1) Jesus changed my life.
This next week as you prepare your message for youth group or get ready to lead your small group, don't forget that one of the most powerful things you can share is how Jesus changed your life. Many of the people in the New Testament who helped people know Jesus did so because they passionately told others about how Jesus had changed them. (For examples, see Mark 5:1-20, John 4:1-42, and 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:15-16.) You may be surprised at how much the students you work with long to hear about how you came to know Jesus, and how he continues to change your life. They want to know that this whole Jesus thing "works" and that by the power of the Holy Spirit, people can change and can be used in amazing ways by God.
If you've never taken the time to tell the teenagers you work with how you came to know Jesus and how he continues to work in your life, you need to make a point of doing so as soon as possible. A pastor or youth worker who's great at teaching the Bible yet never shares any of his personal story might simply look like a perfect person who can't possibly know what it's like to live in the real world. There have been many periods when I have been so focused on doing a good job exegeting a passage or coming at a topic from every biblical angle possible that I forgot to simply share how Jesus had changed my life (and continues to do so). Yes, by all means, teach and preach from the Bible. But don't be so focused on delivering a great message or lesson that you don't reveal how Jesus brought you from death to life. Because that's exactly what Jesus is in the business of doing, and teenagers need to know that he can do it for them, too.
2) Following Jesus is hard.
When you tell teenagers how Jesus saved you, don't stop at the point where you first believed. You and I may never have met, but I know enough about following Jesus that your road has been filled with disappointments, difficulties, heart ache, and plenty of falling down and getting up again. Don't hide that part of your walk with Jesus from the teenagers you work with. There are certainly healthy and unhealthy ways to share about your struggles, but don't make it seem that you have it all together and that following Jesus is a walk in the park.
Teenagers need to hear that following Jesus is hard, and that it is worth it. Don't be afraid to share ways that following Jesus has been hard for you. Include in your messages times where you have been confused at what God is doing in your life. Perhaps there was a time when you had a difficult time working up the courage to tell a friend about Jesus or when you said completely the wrong thing in a conversation about Jesus with someone who was seeking. If you are speaking on tragedy, tell about a time when you were hurt by a tragedy in your own life. And where appropriate, share how you have struggled with sin in your walk with Jesus. The Bible is very clear on this fact: Following Jesus is difficult for many reasons, but it is worth it.
If you cover those two things, the teenagers you work with are likely to understand that Jesus saves sinful, imperfect people like you, and that a life of following Jesus can be a long, difficult, but joyfully rewarding road.
