A leader of a local church expressed concern that many teenagers appear generally disinterested and are sometimes even disruptive or unruly in church meetings.
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Don’t be overly discouraged about the teenagers. As I recall, when I was that age my class “chased off” several Sunday School teachers by just such behavior as you describe. The problem is not new by any means.
The long-term key will be a transformation of church and family from institution to personal relationship and the transformation of spirituality from theoretical doctrine to individual involvement with the living Lord. It might be good to have a meeting (and especially for parents to say this to their own respective teens) at which the adults tell the kids outright, “We are learning so much about God ourselves — we want you to enjoy that also. It isn’t about church, or rules, or mere doctrine, but about Jesus Christ who is alive and who saves us from our sin and gives us peace and his Spirit.”
Contemporary Christian music is powerful, if you have ways to bring that before your kids. There are also good videos, movies, and books. You might wish to check out a local Christian bookstore. We parents will most influence our children, however, by our own examples. Our words are important, to be sure, but the way we live in front of them will speak with far greater power than anything we might say.