Podcast With Teenagers In Michigan | The Teen World & Apologetics
Often it can be intimidating to share our faith. For many reasons. Here is what teenagers have to say about apologetics and sharing their faith.
I love to hear from Teenagers. Teenagers have opinions on just about everything. And I believe they are valuable opinions. At a recent podcast in Michigan I spoke with about 40 teenagers on several topics. The topics included problems in the teen world, our responsibility as Christians in the teen world, and sharing our faith and apologetics.
The Teen World
This recent podcast confirmed many of the findings that I have come across in my conversations with teenagers. Here are some of the findings:
Teenagers list confusion, bad relationships, wrong friends, complex decision-making, sexuality, and judgmentalism as some of the top issues in their world. When they talk about these things they are very passionate. Some of the other issues they deal with include self-identity, acceptance, depression & suicide, and broken families. Look at this list. The world of the teenager is a broken place.
This is why YTH leadership is so important. Our relationship with young people is a major assist to them in navigating these cultural waters in the 21st century.
Apologetics
We must be instructing our students in the discipline of apologetics. This is the reasoned arguments or justification of a belief in a religious doctrine. How to share and defend the faith.
One of the comments that most impacted me in this podcast from Michigan is something I hear often from young people. When asked about their role in the world, they always talk about fear of sharing their faith.
Jesus gave us everything that we need for our boldness and our witness. In Acts 1 Jesus tells the disciples to go into Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. He was speaking of the Holy Spirit’s filling upon their lives to help them be witnesses to their world. And when the Holy Spirit came upon these 120 or so believers they turned their world upside down.
We must introduce our students to the power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts that He gives to help us become bold witnesses of Christ.
Apologetics is a lost art in YTH ministry. I often will hear from YTH leaders that they have not taught their students how to share and defend the faith. One of the students in our podcast said, “I do not know how to answer some of the questions that my friends have about Christianity.”
Here are some of the reasons why students do not share their faith, and, some practical help:
Fear of what others may think or of not knowing what to say if asked a question - this can be dealt with when we teach our students how to share their faith and what kind of questions or responses people may have.
Ignorance of where to start - one of the things we should teach students is how to share their faith in one minute.
Timing and opening conversations - this will require teaching students the art of transitional statements from normal conversation to a spiritual conversation.
Many students will say that they do not want to appear judgmental so they don’t share their faith - remind students that love is not judgmental but that it is concerned about the welfare of their friends.
Conclusion
We are going to deal with this topic on the next podcast and add some more practical advice for sharing our faith. Deep down inside I believe our students really want to make a difference. They know that it is our responsibility to impact our world with the gospel.
So, it falls upon YTH leaders to train our students in effective evangelism and storytelling. Listen in and read through our next post to find out how you can help your teens share their faith.