Introduction
The Anguish of Adolescence argues that teenagers, parents, and youth workers have been confronted with unprecedented cultural changes. These shifts reveal new psychological struggles and sociological trends that deeply affect young people and those of us who minister to them. Anyone working with youth knows this. Ministering in today’s context compels us to develop a theology of mission that addresses the unique crisis facing youth. Our goal is to equip youth workers with the tools and insights necessary to effectively bring Jesus into the spaces of adolescent struggle and pain.
Many are asking, “How do I minister in this space?” Born between 1995 and 2012, the age group designated Gen Z struggles with anxiety and depression and is being crippled by the strain and stress of an increasingly frightening world. With all of the talk concerning Gen Z, we must not overlook the up-and-coming Generation Alpha. Born between 2010 and 2024, the oldest of this group have entered adolescence. In America, a once-Christianized culture has been replaced by a pluralistic, postmodern culture, where traditional language categories have largely diminished. Communication in this new landscape presents challenges as we seek to communicate the truths of the gospel.
For numerous ministries, the endeavor to bring Jesus into our broken spaces has led to a sense of desperation. We often revert to recycling ineffective strategies from a past era of Christendom, occasionally adding minor adjustments but seldom scaling back our overwhelming agendas. Amidst our busyness and frustration to expand the size of our group, we risk overlooking the presence of God actively at work in our midst.
Many youth workers are pressured to grow their group, often anchored in outcome-based strategies that load them down with worry, cost money they have no budget for, and require expertise many do not possess. Despite strategic and exhaustive planning, young people are not impressed nor are they content to remain.
These generations have literally “left the building.”
Many leaders are attracted to paradigms that appear effective in other youth groups or that seemed successful in the past, often leading them to overlook the possibility of exploring alternative approaches or recognizing how God might be actively working in the present moment. We run ahead with our agendas only to miss God at work all around us. The spaces we find ourselves are unthinkable and diverse. Nobody is prepared for what we are up against.
So why do we even try?
We try because God is missional and working ahead of us to redeem his creation. We were not expected to carry the burden alone. Indeed, in our attempts to make systems work, sometimes we recklessly change lanes leaving God behind as we shoulder stresses that Jesus never laid upon us.
Antoinette and I want The Anguish of Adolescence to serve as a practical call for youth workers, pastors, parents, and youth volunteers in churches and para-church settings to be able to identify the problems raging in our youth context and to discover God already at work in those spaces. Our imagination for mission can be stunted when we miss what the Spirit is up to.
Since 1993, we have been navigating the challenges of our rapidly evolving culture and want to share the knowledge and experience gained while leading a 501C3 non-profit organization.
An adolescent-focused mission demands authenticity because teenagers can easily sense insincerity. As representatives of God, we need to be genuine in our interactions. Therefore, we cultivate practices that enable us to stand alongside youth as they mediate issues such as anxiety and depression, demonstrating our commitment to walking with them through adolescent challenges.
Given that half of American youth experience anxiety and depression, our work is crucial, contextually relevant, and timely. Antoinette and I bridge the gap between the church and the community, gaining valuable experiences, practices, and connections with youth workers in both realms. We hold a deep concern for both spaces and the individuals within them.
The stories and encounters recounted in this book are authentic, and the peer-reviewed data used to support our observations provides a contextual understanding of the crisis at hand. The biblical theology of the gospel and the practical applications suggested are both accessible and relatable. The transformative nature of the gospel of peace changed our perspective on ministry and influenced how we engaged teenagers experiencing anxiety and depression with an incarnational approach to mission.
We started learning how to communicate the hope of the gospel to them by emphasizing the ministry of presence, highlighting the importance of being with teenagers in their world as an essential practice for youth workers. The book begins with a brief history of the teen center and examines how God has sustained it—acknowledging that we are not the heroes of this story. There is solace in listening to teen stories of trauma and triumph. This practice has provided fresh insights into conveying the gospel of Jesus’ kingdom through our actions and words.
Through cultural analysis, we construct a comprehensive theory on the possible causes of youth anxiety and depression. The purpose of this book is not to resolve these underlying causes but to educate and empower adults engaged in youth ministry. To better understand teen needs and their mental anguish, we explain and apply the missional approach of dialogue, reconciliation, and peacemaking in our ministry, providing a framework of presence. Being present with students means that we anticipate learning from them.
Youth ministers are typically trained to instruct rather than to listen and learn from those we serve. Our method incorporates a simple four-step approach to practicing theology locally, emphasizing the importance of understanding our audience to know them and minister among them. We have been using this practice since 2021.
During these encounters, we identified two prominent themes affecting youth: (1) social media contagion impacts mental health and (2) the heteronomous nature of language makes it difficult to share the gospel. We needed to learn their unique language and understand how they process gospel ideals. They could not respond to the gospel as we presented it without an understanding of Christian religious language because the terms we used did not hold the same meanings for them. We also discovered that teens often feel attacked by the church, leading to a rejection of God.
Breaking down these barriers required an ongoing loving presence in their lives. We chronicle our journey of dialogue and discovery with teenagers. Through the practice of presence, we learned how to offer the gospel of peace in an age of anguish.