10/30/22 Youth Group Debrief!

Happy Halloween parents!

Last night in youth group we ate pizza, worshiped together, prayed for one another, and dove into the question “Is Jesus really the only way to God?”

Our students live in a world full of mixed opinions on faith, especially when it comes to what someone needs to believe to be saved. When we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, there are many people who hear “your religion is wrong, you are wrong, I am right, convert or burn.” Finding a way to maintain the Bible as our standard of truth, communicate the Gospel as good news, and not cause people to be defensive or offended is hard!

One of the major goals in the conversations we have is helping students understand why they believe what they believe. I want them to be able to articulate why they affirm that Jesus is the only way to heaven outside of pastors, parents, or other mentors having told them that was true. There will inevitably be a time where our students have to face someone in their lives who believes differently, and knowing why they believe something for themselves is of utmost importance.

We had some good conversations about Mormonism, Judaism, Buddhism and all the things that they believe about who Jesus was before we ran out of time for the evening. I challenged students to think about why they believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven this week, and whether or not they believe that Christians who hold to that belief are “narrow-minded.” Obviously, we believe that scripture outlines very clearly that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus, but helping students examine and even embrace some of their doubts about this belief allows us to work through those doubts in a supportive and safe setting.

I’m excited to continue this conversation next week!

Thanks for checking in, and have a wonderful first week of November!