Raising Up a Courageous Generation
We are living in a generation that is more connected digitally than ever before, yet many young people feel more isolated, anxious, and uncertain about who they are than previous generations.
Some current realities:
Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among young people in America.
CDC surveys continue to show concerning levels of sadness, hopelessness, and suicide-related behaviors among teenagers.
77% of high school students report using social media several times a day, and frequent use is associated with higher rates of bullying victimization, sadness, hopelessness, and suicide risk.
The U.S. Surgeon General has warned that children who spend more than three hours a day on social media face roughly double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms.
Nearly half of teens report that social media negatively affects how they feel about their bodies and themselves.
The Real Crisis
The deepest crisis is not simply mental health.
It is an identity crisis.
Many young people know how to build a profile but don't know how to build a life.
They know how to gain followers but don't know who they are.
They know how to compare themselves but have never discovered God's unique design for them.
1. Identity Comes BEFORE Assignment
Gideon saw himself as weak and insignificant—the most unlikely person to be called God’s Mighty Warrior in Judges 6. Before God had him deliver Israel, he had to know and believe in who he was. He changed his identity and then he was ready to go after his assignment.
Many young people are allowing social media, peers, performance, and failures to define them. So, this is why they need to know that they are wonderfully and fearfully made (Psalm 139) and they are a royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9).
2. God’s Presence Produces Resilience
David prepared himself for the battles by his dependence on God when no one knew him and he tended his father’s sheep. We know that his brothers ridiculed him when he wanted to fight Goliath and that his father didn’t recognize him as a potential to be King. Many youth are in this same crisis.
Today, many young people are facing:
Anxiety
Rejection
Bullying
Comparison
Fear of failure
Young people need an encounter with God where they know Him in the midst of their struggles. We are called to be courageous (Joshua 1:9) and to push forward.
Resilience is not the absence of struggle. It is learning how to remain anchored in God's Presence during the struggle.
3. Purpose Gives Young People A Reason to Persevere
Jeremiah felt he was too young, but God told him not to say that. God showed him that his purpose was to be a prophet and that He would be with him.
Jeremiah felt he was too young, but God told him not to say that. God showed him that his purpose was to be a prophet and that He would be with him.
I was called when I was 14 years of age by a prophetess and even though I was afraid, I was ministering in prisons, giving my testimony, and reaching out to the broken.
I fell in love with Jesus and I have never stopped during my teen years.
Youth need encounters with God and that reason to persevere is that others will perish if we don’t creatively share the Good News.
Young people who know they have a Kingdom assignment are far less likely to surrender to hopelessness.
Practical Ways to Raise Up Young Warriors
1. Speak Identity Daily
Tell them who they are before the world tells them who they are. I tell my grandchildren whenever I see them that they are going to do great things for God. I want them to know who they are and that God is with them.
2. Create Encounter Opportunities
Teach them how to hear God's voice, worship, pray, and experience His Presence. I love watching my granddaughter, Brielle dance in worship. We listen to Forest Frank and she just saw him in concert. This is so powerful! The more encounters she has with God, the more her identity will become solidified.
3. Celebrate Process, Not Just Performance
Affirm growth, character, courage, and obedience. There are so many times when I take time to share with David and Brielle about how I have seen them grow and how they are handling hard things in their life. This is part of resilience training. We all need to know that we will get through difficulties and God will never leave us.
4. Help Them Discover Their Gifts
Young people become stronger when they understand why they were created. I am so glad that my Mom taught me how to paint, act, sing, and share my testimony because this helped me build self-worth in who I was in God early on. Now, I get to do that with my grandchildren, so that they can discover how creativity and their passions can touch others.
5. Surround Them With Healthy Community
Isolation is often the enemy's playground. Connection creates protection. One of the benefits of our Kingdom Creative Movement is that we have a track for the youth. It’s an academy called “Thrive Life For Youth.”
We put it together so that young people ages 11-19 can join our Thrive Life Academy and learn about their identity every week. It follows the school year and starts in September and goes till May.
You can register for the KCM Thrive Life for Youth—and register your child and you can also come as a parent as well. We wanted this affordable, so it’s only $10 per month and with that they get access to monthly groups in art, dance, music, writing, and photography. We also have a youth monthly time for those who want to share their dreams and get support.
Go to Theresadedmon.com/community to find out more about the program and sign up your child.
Your child or grandchild is looking for identity and let’s help them to encounter God so that they become courageous and powerful for God! Make sure you share this newsletter with other parents who want their kids to be giantslayers as well.
You are born to create and raise up the next generation,
-Theresa
