Ask just about any parent anywhere in the world and they’ll tell you: the teen years are tough. There is something uniquely challenging about helping a person transition from childhood to adulthood.

I’m not quite there yet as a parent, but I’m already getting a taste of it, as my oldest has officially become a “tween.”

There are conflicts, as I learn to let my daughter try new things and take risks, and as she tests her boundaries (sometimes in less-than-healthy ways). How can I ever be certain she is ready? What things do I have to stop protecting her from?

To make it harder, it feels like our culture comes against my best parenting efforts at every turn. Whatever values I try to instill in my children, there seem to be a smorgasbord of messages and media to undermine them. My attempts to help her navigate those cultural icebergs, have resulted in my tween explaining to me in detail how I am overprotective and “weird.”

How do I make sure my daughter’s faith foundations are firm enough to last a lifetime? We see too many young people leave the Church. It’s terrifying.

Oh, and did I mention hormones? My previously sweet-tempered child now storms around the house and bursts out crying for seemingly no reason at all.

Parents in the Majority World have these struggles as well, but also face many more that I will never experience.

Access to education has greatly increased around the world in the past 40 years. That’s a great thing, of course! But it brings a unique set of challenges, too. Children from minority language groups are now learning the majority language, and (combined with access to technology) this means they are exposed to all kinds of new ideas—some truth and some lies. Television and easier travel mean that, where only twenty years ago most people accepted that they would grow up to live the same lives their parents had, now youth are starting to imagine a new future.

Some families, dreaming of a better life, send their teenage and young adult children to big cities. Many countries are rapidly urbanizing because of this trend. Unfortunately, because these young people generally still have relatively low levels of education and no specialized skills, that “better future” can quickly turn into a nightmare.

If you take a walk in New Delhi, you can step over hundreds of homeless young men sleeping on the street and in public squares. Nearly all came to the city looking for work. Now they face a new culture, extreme poverty, and exploitation—all without a family support structure. Many have become addicted to drugs or alcohol.

In Southeast Asia, many people eager for jobs find themselves working in sweatshops. Along with low pay, there is often a dangerous or unhealthy work environment and corrupt supervisors. It’s not uncommon for workers to be locked in at night to keep them from escaping.

Girls are especially vulnerable. They are less likely to receive an education, more likely to experience domestic violence, and often have little autonomy to make their own life-choices. Some are forced into early marriages. Some are sold by their own families into sex-slavery.  

But with many countries’ growing economies, even in the face of all these injustices and dangers, some young people do well. Many are the first in their family to graduate from secondary school or university and go on to experience a level of wealth their parents and grandparents couldn’t have dreamed of. However, worldly success  comes with its own set of lies (as we in the U.S. well know)—materialism, comfort, power, and control can become idols that isolate and destroy us.

And yet, God is bigger than all of these things! He loves our children more than any earthly parent could. He is faithful to shepherd, provide for, and protect those who are willing to follow Him. The problem is, we so often fail to give young people the whole gospel. We teach them about Jesus dying so their sins can be forgiven, but we don’t show them how the work of Christ is meant to reconcile all things on earth and in heaven (Colossians 1:20). Youth desperately need wholistic discipleship. They need to understand that God cares about every area of life and what it means to bring every decision, every action, and every challenge under the lordship of Christ.

The Wholistic Development Center is one great example of the impact of wholistic discipleship. Every two years, they accept a class of extremely vulnerable students from minority people groups in rural areas. They teach them vocations like electrician, handyman, restaurant service, and office administration. They also teach them “soft” skills like time management, work ethic, and personal finance. All of this is done in the context of mentoring and Bible-study so that by the time they graduate, the students have a much deeper understanding of who God is and what it means to follow Christ. Most importantly, they learn that the goal of life is to glorify God and serve others, not to pursue material things. The results are amazing! Every student in the past three graduating classes has had a job placement at graduation. Many have gone on to seminary, have become pastors, or are planting churches among unreached people. They are the next generation of leaders in their families, the Church, and in business.

Let’s thank God for the godly leaders He is raising up in this generation. And let’s pray:

  • That young people from Christian homes would hold fast to their faith. Pray that those from non-Christian backgrounds would have opportunities to hear the gospel and give their lives to Christ. Pray that they would learn and grow mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. Pray that God would give them strength to stand against the dangers and evils that they face, and that He would give them discernment to recognize truth and lies.
  • For parents and families. Pray that they would guide and advise their children according to God’s good intentions. Pray especially that they would value their daughters and protect them. Pray that those from non-Christian backgrounds would be drawn to Jesus by the witness of their young adult children.
  • That churches and pastors will shepherd young people well—seeing and encouraging all their potential. Pray that they would be filled with grace and compassion toward those who have been caught up in addiction or sex trafficking; that they would reach out to them in love, that they would rescue and shelter, and that they would provide practical, effective help.
  • For secondary schools, colleges, and universities. Pray that teachers and professors will use their influence to model and teach peace, kindness, righteousness, and self-discipline. Pray that more than rote memorization, students will learn critical thinking, problem-solving, and discernment. Pray that students would be open to learning new truths—especially about God’s love and His plan for their lives—and that each one would have the opportunity to hear the whole gospel.
  • For governments to make just laws that protect young people from predators like drug dealers, sex-traffickers, and sweatshops. Pray for these laws to be enforced. Pray that more godly young people would be called into careers in politics, and that they would bring just and compassionate leadership to their nations.