Parents Information
What parents need to know about Faith in an Anxious World
We don’t need to look far to see that our teenagers are hurting.
While today’s parents, caregivers, and ministry leaders are more aware of teen anxiety, depression, and suicide, we often aren’t sure how to respond. We need practical, accessible, and trusted resources that spark vital conversations with our teenagers.
That’s why our youth ministry is beginning a new 9-week series called Faith in an Anxious World. In the coming weeks, we want to propel your young person and other students toward a deeper understanding of Christ in which he becomes to them not simply a teacher and miracle worker, but a living, breathing example of the wholeness we can experience in our daily walk with God. Each week they’ll talk about anxiety, delve into stories throughout the Bible where God enters an anxious situation and uses it to nurture growth, and discover spiritual practices they can use to look to God as they navigate daily life. And each of our gatherings will prompt students to have meaningful conversations beyond their youth meeting times.
As we journey through this series, your student will be encouraged to build themselves a circle of trusted adults they can call on when they need to talk about how they feel. Your student will rotate bi-weekly through in person and virtual conversations with a trusted adult. This could be the same adult weekly, or, if your student is comfortable, they can grow a wider circle by connecting with a different trusted adults too. The wider a student’s circle, the more people they will have to turn to in a crisis.
You can help by looking over your child’s schedule together and blocking out an hour each week for the next weeks so that your student can have these meaningful conversations. You might even consider buying coffee shop gift cards so that your young person can have meetups in an accessible place as they build their circle of support. Who your kid meets with is their choice, but you should always feel comfortable that the people they choose to meet with are appropriate, healthy adults.
Coming Soon…
- To help you stay sharp as a parent, we are giving you additional tools to help you learn and grow all week long. Keep an eye out for more soon.
- Regular communication from our youth ministry team will include tools to have life-giving conversations at home with your student.
- Links to download the Faith in an Anxious World Parenting Podcast featuring mental health experts sharing practical ideas for your family.