Walking With Teenagers Through Tragedy
Fellow youth ministers, when you step into heavy moments of pastoral care, I encourage you to come prepared with a way to set the tone of grace.
If you work with children, youth, or families long enough, you will encounter tragedy, and you will necessarily have to rise in leadership in those moments.

Fellow youth ministers, when you step into heavy moments of pastoral care, I encourage you to come prepared with a way to set the tone of grace.
We were left with no way to earn the status ‘child of God’ because of our sin, so Jesus chose us in love. He was willing to face death in all its pain and horror specifically because he loved you.
I can do little to rescue him, but I can bring him before you, trusting that you are intimately acquainted with his tears and tossings.
In a world that tells students to grin and bear it, put on a happy face, and veg out until you can’t name your feelings, Scripture sings a different song.
The more we remind our students of God’s faithfulness in the past, the easier our students will navigate their uncertain present.
As I grieved a college breakup a few years later, I came across Psalm 16 in my daily reading and was heartened by David’s insistence that God is present in the midst of painful circumstances.