In October of 1998 my pastor at the time (Bill Parks) brought me to a Pastor's Day here in Tulsa to hear Pastor Willie George talk about how to have an effective youth ministry. Those two days literally changed my life and ministry forever.
Pastor George talked about a number of things during his sessions, but one of the big things that stood out to me was his talk about "FIVE THINGS EVERY TEENAGER NEEDS TO KNOW". From that day in October when I was the youth pastor in Ligonier, Indiana to today as the youth pastor of Oneighty, I have really tried to build our messages around these five things making sure we give each student a strong foundation to build their life on.
Here they are:
1) How to be sure of their relationship with God
2) How to resist temptation
3) What to do when they stumble
4) How to have right relationships with people and authority
5) God Governs by natural and spiritual laws.