Stepping Into Milestone Moments
by Chris Sasser

A few months ago, our family was involved in an event at our church that truly meant a lot to us. Our daughter was graduating from high school, and the youth ministry at our church hosted a “Graduation Dinner” for all the students and their families. We shared a meal together, our youth pastor offered a challenge and encouragement to the students, and our pastor had some words of wisdom for the parents. We finished the night by circling up and praying in different groups. It was an incredible event to both look back at all that God had done over the years and to celebrate a key milestone in the lives of these teenagers. It is truly one of those nights I’ll never forget.

If I put on my “ministry leader” hat, I can see that this event didn’t really take a lot of work or effort by the church staff. Order dinner, set up, ask a few people to share, and clean up. Easy! But the impact that this event had was tremendous. It was the culmination of years of actual hard work and real ministry. In thinking through the many things we do to keep our youth ministries running, I think we should all do more events like this and develop more of a focus on celebrating the spiritual moments and milestones that our students encounter. In order to step into doing more to see and build on these milestones (for both students and parents), consider thinking through and doing a few things:

Create a Milestone Map: Establish a structured milestone program that outlines key spiritual markers for teens, such as salvation, baptism, first communion, serving in a ministry, or completing a Bible study. This roadmap can serve as a guide for parents to track their teen’s spiritual growth, give them a clear understanding of significant spiritual moments, and help them recognize milestones they might otherwise overlook.

Ask yourself: What would it look like for parents to have a clearer picture of the milestones their teens are reaching? Would knowing when these milestones are coming help parents be more involved?

Equip Parents with Resources to Have Spiritual Conversations: Provide parents with conversation guides, devotionals, or family activities designed to foster deeper spiritual discussions with their teens. These resources can encourage parents to discuss topics like faith, purpose, and personal growth, helping them see the spiritual development happening in their teen’s life. When these conversations are happening at home, teenagers are much more likely to actually have spiritual moments that can be celebrated along the way. This not only prompts parents to notice milestones but also gives them a framework for celebrating and affirming their teen’s spiritual journey.

Ask yourself: What is one resource I can find or create for parents that helps them have better spiritual conversations at home? Would there be a way for me to get feedback about any resource I provide?

Organize Milestone Celebration Events: Host special events or services that celebrate specific spiritual milestones for teens, such as baptisms, graduations, or mission trip send-offs. Encourage families to attend and make these occasions significant by recognizing the spiritual growth in front of the church community. Public recognition makes these milestones memorable and helps parents take pride in their teen’s spiritual achievements.

Ask yourself: What is one new event we can calendar that would be a milestone celebration event? How would having this event help families in our church do a better job of celebrating spiritual milestones?

Encourage Mentoring Relationships: Pair teens with adult mentors within the church who can help guide them spiritually and be another significant voice in their lives. Mentors can help parents understand and appreciate the smaller, more personal milestones that teens develop, like developing a regular prayer life or demonstrating leadership in youth groups. A mentor can also help parents recognize and celebrate spiritual growth that may be happening beneath the surface, giving them outside affirmation of their teen’s progress.

Ask yourself: How can we place other significant adults into the lives of the teens in our church in order to build relationships focused on faith?

All of these ideas can help you develop more of a focus on creating, seeing, and celebrating the spiritual milestones as your teenagers encounter them. These moments are often wrapped around key relationships and can serve as pillars of faith development for the youth of your church. Take the time to think about how your church engages in spiritual milestones and develop a plan to help parents lead their teens in these key conversations.