Simply Urban Ministry » parenting

How Parents Can Impact the Church Drop Out

Jeff — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:51:41 +0000

Written by Sam S. Rainer III

Many people realize that the church is losing people. What is not realized is that the vast majority of people drop out as students and young adults. In fact, research reveals that seven out of 10 people who drop out of the church will do so between the ages of 18 and 22.

This age group gives a variety of reasons for the departure: They wanted a break from church. They didn’t connect with the people in the church. They perceived existing church members as out of touch with current reality. The results boiled down to one simple reason: Church was not essential to them.

Instead of finding meaning in the church, students and young adults are finding it in the culture around them. Some blame resides with the students who don’t like the answers the church gives, but churches have done a poor job of demonstrating for students how believers are salt and light of culture, the flavor and guide of society.

Ultimately, church and culture don’t have to be mutually exclusive. The church should be the place where students learn how to interact with the culture without being swept into it. What are some practical ways churches and parents can help stem the tide of a young adult exodus?

Talk about your faith. The young generation not only wants to see faith in action, they desire for their parents to have a conversation with them about why their faith is important.
Give encouragement during life changes. Many dropouts we interviewed stated that a life change prompted their departure. One consistent way to help students through these life changes is to be a source of encouragement and support.
Empower students to serve. The more students serve in the church, the higher the likelihood that they’ll stay in the church. Don’t wait until students reach the age of 18 to ask them to serve. Find creative ways to get all ages involved in serving.
Surround students with mature adult believers. The greater the number of adults directly involved in a student’s life, the higher the probability that he or she will remain in the church. Conversely, our research also found that if students have few adults involved in their lives, the likelihood they drop out of church is greater. The heart of the church dropout problem exists within a short four-year window. If the dropout problem is solved with students in this age group, then the church dropout problem in general is remedied. I’m confident that parents, family members, friends, and other church members can rally behind students, connect with them, and model Jesus’ way of relating to the world.

Additional Suggestions for Parents of High School Graduates

Before your student leaves for college, help him research area churches with effective college ministries.
Encourage your student to visit several churches with collegiate ministries. Ask her about his visit and how the church compares to her home church.
Discuss the possibilities of your student moving his church membership while away from home for four years. If might help him stay connected instead of constantly feeling like a visitor in someone else’s church.
Help your student try to find campus ministries to join in an effort to find other believers who will hopefully be connected to and active in a local church while away at college.
If your church is not currently ministering to collegiates, volunteer to begin a college ministry to not only help your student stay connected to your church during the collegiate years, but to help them find connections in their college town where they go to school.
A care package ministry from your church can help your student know that your church continues to care even when he is away. If your church doesn’t have this ministry, volunteer to get the names of all the college students and find church members to adopt a collegiate for the year. Those connections with church members will build trust and give your students people to turn to back home regarding prayer requests and needs.

Sam S. Rainer III is pastor, co-author of Essential Church: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts (B&H), and president of Rainer Research. This article was adapted from an article that appeared in the February 2009 issue of Homelife. The research quoted is from the LifeWay Research of 1,023 Protestants, conducted April and May 2007. Margin of error plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Molding the Man

Jeff — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:52:00 +0000

No boy is guaranteed the privilege of manhood because manhood is more than just physical maturity- it’s a vision of faith, discipline, and masculine nobility that directs life choices and shapes the boy’s core identity. Robert Lewis offers guidance and resources for fathers desiring to intentionally establish foundations for manhood into their sons.

Images of Manhood and CeremoniesI
If you doubt the power of vision, flip on your television. Look at the images of manhood. Too often you see men who never grew into manhood. They are indecisive, selfish, and altogether shallow. They run around many of the responsibilities of genuine manhood. Here’s the true reality: without an authentic vision for manhood, many adult males will spend their energies in self-serving, misguided ways.

Christian dads know what’s at stake in raising boys, and they try hard to do right. But even Christian fathers need the power of a manhood vision to guide their choices in life and to help them raise their sons to be men.

In every major culture in history, men banded together to pass on a manhood vision and to celebrate manhood ceremonies with their sons. In our era, manhood ceremonies have fallen on hard times. If we went by cultural cues, we’d conclude that today’s manhood ceremonies include activities such as chugging beer and mastering the X-box. For teenage boys, the only “manhood ceremonies” they ever experience are those they create for themselves. There is no man to guide and mentor them to manhood.

