According to National Youth Council’s definition, youths are defined as those aged between 15 to 35 years old in Singapore. In some churches, individuals are qualified as youths the moment they entered secondary school education. As they step out from childhood into adolescences, they begin to be curious about different stuffs. That, more often than not, is where most of the problems begin.
One key issue about Christian youths is that as they transit into adolescences, they begin to lose interest in coming to church, much less in learning about God’s words.
Hence, this article we will be looking at issues that youths in Singapore face and perhaps coming up with possible solution(s) that can help understanding youths and bringing them back to God which in turn increase their desire for God’s words.
Distractions in life
As a youth transits into a stage of exploration, there are many things in this materialistic world that could draw them away from God. One good example we can see is that with the advancement of modern technology and the progressing influence on social media, youths can get off track with their walk with God when they feel that the sermon was too boring and decides to use the mobile device and check up on their social media such as Facebook or Instagram to pass their time until the service is over.
This more often than not is due to the youth’s misinterpretation of the purpose of coming to church. Many of them feels that going to church is part of the routine that they do on Sundays, somewhat like going to schools. They go to church, sing a few worship songs, sit through sermon, and get out. And the cycle continues. Worse still, some of them might even think that the act of going to church is “part of their job” of being a Christian and their entry ticket to heaven.
Therefore, it is important that youths understand the meaning and importance of coming to church on Sundays and how coming to church is our way of having a sustainable relationship with God.
Peer pressure/influences
Peer pressure is a prominent social pressure that youths faced today as there is tremendous pressure to be compelled to do what those around them are doing. Though however, all people, young and old, are subjected to the pressure to conform in order to be accepted and liked by others.
The problem of peer pressure and peer influence of youths is often associated with their cliques. The group of people that they hang out with most of the time. In order to gain acceptance or to show certain “superiority” or traits that they feel that will depict them as the “cool” person in the group, youths might have the tendency to do things that they usually will not do. Few examples would be smoking and taking drugs.
Besides the above mentioned peer pressure/influence issues, Christian youths face additional dilemmas that could affect their walk with God, especially the peers that they hang out with are non-Christians. Christian youths would have to choose to join their non-Christian peers' Sunday outing or to attend church service.
Youths need to learn to be themselves and not imitations of others. They need to learn to think for themselves rather than blindly following the way of the crowd. By allowing oneself to live his/her life through the conformity to how their peers behave, one could never develop their own identity. Of course, while it is important for everyone to practice norms that are socially acceptable by being friendly, courteous, pleasant and polite etc.
However one must learn to develop his/her own thinking and be independent from others to the extent that they do not let others dictate how they should live. Youths should never conform to the patterns of the world in order to get along and go along with anybody but instead allowing themselves to be transformed through the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). One talent youths must develop is the ability to stand even if they have to stand alone. The imminent danger of allowing the pressure of being accepted, being liked, being popular have the controlling influence over youths life is evident. Instead, they should determine how to live their lives based on the guidance from the Word of God.
High tendency to be defiant/rebellious
As the age matures, youths begin to become increasingly defiant as they want to take charge of their lives and sometimes they want to assert certain individuality from what their parents want them to be which results in provoking their disapproval. One other factor that could result in the defiance of youths is possible due to the influence of bad company.
Although youths are subject to their parents (Ephesians 6:1), they however must allow themselves to be guided by them and their guidance should be according to the Word of God. Parents therefore, when facing defiant youths, they must learn to handle in a wise manner. They must find a balance between giving their child and/or children the right amount of freedom or any other reasonable demands that they need whilst not short-changing the necessary discipline in order to bring them back on track.
Possible Solution: Introducing mentorship from adult role models
It isn’t rocket science, sometimes in order to help the youths and draw them back to Christ, it is essential to understand what the problem is and address it accordingly. Some of them just want to be heard, some yearn to for a sense of belonging, some seek self-identity. Therefore, communications with the individual is important and often the primary solution to address any human relational need.
The church youth ministry can introduce an adult leader to be a role model to the troubled youth. The role of the adult leader is to connect and relate to the youth, helping the youth to understand who God is, what God has done for us and what we should do to respond to God’s love. This then will help the youth to understand the purpose behind the “Christian activities” that he/she has been doing or been exposed to.
The adult leader can be someone whom the youth looks up to, or simply someone that has been known to be empathetic. More importantly, the adult role model must be a faithful servant to God who stays true to his/her faith in order to bring the youth who has backslided back to God.
This however may not be easy for the adult leader as it requires time, commitment and prayer. Once the youth sees the devoted adult leader who truly cares about their well-being, along with the works of the Holy Spirit, the youth who once backslided may return back on track again.
Matthew Ong
STEP 2015
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