Raising the Bar

For the past year, I have had the privilege of discipling the remarkable youth group at our church. Watching these teens’ growth in Christ has humbled and inspired me like no other ministry I have ever been a part of! I have seen young teens tell strangers about Jesus, build incredible things, work hard, and serve the community with joy and thanksgiving. I have seen these teens take initiative in ministry, pray for each other when they think no one is looking, and function as edifying members of the body of Christ. I’m not just encouraged; I am passionate about pouring into the coming generation of seasoned soldiers in the making.
As proud as I am of our young warriors for Christ, I realized that they are the exception, not the rule.
In America, we have somehow, lowered expectations for our young people to the point that they are the salt that has lost its savour Jesus talks about in Matthew 5.
I witness this personally whenever we collaborate in ministry with other youth groups. The stark contrast between our teens who come from conservative, homeschooled, Christian families and other young people who have had totally different training is astonishing. It turns out that young people who aren’t expected to act with the dignity of an adult, act like children. Instead of raising the bar for expected behavior and encouraging teens to rise toward it, our society focuses on trying to meet them at the level we see them performing. We do this with good intentions, hoping that because teens don’t have to stretch so hard to reach the ever-lowering bar, they will have less opportunity to fail.
Unfortunately, what actually happens is teens just stay at the lowest level of achievement possible, knowing we don’t expect more from them. What I have observed is that boredom and dissatisfaction are not solved with more free time. Poor listening and thinking skills don’t improve when you dumb everything down. Youth are eager to meet the expectations we set for them. If we expect young people, in their most formative years, to be unhelpful, foolish, and incompetent, that is how they will act. They are satisfied with their dismal performance because society tells them that is enough.
I don’t think it has to be like this. In fact, I know it doesn’t.
My parents are great examples of what it could look like to train kids the right way. They had very high expectations for me and my siblings when we were still quite young. We were expected to be obedient, participate in ministry, work hard, be helpful, and do it all with great attitudes. Their confidence in us pushed us to achieve so much more than anyone thought was possible. Now that I am an adult, I carry that confidence with me because I have spent my entire life learning that I am a valuable contributor to society. Our parents didn’t just hold arbitrary expectations for us, however; they coupled opportunities with intentional direction.
They told us, “Let me teach you how to do this so you can do it on your own.”
Whether it was building a house together, tearing shingles off a roof, or sharing the gospel with kids in the Philippines—we learned how to rely on each other as a family unit. When my dad was asked to pastor a church in Hawaii, we all joined in the adventure as co-ministers. Life was fun and full of purpose! When I look back on all that we have accomplished as a family, I feel so much gratitude because we were able to experience those milestones together. I know without a doubt that I contributed positively to my family, my church, and my community in ways that only I could. And I know all my siblings feel the same!
We never once felt like we were doing too much. Rather, we felt thrilled that there was so much we could do! We weren’t watching our parents live and waiting until it was our turn…we were integral to everything they did. By the time we were able to live our own lives, we had a solid foundation and a replicable formula for success.
With that input, my sister went on a 2-month mission trip at 14.
I was preparing Bible studies to share with other teens at 15.
My brothers managed their own mechanic shop at 14 and 16.
What if we took that same “can do” mindset and cultivated it in all of our youth?
What if we raised the bar higher and equipped them to reach it?
What if, instead of telling teens to wait their turn, we showed them all the important things they can be doing right now?
With little David who became king, Joseph ruling Egypt, Daniel leading in Babylon, and Timothy becoming a mighty evangelist, God has given us powerful examples of what young people are capable of when we expect them to rise to the occasion.
There is a huge and beautiful world that God made full of folks who still need Jesus. There are churches that need to be revitalized and communities that need to be nourished. There is so much to be done, and so many incredible young people who have what it takes to do it. Let us encourage and inspire them, direct them, and pray for them as they go! I am so excited for their future, and I can’t wait to see the wonderful adults and leaders they will blossom into.

1 Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.