Recently, I posted about our Q&A times with students at teen camps and retreats. Over the past five years, hundreds of questions consistently revolve around the same themes. If you are a parent or youth worker, this list might help you get into their heads. It is a general consolidations of hundreds of questions.
Here are the top fifteen things that teenagers ask about when given the chance to do so anonymously:
1. How do I know what God’s will is? How do I know if I’m called to ministry?
2. What’s wrong with rock/country/CCM/jazz music? How can you tell what music is good and what is bad?
3. What do you do if you have parents/siblings who are living the wrong way? (one way in church, another way at home, dad on the internet) How do you avoid wrong influences when you live with them?
4. How do you take a stand with your friends/what do you do when you have a friend that is becoming rebellious?
5. How do you separate from bad friends without hurting them or making them think you’re stuck up? How can I be a witness to my friends and still be accepted?
6. What’s wrong with holding hands, kissing, etc., before marriage?
7. Why is it so hard to be consistent in the Christian life as a teenager?
8. Why are we supposed to dress differently/wear non-worldly clothes? (What is appropriate and modest clothing and why?)
9. What’s wrong with going to the movies? (and other issues of separation)
10. How do you get over/deal with a broken relationship (dating & friendships)?
11. Why does God allow trials/temptations to come into our lives?
12. What does having a relationship/walk with God really mean?
13. Why should I go to Bible college for a year after high school?
14. In dealing with authority, how can I explain things or make a point without sounding argumentative or disrespectful? Why do authority figures sometimes assume they know what you are thinking?
15. How do I deal with people and problems in my life that have hurt me deeply?
These questions reveal a lot of real life issues and a strong desire to know “why” or “how.” As adults, we ignore this list to our own detriment. This is what our young adults are seeking to understand. This is what has them tied up in knots. This is what holds them back spiritually, emotionally, etc. Thankfully, God’s Word has answers to every issue—and it’s up to us to apply His truth and make it come alive.
In another post we will explore College and Career questions. I pray that this list will help you to address the things our young people wrestle with the most.
Let’s add to the list. What questions have you seen recurring as you work with young adults?
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4 Comments
Many of my friends have asked me those very same Questions. It’s true that They don’t ask those questions very often to adults, but they do with their piers. How do I know that I am giving the most wise answer in the right words? If teens don’t talk to to Adults who have the answers, then there is a bigger responsibility on the friends whom they do.
There’s you another question:)
-Britt
I agree that these are definitely the most asked questions of teenagers and young adults. I was disappointed though when I read this article and there were no answers. Will there possibly be a part 2?
Wouldnt The Most Important Questoin Be “Is God Real” Because There Is No Physical Evedidence Leading to Gods Exsistence What so ever….So In My eyes He Isnt Real Till Proven Is. Atheist
Cody – I strongly disagree. There is more physical evidence than could possibly be calculated. But in summary—INFORMATION and ORDER are woven into the design of the entire universe and into the smallest cell of DNA. Where we see INFORMATION and ORDER, we see God’s creative hand, just as where we see a painter, we know a painter exists, or where we see a sculpture, we know a sculptor exists. But the real issue, is KNOWING GOD personally. That only happens when you choose to believe. When you FAITH God, He reveals Himself in more ways than you can possibly imagine.