Having worked in youth ministry for over 10 years, I love to study adolescence and how to best minister to them. These are three of my favorite quotes on teenagers that really made me analyze how I minister to them. These three quotes helped change my paradigm on ministering to youth.
“Stanley Hall and others observed a new culturally accepted ‘holding period’ – a pause button – between the carefree life of a child and the expectations of adulthood. This pause, which Hall called adolescence, was culture’s way of providing teenagers with a respite to wrestle with a few issues.”
–Youth Ministry 3.0: A Manifesto of Where We’ve Been, Where We Are & Where We Need to Go, pg. 30, by Mark Oestreicher
“Our students aren’t primarily concerned about concepts…They’re far more interested in concrete application: How does this truth look in real life? How does this biblical principle play out in my school? Yeah, neat idea, but what about …?
–Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages, pg. 42, by Doug Fields and Duffy Robinson
“Here is the gist of what you are about to read: American young people are, theoretically, fine with religious faith – but it does not concern them very much, and it is not durable enough to survive long after they graduate from high school. One more thing: we’re responsible.”
–Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church, pg. 3, by Kenda Creasy Dean
Question: What quotes or ideas have changed and challenged you in your ministry?
