Faith-Filled Environments: Preteens

FAITH-FILLED ENVIRONMENTS: PRETEENS: A Whole New World

Preteens. If you are parenting this age, you know the following: they're silly, goofy, and obnoxious. They can't sit still and seldom pay attention. They love screaming and doing anything that involves getting messy. And that's just scratching the surface. So what's the best way to help parent and teach these amazing kids about God? Let's start by looking at what's happening to them developmentally.

Preteen development can be summed up in one word: CHANGE. As preteens enter early adolescence, they experience incredible change. They change physically, emotionally, socially, and even intellectually.

This intellectual increase has a direct effect on something else that's changing: their faith. As preteens gain the ability to analyze, hypothesize, and reflect, they ask deeper questions about God, the Bible, and Jesus. Rather than blindly accepting their parents' and pastors’ answers, they yearn to understand faith for themselves. In other words, they are beginning to take their first steps from faith dependence (relying on what others tell them to believe) to faith ownership.

As they take those first steps, you can expect your preteen to learn and grow differently than they did as first, second, and third graders. No longer are they happy to take what you tell them at face value. Instead, they want to experience, test, and interact with that faith on their own and it's up to us to "let go" and allow them do so.

They still need our direction, influence, and support as we create environments and resources where they can discover how their faith affects their life. Instead of giving them all the answers about God, Jesus, the Bible, and the rest of life, we invite them to grapple with their questions and even offer answers. Instead of telling them what they should do, we create opportunities to discover what God calls them to do.

Preteens truly are a special age, unlike any other. Yes, they can be crazy, overwhelming, and even exhausting at times. But to watch a preteen, for the first time on his or her own, truly comprehend who Jesus is and what He's done for us is unlike any other ministry experience.
 

Content adapted from the book: Leading Preteens by Patrick Snow