A Christian Model of Manhood
My manhood vision is based on the two most significant men in history: Adam and Jesus Christ. We all know what Adam did – or more precisely, what he did not do. When everything was on the line, he didn’t take responsibility. He ducked behind Eve. Adam’s failure was not just a moral failure, it was a manhood failure.

Jesus serves as the polar opposite to Adam. He faced challenges far greater than Adam, yet He held firm. His was a vision of faithfulness and nobility at all costs. Bringing together Adam and Jesus, we see that a good vision for manhood includes rejecting passivity, accepting responsibility, leading courageously, and expecting God’s greater reward.

Sons need to hear this message from their fathers. Sons need words of encouragement, a focus on strengths instead of weaknesses. Sons need to hear how they can use their talents in positive, life-giving ways that match God’s vision for manhood.

The Manhood Model at Home
Sons need to see fathers modeling manhood at home, especially with the son’s mother. How a man interacts with his wife teaches the son how to act at home. The son will copy his father from the earliest years. The son is like a blank template, waiting to be pressed in the proper shape.

If your son is already in the teen years or the relationship has been difficult, it’s never too late for a fresh start. Sons want to connect to their fathers, no matter how old they are and no matter how badly you may have messed things up. If you have missed the mark with your son, now is the time to start anew. Go to a few Christian men for counsel. When the time is right, go to your son and apologize for letting your interests distract you from the relationship he needs with you.

Fathers, it’s up to you to share the power of a Christian vision for manhood with your son. Nature won’t do it for you, and our culture will only deposit a miscast vision that leads to regret. Take responsibility for raising your son. If you do, you’ll someday know the satisfaction of watching your son drive off to college prepared – not just to take his classes seriously, but also to take the call to authentic manhood seriously.

The New Virginity

Jeff — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:04:01 +0000

At 14, a teenager can’t legally drive, purchase tobacco, or vote. But, thanks to a nation’s fixation on the sexual practices of a former president and increasingly explicit coming-of-age films like the American Pie series, oral sex is something teenagers know all about. We are raising a generation so “sexualized” that even the moral compass of many conservative Christian teens are skewed.

How Did We Get Here?
Aside from obvious cultural influences of the media and Hollywood, one main contributor to the way teens view sex education is presented in schools and in public health campaigns. With the onset of AIDS came a shift in sex-education. Programs became either “abstinence based” or presented a “safe sex” message. One-in-three high school programs are now abstinence based thus preventing educators from even addressing the risks of oral and anal sex.

It’s widely agreed among health-care professionals that in both cases, teens are interpreting “no sex” as not having vaginal intercourse, and that as long as a condom is worn or penetration is avoided, other types of sexual behaviors are not considered “sex” and thus are “safe.” So, if you ask a teenager if she’s abstaining from sex, she may honestly respond, “yes,” when in fact she is active in sexual behaviors like oral sex, anal sex, and/or mutual stimulation.

Truth and Consequences
Traditionally, oral sex is an extremely intimate act that follows marriage and vaginal intercourse. But the creativity of adolescence has made oral sex a loophole for not crossing the perceived line of virginity. They don’t believe they’ve lost their virginity because they’re not having “sex.” The truth is that “virginal” means pure, clean, and undefiled. To commit adult sexual acts means there will be many immediate and long-term emotional and spiritual consequences to pay. Students need to know the high risk of physical consequences.

More than 3 million American teens (one in four 15-19 year olds) contract an STD each year, according to the Sexuality Information & Education Council of the United States. The CDC currently reports:

· 40% of all chlamydia cases (which leads to infertility) are in 15-19 year olds

· Teens have the highest gonorrhea rate

· Teens are at the highest risk for hepatitis B

· The number of herpes cases in white teens was five times greater in the 1990’s than in the 1970’s.

Teenage girls are particularly susceptible to STD’s because of the immaturity of their reproductive organs makes them less resistant to infection. A 2001 Kaiser Family Foundation survey of 500 male and female teens showed:

· 72% were sexually active

· 93% didn’t think they were at risk for a STD

· 25% didn’t think an STD could be transmitted by oral sex or manual stimulation.

