One in seven persons in the USA is Hispanic. In 2006, 90 percent of the students in the Fort Worth independent school district were Hispanic. There are now 200 Hispanic national magazines, more than three hundred local Hispanic newspapers, and continued growth in Hispanic radio, television, and cable stations in the US. Hispanics represent a growing group of people who need to hear the message of Jesus Christ. Our student ministries must be ready to respond to the need of Hispanics in our communities.

What Do I Need to Know about Hispanic Students?
Three groupings represent Hispanic youth. First-generation Hispanic youth were born or have parents who were born in another country. They prefer to speak Spanish, listen to Spanish radio, and watch Spanish television. They share their culture with their parents and have strong ties to their parents’ home country.

Second-generation Hispanics are bridge builders. They speak English and Spanish. They interpret for their parents. They value the culture of their parents as well as their new American culture. They get caught in the middle of both worlds.

Third generation Hispanics can be referred to as assimilated youth. These students speak fluent English and may struggle to speak Spanish. They share mainstream American values.

The key to understanding these three groups is to remember that they have relatives in all three groups. Churches wanting to reach Hispanics will develop ministries for all generations.

What Are Critical Needs and Strategies for Reaching Hispanic Youth?
Youth ministries that want to reach Hispanics will help Hispanic students improve academically. Hispanics students have a 48% failure rate in relation to graduation from high school. Churches must help Hispanic parents engage the academic school system.

A second critical issue involves the lack of skills for success in college. Academic success depends on the ability to learn. Families must also be engaged in understanding their roles in the academic process.

How Will Hispanic Growth Impact My Student Ministry?
Your student ministry will NOT be impacted unless you learn how to reach Hispanic youth and their families. Working with Hispanic students means multigenerational ministry. You will need to learn to read the culture signals sent by the various generations of Hispanic students and their families. You will need to be extremely connected to those in your church who minister to preschoolers, children, adults, and senior adults.

Reaching Hispanics calls for a cohesive ministry plan that includes focusing on the entire family. Your youth and church ministry will change as you plan strategies to implement when Spanish-speaking relatives attend your church. Your ministry will change because you will intentionally enlist and train bilingual/bicultural youth workers. Your interns may also be bilingual to help you build bridges to the Hispanic community.

You will change because you will learn to share the plan of salvation in Spanish. You will learn to speak Spanish and engage the church in your efforts. You will become an advocate for Hispanics and their needs. You will help Hispanics know they are welcome.

Your youth ministry will change because it will become global. Reaching Hispanics for Christ in your community generally results in relatives making decisions in other countries. You can reach Hispanic youth and their families and watch their families help you build a church with a heart for the Hispanic community.

Parents can help their teens see the benefits of playing a sport and setting personal goals. Student athletes learn to manage time by attending practice and still getting their homework done. Sports participation can also provide an “appropriate” vent for teen stresses in a controlled setting. Teens can also develop exercise habits that can be carried throughout their lives. Losing also opens the door for character development.

Strategies

Losing is rarely fun, and it’s never easy. Here are some strategies that can help your family deal with losses in a positive manner.

· Encourage your teen to set personal goals beyond the scoreboard. You can celebrate your child’s individual accomplishments that may not even relate to the team’s standing.

· Identify at least one adult who is a nurturing voice after each loss. A nurturing voice can be a parent, a coach, or a good friend. While constructive criticism has its place, timing is vital! Be sure your teen hears a positive voice when everything seems to go wrong.

· Support the coaching staff at games and in the presence of your teen. If you need to discuss some concerns privately, there is a place and time for that. Avoid taking a coach to task in front of the athlete.

· Let the athlete influence how much you discuss the game. If the ride home is quieter than usual, that may be just what your child needs to think through the disappointment.

Lessons Aren’t Just for Teenagers

The losses experienced by student-athletes also present a learning opportunity for the parents involved. As adults, it would helps to ask ourselves the following questions:

· Why is winning so important to us?

· Does my behavior reflect my personal commitment to Jesus Christ?

· Am I bringing my past personal athletic success or failure into my teens’ experience?

The Game of Life

The experience on the athletic field provides a laboratory for life. When faced with defeat, the student-athlete, as in all circumstance, can look to God’s Word for strength, motivation, and wisdom.

· Strength. David, a warrior and future king, faced many challenges. Once, his troops even considered stoning him, but he retreated to God for help. (1 Sam. 30:6).

· Motivation. The Bible encourages believers to do their best in everything. The motivation in not for personal glory, but to honor the Lord (1 Cor. 9:24; Col. 3:23). Student-athletes can find something positive in any contest when they understand that they have done it for the Lord.

