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How to Help Students Get Honest About Porn

We all know that pornography use among teenagers is a problem, but do your students realize it’s a problem?

After all, 67 percent of young men and 49 percent of young women believe that pornography use is acceptable.

On top of that, 87 percent of young men and 31 perent of young women are using pornography on a regular basis.

And while the above statistics fluctuate based on the source, they all say the same thing.

Your students are looking at porn and they don’t want you to know about it.

Here’s how to talk about it with them.

The secret to getting students to be honest is to explain the dangers it causes them and the horrors it creates in the world.

February is always the “sex” month for our ministry. This past month, we had the overarching theme that pornography is a major cause of all the sexual issues we were facing.

We explained how pornography use directly supports sex slavery and prostitution. We explained that these women (and sometimes men) are held at gunpoint and told to “enjoy” the experience for the cameras.

We went over stats and story after story of how porn is destroying lives, and you know what?

It worked.

I had student after student share with either me or their parents that they were struggling.

And here’s something else too.

Pornography isn’t just a sin issue for Christians.

It should be a social justice issue too.

Teens care about social issues. They want to see the world change. When they find out that THEY are causing these things to happen, they want to stop. We just need to provide them with a way to stop!

So this is what you do.

Educate yourself.

Do some research and learn about the horrors of pornography. Fightthenewdrug.org is a great place to start.

Educate your students.

However, you NEED to make sure you have their parents’ permission before sharing with them what you have learned. Once you have that permission, how you share this information is up to you.

After all, you know your students better than I do. Whether you create a PowerPoint, share it in a small group setting or pass out flyers, make sure that it is done in the most effective way possible for them.

Encourage them to speak.

End your message or small group by urging students to be honest with someone about their pornography use. Whether it’s you, their parents or another leader, being honest is their first step to recovery.

Follow up with them often.

Could you see the Holy Spirit working in Freddy or Sally while you were sharing? Follow up with simple questions like, “What did you think about tonight’s lesson?” or “What do you think we could do to fight this?”

Pray your heart out.

Prayer is our most powerful tool, and we need to be praying for our students continually. Pray that the Holy Spirit works in them and allows them to be honest about their usage.

If it’s worth talking about, it’s worth praying about, especially when it’s difficult to talk about.

The best part about all of this is that sometimes it works and changes students’ lives.

Jeff is a eighth-grade student in our ministry. He is easily the most difficult student to deal with every week. He is always bouncing off the walls and distracting us from our focus.

However, during our message on porn, he was oddly quiet. When he left for home, his mom asked him what they discussed. He lied and told her that he missed the message because he was in the bathroom. Then he went and took a shower to relax.

By the time he was out, he was in tears and confessed to his mom that he had been looking at porn since fifth grade.

Because we were able to show him how his porn usage was destroying his life and the lives of the people around him, the Holy Spirit was able to work in his heart.

We all have students who are struggling like Jeff was. We need to give them a reason to quit. If we don’t, then their lives are literally at risk.

What have you done in order to help students be open and honest about their pornography use? Do you have any other websites that we can use to educate ourselves? Let us know in the comments below!