I don’t remember much from my middle school years, but I do remember one song we shared in our spring choir concert that has stuck with me throughout my life. With summer close on the horizon, a group of pre-teens belted out a rendition of “Greatest Love of All”, Whitney Houston’s appeal to trust children and let them help lead the way into the future. It was a song that expressed trust in the capability of the youth to accomplish great things. At the time, I wasn’t cognizant of how great a gift being trusted to be capable really is. I finished the school year and headed out on my bike into the summer, taking that gift for granted. That was more than thirty years ago.

Who am I? What does God want with me? During my youth, and perhaps even still now, those were questions I constantly considered. After all, I’m just a simple human without a grand life or thrilling adventure to speak about. Yet God has called us to be His own through baptism, made us His children, and has called us into His salvation story. How can you encourage your youth to see that, even in the monotonous, their lives are part of God’s epic story of salvation?

Our teenagers are not immune to the stress caused by the ongoing shutdowns due to the coronavirus. High school seniors have seen much of their culminating experiences canceled or postponed, and all of our students who have been “in the groove” of the year have had their routines disrupted.

Teenagers will discard some aspects from their previous experiences of faith, moving on to new ideas and beliefs that make sense to their ways of thinking. Discussion of theology and what God says about the issues teenagers face are important to them.