· Wisdom.When faced with loss, student-athletes may need the wisdom of Solomon as they deal with the immaturity of those surrounding them. Unfortunately, that can be seen in adults as well as peers. Paul told Timothy to steer clear of foolishness and to focus on what would “produce an even greater measure of godlessness” (2 Tim. 2:16). That’s still a valuable lesson.

The next time your teen’s team is losing, remember how God uses lopsided results to produce positive lessons. As a parent, be intentional about teaching (and learning) through losses. After all, the real win in life never shows up on a scoreboard.

Recognizing the wisdom of feeding our spiritual natures, we have to discipline ourselves to make that happen (James 1:22-25). Old habits die hard, and the flesh seems committed to undermining spiritual nourishment. So, we have to nurture new habits.

A prescription for adults who want to help young people develop a healthy media diet might include these six ideas:

1. Even good kids need coaching.Just as a body driven by an Olympic dream and be seduced by a double cheeseburger or a triple scoop of ice cream, good kids from solid Christian homes and dynamic youth groups will be tempted to entertain themselves with movies, TV shows, and music that are little more than media junk food. That’s why student ministers need to guide even the most serious young Christians toward edifying choices. The level of coaching will need to change as the maturity of the student grows, but the hands-off approach rarely is effective.
2. Avoid a hit-list mentality. In most cases, for those learning to eat healthily, just throwing out sermonettes about nutrition doesn’t work.Instead of giving a rigid list of dietary do’s and don’ts, addressing each person on his or her own level is more effective. In a personal, caring way, discuss that person’s individual needs and goals and detail how the proper media diet can help accomplish them. In the same way, a heavy-handed attempt at controlling a student’s entertainment choices often breeds frustration. That’s because presenting adolescents with a “hit list” of forbidden fare doesn’t build critical thinking skills or involve them in godly decision-making. What does? Taking time to engage students in dialogue about content and messages framed in biblical standards in terms they understand.
3. Maintain a healthy relationship. It is hard to instruct those you do not know. Building a rapport with your teenagers can help you earn the right to give advice. Too many adults — both parents and leaders — believe they have a license to lecture simply because they’ve been around the track a few more times. A close day-to-day relationship is vital to our effectiveness as counselors.
4. Adapt diets to individuals.Recognize that a student’s age and maturity have a significant impact on his or her diet. So it is with popular media. For example, what might be acceptable for a teen may not be suitable for his or her 8-year-old sibling. Keep in mind that there, or course, poisons that should not be consumed by anyone.
5. Help students “dine out” wisely. Students eat best when they’re in a controlled environment, but it they’re at school or somewhere else, they can get into bad habits. Only those who have internalized a biblically based discernment message will leave home equipped to run the marathon of a holy life.
6. Accept your own limitations.Finally, realize all you can do is offer students perspective from your experience and wisdom. We can’t feed them. And though we hate to admit it, we can’t indefinitely control the media diets of the people we love, teens included. After we’ve done our prayerful best to give them healthy guidelines, it’s up to the student.

Distorted Messages
Well-known public figures report “coming out of the closet” in the cover stories of magazines and newspapers. Famous singers and actors promote sexual freedom and smirk at traditional family values. Couples live together outside of marriage. Television comedies affirm gay and lesbian lifestyles, while sexually explicit content dominates movies.

Teens easily “hook-up” with strangers on the Internet through social networks that sometimes accelerate a false sense of interactions and relationships. Teens are exposed to pornographic pictures and sexual messages that chisel away at Christian beliefs.

Prepare Yourself
Centuries ago, Paul warned believers about the dangers of the world’s influence on our lives. He pointed out that believers do not battle against flesh and blood but against unseen spiritual forces (Eph. 6:12). So, why are parents of teens caught off guard when the families encounter issues related to sexual identity?

In the face of an ungodly environment, parents can help. Teens may not say it, but they need and want parental attention. A common way teens cry out is to act out. As a result, parents need to be aware of what their teens are and are not saying.

Spend time with your teen. Observe what they do and ask questions. Listen to learn, not to give a lecture. Pray for the power to remain calm and to listen with love. Recently, sexual identity has become a problem with teens. Sadly, some parents reject the teens before there is any chance of healing. Remember that Jesus started by accepting people where they were. From there, he was able to lead them to a better place in loving and godly ways.

Parent Networking
Many parents are finding support through groups at churches and in homes. These groups usually meet once or twice a month to discuss ways to deal with a multitude of teen problems. Meetings can include: special speakers, panels, hands-on Internet training, parent/youth dialogs, fellowships, family meals, and prayer times. Topics covered have sometimes included: piercings, tattoos, text messaging, sexual identity problems, dating and limitations, understanding social online networking (MySpace, instant messaging, and online predators), parent/teen communication.

