Teen Conference by John Meyer
Most of the teens in our churches come from our own families, and our most important disciples will be the children God has entrusted to us. Reaching teens is also important because they are passing through a season of life that is very impressionable, from good and bad influences.
Summer teen conferences have been an essential part of many of our church calendars for years. These summer events have been life changing for hundreds of young lives.
Most teens have the opportunity to go to four or five conferences throughout their high school years. It can be challenging to produce an exciting and spiritually dynamic event for those who have been numerous times. For the Mountains West teen event (called discipleship Training Camp) we have decided to implement a four year rotation, covering different topics and a different atmosphere each time.
Our rotation of topics begins with Christian Identity. This is the foundation for developing a healthy adult Christian life. Year two is about understanding gender, God’s plan for male, female, marriage and morality. This past summer was our year two topic, and for the first time DTC was split into separate programs for boys and for girls, at different camps.
Next year will cover evidences for our faith, looking at reasons to believe in God, to believe the Bible is God’s Word, and reasons to understand that Jesus really is the world’s Savior and Lord. This event will be held all together on a community college campus – a more academic environment.
Finally, year four will cover Jesus’ great commission and the venue and activities will orient around evangelism and making disciples.
So far the fruit of this plan has been very positive, giving us both a freshness and a sense of direction as we make disciples of the teens God has given us.
