1. Today’s Teens (Heath & Harvard)
    1. Less able to develop intimate relationships
    2. Unable to set goals
    3. Selfish pragmatism determines choices
    4. Self-worth established by others
    5. Motivated by payoff in either fun or materialism
  2. Basic needs of all youth of all generations is expressed by these five questions:
    1. Who am I?
    2. Why am I here?
    3. Do I belong?
    4. Where am I going?
    5. How will I get there?
  3. What is different for today’s youth?
    1. A child’s first real contact with life comes through the family. What is today’s family like?
      1. An extended family does not exist.
      2. More than 33% are in broken homes.
      3. More than 20% have an unwed mother.
      4. Most homes are materialistic and non-relational.
        1. No listening skills to understand others
        2. No ability to show love to others
        3. No ability to affirm others
        4. No ability to confront others
        5. No ability to forgive others
        6. No ability to make good decisions
    2. Many things compete with relationships.
      1. Entertainment
      2. Video games
      3. Computers
    3. The rules of the world are changing.
  4. Three keys to long-term memory (learning)
    1. Informal setting
    2. Emotional involvement
    3. Relational in nature
  5. Today’s Youth
    1. Group-oriented—gangs and peers
    2. Entertainment saturated—technical innovations
    3. Prone to violence
    4. Reject higher authority—moral absolutes are a thing of the past
    5. Very promiscuous sexually
    6. Multi-cultural
    7. Into alternate lifestyles
    8. Faced with adult pressures and temptations—no protection of youth
    9. Used to seeing leadership fall (Presidents and preachers)—heroes gone
    10. Stressed out in life already
    11. Media-directed
    12. 40% and more intoxicated at least once in the previous year
  6. Changes necessary to reach youth today
    1. Start with authority and absolutes.
    2. Give a clear vision of their possible future.
    3. Have a program to identify their level and get them to the next.
    4. Use inductive teaching with interaction—manipulation doesn’t work anymore.
    5. Teach them the skills of relationship building.
      1. Honor and respect
      2. Love and giving
      3. Listening and understanding
      4. Affirming, complimenting, and building up others
      5. Dealing with conflict in relationships
      6. Confrontational skills
      7. Forgiving others and asking for forgiveness
    6. Teach them thinking skills and decision-making to help them integrate their faith with their world. How do these fit together?
  7. Richardson in Group Magazine lists thirteen basic needs all youth share–
    1. Belong
    2. Feel safe
    3. Have caring relationships
    4. Be loved
    5. Develop emotional stability
    6. Be challenged
    7. Be active
    8. Know the Bible
    9. Achieve new relationships with peers
    10. Achieve masculine/feminine roles
    11. Accept their physical appearance
    12. Prepare for a vocation
    13. Achieve socially responsible behavior