Chandler Morse
11/26/18
ENGL
Prof. Sircy
Youth Pastors, Teen Depression, & Tragedy
Our society’s youth have a lot of pressure from friends, bullies, family, technology, and
their own personal goals/aspirations. With all that pressure, it is not uncommon for teens to be
stressed or even depressed. But when it gets to the point where these teens take themselves out of
this world thinking that this is the only resort to make everything better, then there needs to be
some conversation and action happening. The Christian Church needs to help their teens (and
congregation) in dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts. What are the best way Leaders
and staff can do that?
Each year, 44,965 people die of suicide, and 4,600 of those are teens, according to the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention statistics (afsp.org). Out of these teens who have
committed suicide, about 3.2% (Christianitytoday.com) of those teens either attended church for
the first time and became members or came for the first time and then didn’t come back. The
remaining 96.8% of those teens either attended Church regularly and were members or came to
church every so often. With these statistics in mind, think about you or your kids and what topics
are talked about in church. When was the last time the youth pastor or even the pastor talked
about depression and addressed self-worth and self-love to the congregation and teens? Have you
ever had a conversation concerning the seriousness of depression and suicidal thoughts inside the
church walls or even with someone in a leadership role within the church? This is something can
be changed by simply talking about depression and Suicide.
In the church, there are Youth Pastors (for those of you who do not know what they are)
and they are designated for the teens of that church. A youth pastor is a pastor - not a junior
pastor or any kind of pastor of lesser "pastoralness" than a lead or senior pastor. A youth pastor
is first and foremost a pastor. This person is one who has been specifically called out by God to
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- Fall '13
- Welborn
- English, Christianity, Early Christianity, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