Perceived safety nets such as condoms and dental dams (for use with oral sex) only reduce the risks. These behaviors are sex, and there is no guaranteed safe way to participate in them.

The Parental X-Factor
Encourage parents to talk with their teens about sex. Don’t let parents fall prey to the myth that talking to their teens about sex will somehow lead them to start having sex. Teach parents to use the following to help their teens deal with the mounting sexual pressure in our culture:

1. Educate yourself about the range of teen sexual behavior, including current slang, and trends in teen relationships.

2. Accept the reality that whether you’re aware or not, your teen is interested in sex.

3. Require your teen to spend more one-on-one time with just you.

4. Keep conversations open and loving, no matter what teens have to share.

5. Look for natural opportunities to talk to your teen about sex. Don’t be afraid of taboo topics like self or mutual stimulation. Research topics together that are informative on sex, dating, and relationships.

6. Be vigilant in your parenting. Walk teens through moral decisions instead of telling them how it will be.

7. Define romantic love and how waiting for marriage is what God intended. Explain why with biblical truths.

8. Pray daily for your teen’s protection and guidance.

Fun on the Run: 7 Ways to Take Back Your Schedule this Year

Jeff — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:59:41 +0000

Fun on the Run: 7 Ways to Take Back Your Schedule this Year

By prioritizing, your family can have fun without feeling they always are rushing from activity to activity. After all, running should be part of the fun, not the way you get there.

Consider these family friendly principles for prioritizing your schedule.

1. Family Mealtimes

How often do you choose fast food because you have not planned ahead? Plan ahead which evenings will be restaurant or drive-through evenings and which will be cook-at-home nights. Stick to the plan.

2. Downtime.

Without downtime, you will burn out quickly. God did not create people (including children) to be on the go nonstop. Plan time to be at home without structured activities or responsibilities. Refresh, recharge, and get reacquainted with those you love.

3. Church Activities

Stay involved in worship and Sunday School. Pray about which other church activities will best help your family grow in their relationship to Christ.

4. School and Community Activities

Consider a reasonable amount of involvement for community and school activities. Many parents of young children find that one extracurricular activity at a time per child is a good limit.

5. Family Outings

Plan time for short outings (one or two hours or a whole day).

6. Special Occasions

Strive to keep special occasions special. You may have wonderful memories of homemade cakes and elaborate meals. Continue the tradition with your own family.

7. Chores

The laundry, dishes, and yard work can be part of a schedule. If there is a planned time to do the laundry, then it is more likely to get done. If not, it becomes an emergency operation in an already-too-packed schedule. n

Fighting for the Family!

Jeff — Tue, 12 May 2009 01:43:46 +0000

Take a long look at your student enrollment and prospect file. What do you know about the people whose names appear on the roll? Do you know the families from which the students come? Today, students may be parented by biological parents, single parents, parent/stepparent, a parent and adult who cohabitate, grandparents, or guardians. Some parents find themselves in the “sandwich generation” – those parenting in both directions: children and youth are still in the home and aging parents who need care may be in the house or in close proximity. Some youth come from Christian homes and others come from homes in which the students are the only family members who have a relationship with Christ. In order to reach and minister to students, you must reach the total family.

Churches today need to recognize that we no longer minister to a society dominated by traditional families. Many of your students come from non-traditional families. They may be burdened with the personal baggage of rejection and/or misguided love. These emotions can manifest themselves in how individuals interact with others or with you as you minister. Yet, the church must realize that the inner circle of the teen’s life continues to be the family. Youth ministries cannot replace the family but they can impact young lives by providing a caring environment in which teens are loved, feel secure and safe, are encouraged to reach their full potential, develop relationships, and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Here are some ways to connect with families:

· When you call the home of a student, know the first and last names of the adults who reside in the home.

· Parents enjoy positive words concerning their children. Tell parents why you are glad their teenagers are a part of your church’s ministry.

· Parents who are divorced but still live the same town need to be placed on your mailing/contact sheets. Learn the schedule of the youth who spends alternating weekends with the other parent.

· Recognize the stresses (financial, transportation, care for younger children) that are heightened in some non-traditional homes.

· Recognize that you bring to families an awareness of youth culture.

· Realize that non-churched parents may be reluctant to attend family activities. A park, restaurant, or sporting event may be more inviting.

