Last week, Adam McLane was down in Haiti with Adventures in Missions. While the above video doesn’t really have anything (technically) to do with his trip, it does have everything to do with putting teens in a position of “crisis” where their faith can be stretched. Not many other crises can equal the still-ravaged landscape of Port-au-Prince — which could be a perfect place to encourage spiritual growth and development in students.
Adam writes, “My view of discipleship has radically changed in the last two years. I’m increasingly convinced that my role as a shepherd to high schoolers is about putting them in moments of spiritual crisis so that they recognize that they need to learn more from God’s Word.”
He goes on to say that this crisis-mode discipleship has replaced a more by-the-book approach of teaching students as much as possible, filling them up with knowledge to face the world ahead. Instead, he now focuses his on putting teens into situations that challenge and demand growth.
We believe that’s what
short-term missions can do for teens. These trips aren’t just a way to see the world, but rather a means for taking youth far beyond the limits of their typical comfort zone and placing demands on them that quite probably no message (no matter how challenging) you prepare will equal. That creates a crisis, and a crisis can translate to growth.
What’s your discipleship philosophy? Do you believe putting teens in “crisis mode” is important and, if so, how do you do it within your youth ministry?