As you take note of the distorted sexual messages in our culture, use them as conversation starters with your teen. In the process, prepare yourself to be on guard and alert to face the mixed messages of our culture. Remember to listen more than you lecture and then find ways to fuel your tank by spending time with other parents. Your networking might save your teen as you compare notes with other parents and stand firm together against a culture of faulty sexual messages.

Prep early.
Ideally, the process of preparing your teen to date should start when he or she is young. Healthy dating is, in part, about learning how to relate well to others (and it’s never too early to teach that). Kids learn from watching others and will build their worldviews based on what they see around them.

If you want your teen to live out functional relationships, do what you can to create a healthy and Christ-centered living experience for them. Get involved in a small group at church. Invite other families over for dinner or a movie and popcorn. Expose your kids to others who live Christ-centered lives.

Fill in the gaps.
Teens need to see healthy male-female relationships modeled at home. Statistically, abusive relationships are increasing among even young adolescents, so it’s important to find ways to teach your teens about respectful opposite-sex relationships. Talk openly about what’s OK and what’s not OK in relationships.

Talk openly.
God told the Israelites to talk about His commands with their children at home and as they went about their daily lives.

Help your teens decide before the first date where the limits are and how to stick to them. Talk about sex. Talk about expectations. Talk about treating others – and being treated with respect. Talk about how to get out of situations that aren’t healthy.

Dialogue with other families. You’re not the only one going through teen-dating dilemmas, so find out how other Christian parents are dealing with them.

Think through it.
Have a plan, including rules and guidelines. This isn’t the time to be your kid’s friend. Your job as a parent is to be responsible and set God-honoring boundaries for your child.

Think through important questions. What age will your son or daughter be allowed to date? (Dating too young can lead to getting physical, and younger teens don’t’ necessarily have the skills to navigate the difficulties of relationships.) Who will your teen be allowed to date? How will you respond when your freshman wants to date a senior? When are group dates allowed, and when are one-on-one dates allowed? Agree as a family with mother and father on the same page with dating expectations.

No crash course can prepare you for all you’ll face parenting teens, but open dialogue will help ensure that when dilemmas come up, you and your teen can work through them together.

We found a great comparison list created by: Chris Dawson (aka) Jeremaya. Jeremaya created a urban alternative list a few years back and it has become popular within his church. He states, “He saw many list out there but none were marketed towards gospel or rap”. He wanted to expose kids to different type of rap music besides the harmful things they are being exposed to.

Check out Chris’s list and LeCrae’s new video.

Click here to view file

Don’t forget to tell us what you think.

High school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why is it our human nature often misses the moment at hand because we’re looking toward the future or reliving the past? This scenario is extremely common among high school seniors and even juniors. There is so much pressure in our society to excel–to get ahead–to be at the top. Horizons and challenges of the future are constantly bombarding the minds and captivating the hearts of high school students, causing them to miss out on those priceless high school days which, once gone, can never be retrieved.

Balance is key. Yes, it is important to plan ahead, to study hard, and to visit different universities and colleges; but the most important thing to remember is that no one is guaranteed tomorrow. For that reason we must carpe diem, which is Latin for “seize the day.” Life is not a dress rehearsal. We’re each given only one opportunity to invest our lives for all eternity or to waste the precious time entrusted to us.

How can we as parents, teachers, mentors, and youth leaders encourage those young adults as they prepare to make the transition from high school to college? I stress the word encourage as the student must decide to make these investments of their own accord.

Prepare Heart and Mind
There is so much preparation given to finding the right college, finding the right roommate, and deciding how to decorate the dorm room. Just how much time is spent in preparation of heart and mind? College is a constant flurry of activity. It’s important for a student to develop a disciplined devotional life before arriving on the college campus. Habits are made by consistently doing a thing over and over for at least 30 days. Quiet times, prayer, praise, and Bible reading will not easily be meshed into campus life unless a pattern has been set during high school.

Anchor Life in God
This relationship with God will be the anchor, the constant, in an ever changing college environment. It will provide encouragement, admonishment, instruction, correction, and stability.

Loneliness is a given in the college experience, especially in the freshman year. But a student who has brought Christ as a “third” unseen roommate, experiences the confidence and contentment that comes from being with Him–from the realization that they are, indeed, never alone. Although by themselves physically at times, a Christ-filled student need not be lonely.