These simple touches will strengthen the relationships you develop with your students and their families. As you minister to your students’ families, you strengthen the support and foundation of your young people. You literally say through both your words and actions that you care and want to partner with parents through your student ministry.

10 Things every Youth Minister should remember about Parents Part 1

Latasha — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:48:51 +0000

If you have been in ministry for awhile I’m sure you have hundreds of parent stories to tell others. Many of your stories may be inspiring, funny, sad or just outrageous. Even if you have been in youth ministry for a short time I’m sure you already have tons of stories. The truth is parents make up your youth ministry experiences. They are a part of the package in many cases. They can build you up or tear you down. I have learned many different approaches with parents. I have developed as a leader from discovering the types of parents within ministry. I think we have all dealt with; the parent who irritates you to the point of re-examining reasons you have chosen this profession; the parent that only sees all the wrong their child does and never takes responsibility for their choices; the parents who want you to fix their child; the overbearing parent; the drop off parent; the too involved parent; the parent that wants their child to be perfect at all times; the not involved at all parent;, the supportive parent, the parent who is praying for you; the parent who is willing to go above and beyond to assist. These parent types sound familiar, right? I’m sure you can relate to a few of the scenarios, I listed if not all. The fact of the matter is parents are a tremendous support system! Parents assist you in growing into the leader God has called you to become whether the situations are good or bad. I have learned not to take situations personal, or to allow people to steal my confidence through comments or concerns. Remember family ministry begins in the home. The more you equip and empower parents the easier your job becomes. Take time and exam how your church includes parents in youth ministry. How does youth ministry connect to adult ministry? Just a little thought to get you thinking…

Re-establish who you work for and hold to Colossians 3:23. In my attempt to please God he covers me in all other areas.

10 things every youth leader should remember:

Youth ministry is Family Ministry
There is no Us and Them. Be the bridge
There is no job within youth ministry where you can only deal with students
Parents are your partners
Your job is not to replace parents but to empower and support them

To be continued…I would love to hear your stories and thoughts on dealing with parents in Ministry, please post your comments.

The Shaping of a Man!

Jeff — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:57:13 +0000

Parent – Teen Conflict

Jeff — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:51:57 +0000

Children are not born with instructions. Even if they were, I doubt that many parents would actually read the directions. Most parents, like me, learn from experience. The following four pointers are some principles I’ve used to reduce the parent/teen conflict in my own home and to increase my teen’s involvement in making responsible choices.

Realize Your Own Needs. Parents of teenagers are usually approaching an age of reflection, and this mid-life stage can be a time of personal crisis! Parenting a teen can add to the intensity, as you must face your own issues and those of a budding son or daughter. As a parent, you must come to terms with your own emotions and not transfer these to the challenges of parenting.

Respond Productively to Emotions. Teens are a bundle of emotions, but never discount the vital role of these emotions. Emotions are at the surface, but they offer parents an open line of communication with their teens. This time can assist you in better understanding your teen’s deeper feelings and thoughts.

Too often, parents discount how seriously their teens desire their opinions. Find out what your teen feels is the source of his emotions and talk about it. The source may be real or imagined, but it is serious to him. Choose one meal each day when the family can gather to talk. Use it to build a lasting family tradition.

Focus on Positive Behaviors. Conflicts and disagreements offer an opportunity for parents to help their teen talk through a time of difficulty. This can be a teachable moment for your teen, other siblings, and yourself. They will expect you to criticize what’s wrong, so asking questions and listening can catch a teen off-guard.

A turning point in my own life was when I knew my actions deserved punishment, but my dad responded calmly. We talked through my choices and the natural consequences that would result. This became a defining moment in my own life!

Develop a Plan of Action. Teens have adult bodies with a child’s experience. As a result, they may struggle with knowing how to act on their feelings. The following gives you a way for your teenager to be a partner in developing a plan that you both can agree upon.

Compromise can be a dirty word in theology, but it’s critical in relationships. Parents can move their children toward adulthood by allowing them to negotiate some house rules. This means teaching them to make appropriate choices and weighing rewards and punishments.

Within your expectations, consider what is negotiable: curfews, cell phones, car keys, and so forth. Encourage your teen to begin by praying and to list their wants. You must then explain what you expect. As you talk with your teen, offer possible alternatives and list the punishments for violating the rules.

