Why Young People Stay Faithful

By Cary Schmidt

Have you ever wondered what contributes to young people staying faithful to the things of God, while others wander away? What contributes t0 two kids in the same local church, hearing the same preaching, ultimately going dramatically different directions. Ultimately, it’s free will—everybody makes their own decisions. But what influences those decisions?

One of our youth group graduates, Josh Tanner, just began serving the Lord in youth ministry. Josh recently emailed me, asking what I would place on a list of “things that help young people stay faithful.” My quick reply was simply “a good relationship with godly parents,” but then I asked him to send me his list. I was curious what he considered to be the factors that kept him faithful since his childhood.

To put it simply—he nailed it! Josh sent me a strong list of ten things that contributed to his spiritual course. Here’s the list:

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Protecting Your Children

By Paul Chappell

Just as there are enemies of our country plotting and planning ways to hurt U.S. citizens, so your family has an enemy who is skilled at destroying young lives, breaking apart marriages, and devastating the hearts of fathers through temptation and trials. Right now, your family—your little ones, your wife—are in the cross-hairs of his sniper-scope. He is deliberately plotting the downfall of your family. It is time to sharpen your skills in God’s ultimate plan for “Homeland Security.”

Over the past eight years we have heard much of “homeland security.” The men and women serving in this agency have labored night and day since September 11, 2001. Their motto is stated this way: “Preserving our Freedoms, Protecting America.” The strategic plan of this department contains a clearly defined commitment to duty, integrity, and vigilance. The single responsibility of this department is to protect your liberty. Since September 11, their commitment has paid off—in your life and in mine.

Are you equally committed to protecting your family spiritually? What is your protection plan? Do you have a strategy for guarding the hearts in your home from spiritual assault?

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Pittfalls of Passive Parenting

by Cary Schmidt

“It’s just a phase—he will grow out of it.” “That’s just what teenagers do—she’ll mature.” “All kids are this way—there’s not really anything we can do to change that.” “They have to be able to make decisions for themselves.”

These and others are the statements we make to give ourselves permission to disengage as parents. Today’s culture and the typical family tells us it’s normal for kids to:

• Lock themselves up in their rooms
• Avoid close relationships with parents
• Have prolonged rebellion or bad attitudes
• Be sexually active before marriage

Since we believe these behaviors are “normal,” we tend to disengage—to become passive parents. We essentially leave our kids to themselves to make their own mistakes and learn their own lessons. Sometimes we’re tired. Sometimes we don’t really know how to deal with an issue. Sometimes career or other interests distract us. Whatever the reason, passive parenting is disastrous.
 
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On the Same Page

The role of the church, concerning raising teenagers, is to be a help to the parents. One way in which the church helps is through age-appropriate preaching. Because this tool is so important, it is vital that parents be made aware of what is being preached to their teenagers each month. Below is a list of messages that have been preached recently:

• "Boy Wanted" - Pastor Miller
  
• "Positive Peer Pressure" - Bro. Chad Farber
  
• "Already A Memory" - Bro. T.J. Mitchell
  

To view more information about each message or to view other previous messages, Click Here»

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