What does it mean to be Christlike? In a word, missional. Not missionary, necessarily, just missional. God is a missional God. He is a God who reaches out to the lost and hurting. His greatest act of love was sending His Son to Earth to show the world who He is. Christ willingly came to earth with the mission of revealing God to the world, dying for the sins of the world, and rising from the grave. It shouldn’t surprise us that the last words before Christ departed from this earth were missional words (Acts 1:8).
If we desire for our teens to be Christlike, we need to be moving them in the direction of mission. They need to be familiar with it. They should be able to articulate it. They should understand that the God they follow is a missional God. They must understand that to be a disciple of Christ is to have a missional worldview. With this in mind, I offer 7 tips to parent your teens to be more missional.
- Talk about the mission with them
Parents are the number one influence in the life of their kids, hands down. Don’t assume your words are going unnoticed. They are listening even when they may not seem they are listening. However, be intentional with your words. Ask what they think it means to say that God is a missional God. Ask them what it means for us to be missional. Talk to them about the activity of God.
- Invite their friends and parents to your events and activities
It is amazing how starved for community teens are, but their parents are also in need of godly influences. Invite them to your small group! Model outreach for your kids by inviting the parents of their friends to join you for Christmas, Easter, small groups, or church in general.
- Lead them in local mission expressions
There are incredible opportunities in your local area to bless people around you. It’s amazing what it does for teens when they see you as a parent sacrificing time and energy to be a blessing to others. If you don’t know where to start, ask your church who their local compassion partners are.
- Go on a short-term international mission trip
If you haven’t been on a mission trip internationally, this needs to be on your to-do list, sooner rather than later. I have witnessed over and over how families sharing these trips are strengthened, values are deepened, and hearts are turned towards the Lord. The experience begins a long time before the trip when as a family you start to trust the Lord for the funds. Then the preparation for the trip builds you up and the trip itself can be life altering. Do this.
- Teach them to budget towards missional giving
Show them how as a family you are budgeting your money to give to the church. Structure a budget for them and help them to know they need to be giving to God first. A little bit goes a long way. I would go as far as to say you could require them to make it a part of their allowance they receive from you.
- Remind them often of the love of God for them and the world
When something good happens in our house, I say to our kids, “Isn’t God good? Let’s stop and thank God for his love and for taking care of us.” When we see something bad happen in the world, I say, “Isn’t it great that God isn’t like that and that He’s working full time to restore the world?” Intentional words make significant impact.
- Make your house the “hang-out” house
Keep your pantry stocked with snacks and invite your kids to bring friends over to your place. Make it a priority to be kind to their friends, and get to know them. It’s amazing how their friends will become YOUR friends and come to you when they need to talk. And just like that, God opens the door for your to share God’s love.
With a little tweaking and intentionality, you begin to parent in a way that inspires your kids, and models a Christlike example that may change their lives for the better. You got this!