What do teens need from the church?

Last night I read a blog that spoke to me so much that I wanted to share it with my readers. Sara Barratt is a twenty-year-old who has seen too many in her age group walk away from God. She has written a book that I believe would be a great addition to the library of a church youth worker or a youth teacher. I have to be honest and admit I have not read the book so I cannot endorse it, but based on her comments in her blog post I think the book would be beneficial to those who minister to youth. The book is titled Love Riot. If you want to read her post you can find it at https://gcdiscipleship.com/article-feed/six-core-things-teens-need-from-the-church. In the post she says there are six things that teens need from the church.

• Intentional Discipleship - Too many youth ministries focus on fun activities designed to attract young people and keep them coming. While these activities may grow the youth group larger, they do not grow the individuals deeper in their relationship with God.
• Open Conversation About Hard Topics - Teenagers are wrestling with a lot of difficult issues. If the church doesn't address them or offer a safe place to discuss them, teens will seek answers elsewhere. These may not be the best answers. Growth comes when we are free to talk about the hard topics.
• Biblical Literacy - One day our teenagers will leave the safety of their home and church and enter into a world that rejects biblical truth. They need a solid foundation for their faith and helping them learn how to read and study the Bible is essential to helping them acquire that foundation.
• Solid Theology - Anyone who has questions about Christianity is ultimately asking questions about God, and this includes our teens. Our churches need to be places that are not afraid to preach and teach biblical doctrines. Studies have found that when unchurched people begin to search for a church to attend they look for one that believes something and is not afraid to proclaim it. We do not have to water down the Gospel for the unchurched or for our teens.
• Truth-Filled Apologetics - Our society today is quick to challenge almost every Christian belief. Apologetics give us the tools we need to answer those critics and defend our faith. Our teens need to not only know what they believe but why they believe it. If they can't defend their faith, one day they are apt to walk away from it.
• Jesus - Our teenagers need to know that Christianity is not about keeping a list of rules but a relationship with Jesus Christ. As important as it is to know the things listed above, it's even more important to know Christ. We need to do everything we can to encourage them to enter into a relationship with Him.

Of course, it's not just our teens that need these six things from the church. Many of our adults need the same things. I want to encourage every church leader and pastor to become intentional about implementing each of these six things to everyone in their churches.