And that’s not a bad thing at all.