Set High Standards and Goals
It is imperative for high school students to set standards and goals before putting one foot on a college campus. Many reputations are ruined in the very first weeks of a college student’s freshman year. Everything looks like so much fun. There is no supervision. “Everyone” is doing it. And there is that deep desire to fit in–to be a part of the crowd.

Set goals and set standards high. Write them out. Sign them. Laminate them. Keep them visible. Refer to them often. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Make a difference. Have an accountability partner. This may be a parent or mentor; but most often it is peer pressure.

Choose Friends Wisely
Friends, roommates, and peers have an incredible influence over students–high school and college as well. High school affords a training ground for parents to supervise and encourage students in their choice of friends. It is important for them to learn to be a good judge of character, loyalty, dependability, and morality. College presents a sea of diversity, and wisdom is needed as choices are made concerning new friendships. In most cases, a student will look for the same type of friends that they have become comfortable with. Friendships are special on any level, but developing good friendship patterns is so important for a college experience which is positive.

Take Ownership of Faith and Beliefs
A stark realization for many college students is the reality that not everyone believes as he does. What do I believe? Why do I believe it? Is there something better? These are questions which very often plague the freshman mind. Many students may come to college as Christians but are unable to defend their faith. Different religions or even various denominations can be confusing and disturbing. This is a time when many students begin to take “ownership” of their faith. What has become a part of who they are since childhood becomes their own. Others, however, may do a lot of “testing” which can lead to life-altering consequences.

High school is a time to prepare students–to help them know not only what they believe but why. No matter the preparation, there will always be curve balls in the college arena. By taking a stand, a weak or weary student will become more steady and stronger while standing on the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As college students stand, they will become the peer pressure rather than living in a peer pressure box themselves. College is the perfect place to share one’s faith. People are searching and don’t even know for what. A life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit will win the right to be heard.

Much of life is caught, not taught. Parents, mentors, and other adults can play an incredibly valuable role in the lives of high school students as they transition to college. Ultimately, they must face the college world alone, but encourage them to take their best friend–Jesus Christ.

Ever wonder why the majority of Sunday morning church services across the globe are the most segregated time. Sad but true and our youth groups are mirroring the same reflections of big church.

In our society and especially the area where I live, 98% of our students attend diverse schools, live in diverse neighborhoods, and participate in diverse athletics and clubs. A few years ago we noticed many of our students hung out in mixed groups within their schools. Although, our students hung out in diverse groups; they never invited those friends to youth group.

We are having to re-access the reasons why our youth group looks the way it does. We are examining the words we use, the music we play and the jokes we tell. We discovered sometimes the jokes were using were only relatable to the community we were serving. We were not exposing our students to different genres of music, although many of them listen to more than just hip hop, so we found.

I think it’s good to look at events and music that your students would relate to but it’s good to challenge them and expose them to other things.

If we had a glimpse of Heaven I think many of us would be surprised to see there is NO Black side, Asian side, Hispanic side or White side. For many of us this would be a dramatic change. At what times to you socialize with others outside your race? If we seldom crossover as Youth Ministers or Pastors, how do we expect our congregation or our youth to crossover?

Look for ways to promote diversity in your group.

To fix this mindset we have chosen to become a Bridge. We began to expose our students to different and diverse conferences, concerts, events and projects. We began to look for events and projects that would promote diversity. We have started collaborating with other youth groups and churches on projects. We have created a network of youth leaders that is diverse. In doing this it felt very comfortable to us, it’s who we not something we are trying to make ourselves become. If we let down our barriers we would discover we can learn a lot from others.

Ask yourself has your community changed?

There have been several studies that show how our communities will change drastically over the next 50 years. Is the church being prepared for that change? If the church continues on without any regard to our changing world we may become ineffective and lose in a changing world. Check out these projected stats:

Nation’s Changing Makeup

Adjust your strategy

Don’t get me wrong you are going to reach the blueprint you are called to reach but our communities, schools and neighborhoods are changing, our world is changing. If we the church are going to survive this change, we need to rethink the way we do church and our strategy will need to adjust. We may need a new blueprint; the one we created 10 years ago may not be relevant anymore.

We have thousands of churches that are hosting satellite venues within various areas of their cities and states. Having the same blueprint will not work for all communities and definitely not for all youth groups. Our goal as youth leaders shouldn’t be to only reach the students in our youth groups. We must equip and send our students to reach others in their schools, neighborhoods and communities via friendship evangelism. The world does not look just like them. Students can do it, we have seen them go clear across the world on mission trips and reach hundreds and sometimes thousands. How are we preparing them for the challenge of reaching their schools and neighborhoods?

It is not changing who you are but it’s about reaching those God has placed in your community for you to reach. Sometimes that requires a change in strategy!

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