Once an agreement is reached, put it in writing – signed and dated. This simple exercise can increase communication and reduce conflict.

The front porch may be gone, but the need to talk continues. Allow your experiences and an emphasis on consequences guide you as you guide your teen. Before you know it, you just might have a mature young adult on your hands.

The Dangerous Game of SEXTING – Sex thru Texing!

Jeff — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:07:27 +0000

Cynthia Logan’s daughter was taunted about photo she sent to boyfriend

Video

‘Sexting’ leads teen to suicide
March 6: 18-year-old Jesse Logan took her own life after a nude picture of her was passed around by e-mail. TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to her mom, Cynthia Logan, and Internet safety expert Parry Aftab about the dangers of “sexting.”

Today show

By Mike Celizic

TODAYShow.com contributor

updated 9:26 a.m. ET, Fri., March. 6, 2009

The image was blurred and the voice distorted, but the words spoken by a young Ohio woman are haunting. She had sent nude pictures of herself to a boyfriend. When they broke up, he sent them to other high school girls. The girls were harassing her, calling her a slut and a whore. She was miserable and depressed, afraid even to go to school.

And now Jesse Logan was going on a Cincinnati television station to tell her story. Her purpose was simple: “I just want to make sure no one else will have to go through this again.”

The interview was in May 2008. Two months later, Jessica Logan hanged herself in her bedroom. She was 18

Conveying the message
“She was vivacious. She was fun. She was artistic. She was compassionate. She was a good kid,” the young woman’s mother, Cynthia Logan, told TODAY’s Matt Lauer Friday in New York. Still grieving over the loss of her daughter, she said she is taking her story public to warn kids about the dangers of sending sexually charged pictures and messages to boyfriends and girlfriends.

“It’s very, very difficult. She’s my only child,” Logan told Lauer. “I’m trying my best to get the message out there.”

It is a growing problem that has resulted in child pornography charges being filed against some teens across the nation. But for Cynthia Logan, “sexting” is about more than possibly criminal activity: It’s about life and death.

Last fall, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy surveyed teens and young adults about sexting — sending sexually charged material via cell phone text messages — or posting such materials online. The results revealed that 39 percent of teens are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages, and 48 percent reported receiving such messages.

‘She was being tortured’
Jesse Logan’s mother said she never knew the full extent of her daughter’s anguish until it was too late. Cynthia Logan only learned there was a problem at all when she started getting daily letters from her daughter’s school reporting that the young woman was skipping school.

“I only had snapshots, bits and pieces, until the very last semester of school,” Logan told Lauer.

TODAY

After her picture was disseminated electonically, formerly upbeat Jesse Logan began skipping classes.

She took away her daughter’s car and drove her to school herself, but Jesse still skipped classes. She told her mother there were pictures involved and that a group of younger girls who had received them were harassing her, calling her vicious names, even throwing objects at her. But she didn’t realize the full extent of her daughter’s despair.

“She was being attacked and tortured,” Logan said.

“When she would come to school, she would always hear, ‘Oh, that’s the girl who sent the picture. She’s just a whore,’ ” Jesse’s friend, Lauren Taylor, told NBC News.

Logan said that officials at Sycamore High School were aware of the harassment but did not take sufficient action to stop it. She said that a school official offered only to go to one of the girls who had the pictures and tell her to delete them from her phone and never speak to Jesse again. That girl was 16.

Logan suggested talking to the parents of the girls who were bullying Jesse, but her daughter said that would only open her to even more ridicule.

“She said, ‘No, I need to do something else. I’m going to go on the news,’ and that’s what she did,” Logan said.

Finding Jesse
When Cynthia Logan decided to go public with her story, she told Lauer that a school official told a local television station that he had given Jesse the option of prosecuting her tormentors. “That was not so. It’s absolutely not true,” she told Lauer. “And if he did, why didn’t I get a notice in the mail that he gave her that option?”

TODAY

Cynthia Logan is still contending with her grief over her daughter Jesse’s suicide.

After her daughter’s death, Logan quit her job and was hospitalized for a time with what she described as a mental breakdown. When she spoke about finding her daughter in her bedroom last July, tears coursed down her cheeks.

