Does Christian faith have anything to do with cheating at school? A leader in one of my youth groups from past years told me it didn’t. Can teenagers love God and be racists? What does a person’s faith have to do with their television habits, or arguments with a neighbor, or padding your time-sheet with a few extra minutes? Most of us would insist that being a faithful follower of Christ impacts every area of our lives, but do our teenagers get that?

For my dissertation, I studied the objectives youth leaders on six different continents agreed were essential for youth ministry. They agreed on seven essentials.

Essential 4: Disciple youth to follow Christ in every area of their lives.

Total life discipleship may be a stretch for American teenagers. It is not because they can’t intellectually capture the idea that God should have control over everything they do as he guides them. It is that they have seen so few examples of adults who actually live that way. How do you show them the call of God to follow him in every area of their lives?

1. Live it. Let them see you make decisions . . . struggle through decisions . . . with your faith in God being your primary concern.

2. Confess when you fail. Nothing helps kids more than knowing that their teachers are human. Of course, use good boundaries. Your kids don’t need to know about sensitive issues of your life and you should never use your kids as your accountability partners. However, letting them know that you struggle sometimes to follow God in every area of your life teaches them how to struggle through those issues themselves.

3. Love them through failures. Your youth will mess up. They will disappoint you. Love them in those situations and bring God into the conversation by assuring them of his love and of your prayers for them.

4. Teach them how to make spiritual decisions. It may seem simplistic to talk about the importance of prayer, good counsel, biblical principles, and sensitivity to what the Holy Spirit is doing in and around you, but many kids just don’t get those things. Because of their adolescent brains, they tend to make decisions based on their feelings rather than God’s direction.