My sixth grader looked up. “What, mom?”
“Oh, I’m editing this study guide I wrote. One of the questions is ‘Are you being discipled?’ How would you answer that, buddy?”
He got that pensive look he wears. “Yes,” he said. “By you, Dad, Joel, and Mike.”
My husband and I have two sets of kids. Our first set came to live with us out of a high-risk situation soon after we were married. I started going to church and was saved during their early teen years, and I dutifully took them to youth group twice a week, and to all the special functions. It wasn’t necessarily a positive experience for us, though I think there were many factors that contributed to that.
We’ve done things a little differently with our two youngest kids.
For instance, we homeschool. With our older two kids we felt we lost too much discipleship time as they attended public school, learning a worldview that opposed our own. We also don’t have video games in our home this time around. We decided that games altered our children’s temperament and motivation, and we didn’t see a good cause for them.
In matters big and small, we’ve learned and adjusted our parenting. Also, we’re walking firmly with Christ now, which is a foundational change!
Christian Youth Group
When it came time to choose whether our younger children would attend youth group, I experienced a kind of paralysis.
We’d done a hybrid approach to church with our younger kids, bringing them to service with us, sending them to the children’s area during Sunday School, and taking them to AWANA. Recently, there’s been a lot discussion in broader American Protestantism about family integration and whether youth groups are necessary, or even harmful.
My husband and I debated the value (or lack thereof) of church youth groups for close to two years. We’re not opposed to outside activities, and our boys are in a number of them. But we wanted to be certain time spent in a church youth group would spiritually develop our kids rather than be time spent on questionable activities or teachings labeled “Christian” that actually weren’t.
We didn’t want our kids to see church as a place they went to be entertained, but rather a place to grow and to serve. To allay my concerns, I spoke with Christian youth group parents and volunteers, and got to know our youth pastor (our older kids had a different pastor).
To Youth Group or Not to Youth Group
In the end, my husband and I decided to send our boys to youth group.
The teaching in our church’s youth group was sound, and any differences in biblical understanding would be a good opportunity for discussion at home.
We want our boys to form strong male friendships, and we believe in mentorship. We also felt the group was careful with gender mixing. They separated into discussion groups based on gender, and had good boundaries between boys and girls, which a big deal with adolescents.
Ultimately, we wanted our kids to have the opportunity to own and develop their faith now, while they are still at home. We believe youth group gives them the opportunity to do so.
A year and a half into our youth group experiment, I witnessed my boys develop and grow personally and spiritually. After a weekend at snow camp, they both came home and began reading the Bible on their own daily, checking in with an accountability partner. We do Bible Road Trip™ and have family worship, but this is reading they chose to do. In middle school, the boys made friends who were actively seeking Christ. The best part for me was that our kids have godly men pouring time and energy into mentoring them.
When our boys were in high school, our family moved to the coast and our kids started attending a new youth group, making even more friends who love Jesus. The kids supported each other, spent time together, and talked about their faith in Jesus.
Why We Love Youth Group
I’m sure I would feel differently about sending my kids to youth group if the teaching was heretical. If I was worried about ungodly activities, I would definitely question the value of youth group.
Here, though, is what I feel our boys have gained from being active members of two Christian youth groups over 7 years:
- Christian friends who love Jesus and want to live out their faith
- Discipleship from godly Christian men who care about teens
- A sense of purpose in their week as they order their days with activities that serve God
- Opportunities to serve our community and on missions teams
We haven’t abdicated our God-given role of discipleship as parents, rather we have broadened the godly influences in our kids’ lives.
Are all youth groups edifying and biblical? Probably not.
But I’m grateful our church bodies have made a strong, Bible-oriented youth group a priority.
I’m also glad my son is able to list men who love Jesus amongst those who are discipling him. I’m thankful both boys will grow up having learned about God from my husband Ed–and also from Joel, Mike, Nathan, Chris, Jim, Andrew, Brandon, AJ, Sam, and the other men who have shown up and counseled our kids.
What a gift.
Bible Resources for Your Kids
Learn More HereLearn More HereLearn More HereLearn More HereLearn More HereLearn More Here
60 Scriptures You Can Pray
The Bible is full of prayer that you can pray too!
How do you pray when you don’t know what to say? The Bible holds the answer.
God doesn’t expect us to pray without guidance. In fact, Scripture is full of examples of ordinary people approaching our extraordinary God in prayer.
Award-winning author Danika Cooley believes that praying God’s Word teaches us how to best communicate with our Lord:
“There are so many lessons we can learn from Scripture about how to approach God and what to expect when we do.”
Danika’s devotional 60 Scriptures You Can Pray covers eight types of prayer from the Bible, the expectations we should have when we pray, and the right heart attitude for prayer.
- Praise | We adore God for who he is.
- Thanksgiving | We thank God for all he has done.
- Confession | We admit our sin to the God who saves us.
- Supplication | We humbly ask God to provide for our needs.
- Intercession | We ask God to meet the needs of others.
- Deliverance | We cry out to God for help in times of trouble.
- Lament | We bring our sorrow to God, our comforter.
- Guidance | We ask for God’s help in determining his will for our lives.
When you read 60 Scriptures You Can Pray, you will:
- Develop a habit of praying daily over a two-month period
- Learn more about prayer in Scripture
- Understand eight different types of prayer
- Expand your understanding of how to pray biblically
- Become better acquainted with God, His Word, and why we pray
Packed with thoughtful explanations of biblical prayer and practical application in each devotion, 60 Scriptures You Can Pray is the tool you need to learn more about prayer–straight from God’s Word.
Want to equip the women in your church to pray biblically?
Thinking Kids Posts You’ll Love