Jesse had been talking about going to the University of Cincinnati to study graphic design. Her mother thought she was over the worst of the bullying. Then one of Jesse’s acquaintances committed suicide. Jesse went to the funeral. When she came home, she hanged herself.

“I just had a scan of the room, her closet doors were open,” Logan told NBC News. “And I walked over into her room and saw her hanging. The cell phone was in the middle of the floor.”

Quest for justice
Logan said she’s been through six lawyers in what has so far been an unsuccessful battle to hold school officials responsible for the bullying of her daughter.

She was joined on TODAY by Parry Aftab, an Internet security expert and activist in the battle to protect teens from the dangers that lurk in cyberspace. Aftab said that there are laws that apply.

“There absolutely is a law,” Aftab told Lauer. “It depends on the age of the child. If somebody’s under the age of 18, it’s child pornography, and even the girl that posted the pictures can be charged. They could be registered sex offenders at the end of all of this. Even at the age of 18, because it was sent to somebody under age, it’s disseminating pornography to a minor. There are criminal charges that could be made here.”

Aftab said that it is normal kids just like Jesse who fall victim to the perils of the Internet and the easy exchange of information on cell phones.

“We talked about her being a good kid, a normal kid. Those are most of the ones that are sending out those images,” she said. “Forty-four percent of the boys say that they’ve seen sexual images of girls in their school, and about 15 percent of them are disseminating those images when they break up with the girls.”

Aftab asked Logan to join her in her fight against the electronic exploitation of kids. “I’m going to get her involved in a huge campaign to allow kids to understand the consequences of this and allow schools to understand what they need to do to keep our kids alive,” she said.

Aftab turned to Logan to see if she would help.

“Absolutely,” she said.

Teens and Dating

Latasha — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:10:31 +0000

This blog was written by Courtney Harkness one of the great minds in youth ministry that I have the honor and privilege of working with everyday. Courtney presents a new perspective and high standard, as it relates to teens and dating.

It’s difficult to talk to any teenager for any length of time without eventually hitting the topic of dating. For many of them, it seems to be their top priority. The status and affirmation they receive from a dating relationship often times fills the void they may feel from other significant, but missing, relationships. Of course, having a teenage crush is a natural part of growing up, but is taking the next step to boyfriend/girlfriend necessary? Should teenage dating be considered too much, too soon? The culture seems to fully endorse teenage romance, even with all of the recent stories of dating violence. And even the temptation of premarital sex doesn’t seem to deter families from pushing their teens to pursue romantic relationships at an early age. Teen dating is so pervasive throughout our culture that most people accept it as innocent – but is it really? The possessive labels of “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” usually imply expectations that most teens are not ready to handle. More often than not, teenagers find themselves compromising or crossing boundaries just to maintain the romance. Relationships are difficult, even for adults, and teens are far less equipped to deal with the pressures. So, is teenage dating as harmless as the culture makes it seem, or have we become so numbed by our sexually charged culture that we fail to recognize when our children are in danger?

Current statistics warn us of serious teen problems that are connected to romantic relationships. Rising teenage pregnancy, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, and increasing emotional health issues due to broken hearts – these are all byproducts of unhealthy relationships. We must consider what impact we could have on these issues if teens weren’t as eager to rush into romance. It may seem impossible to change, but these risks are flooding teenage culture with temptations that are so effective that they must be intentionally coming from somewhere – or maybe from someone. With that perspective, teenage dating begins to look more and more like an enticing trap. No need to fear, though, because scripture gives us encouragement:

When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

Isaiah 59:19 (KJV)

This verse teaches that God uses a high standard as a defense against temptation. If we can raise a new standard amongst teenagers, then we can protect them against the many relationship dangers. If we could delay romantic relationships until the teenage years have passed – until they’ve matured a bit more – how much more healthy could their future relationship be? I challenge teens to exchange their romantic relationships for healthy friendships. It may sound unpopular, but it would prove 100% effective for guarding their hearts. A teenager with a higher standard and deeper conviction against premature dating will have no problems with emotional baggage or resisting premarital sex. It’s only when people step close to their boundaries that they find themselves slipping across. And too many teens are slipping – it’s time to raise the bar.

What are your thoughts as it relates to Teens and Dating?