How Teens Can Build Their Relationship With Jesus

If you have teens, you might find it important that they grow and build a relationship with Jesus. Even though you go to church together as a family every Sunday, you might feel like your teen does not have a strong relationship with Jesus. So, what can you do to ensure your teen is becoming closer to Jesus? Start by taking a look into mission trips. 

This guide will cover some tips and suggestions on how teens can build their relationship with Jesus. It will help parents, youth leaders, and even teens themselves. 

It’s Not All About Age 

Many teens believe that they have to be a certain age or they need to be an adult before they can really be close to God. Try to encourage the teens and tell them that it’s not about age. Sometimes younger people often have closer relationships with Jesus than older people. 

It’s more about faith and the desire to know Jesus than it is about age. When you have faith, you can build your relationship with Jesus whether you are 18 or 80. 

It’s also important to remind your teen that Jesus never changes so he can form relationships with people of all ages as long as they are willing to seek him out and be part of his kingdom. 

Make Reading the Bible a Daily Habit

It’s very hard to grow a relationship with God when you are not in His Word every day. One of the best ways to become closer to Jesus regardless of age is to read the Bible every day. Reading the Bible also allows someone to learn about God and His commandments. 

Most Christians will agree that reading the Bible is necessary if you want to learn what pleases Jesus and what desires He has for your life and the lives of others around you. 

Getting into reading the Bible every day can be difficult because you might think you don’t have the time. You don’t need all the time in the world though. You can take just a few minutes whether it be in the car before work or right before you sleep at night. 

Once you begin reading, you will find that you develop a desire to read more and you will find yourself more and more in the word each day. 

What matters is that you encourage teens to be consistent with their reading of the Bible. Even if it’s only for five minutes every day, they need to be in the Word each day so they can learn about God and grow closer to Him. 

Encourage Teens to Spend Time With Other Believers 

The teenage years are often difficult because they are trying to make friends and figure out where they belong. This often means changing friends or always trying to make new friends. However, you want to make sure your teen is spending time with teens who are also trying to grow in their relationship with God. 

Having friends that do not go to church is also okay, but you want teens to spend time with other believers as much as possible as this will encourage them to pray and read their Bible more often. 

It’s also important that teens spend time with other teens who have good morals and a strong faith. Spending too much time with teens who have bad habits can also lead your children and teens to have bad habits as well. 

Ask teens to limit the time they spend with unbelievers and when they are with unbelievers, make sure it’s a time of leadership and mentoring so that the unbelievers will also eventually grow in their relationship with Jesus. 

Prayer and Communication 

Just like with other relationships in life, the key to growing closer to God is through prayer and communication.  If there is no communication with Jesus, it’s virtually impossible to get to know Him and start a relationship with Him. 

Spending quality time with Jesus is very important but many teens do not know what this looks like. The best thing you can do is model it for them. For example, make sure your teen sees you praying and reading the Word every day. 

Encourage them to make a routine so that it happens at the same time every day. Some people like to spend time with God right when they wake up and others like to do it right before bed. 

You can also play Worship music and sing and dance as part of your daily time with God. 

Don’t Overconsume the World 

What this means is that you want your teen to spend more time with God compared to the time they spend in the world. Spending time in the world means watching too much TV, spending hours scrolling on social media, or just being with unbelievers for the majority of the day. 

While technology is convenient, it should not be the main focus of your teen’s life. You might also want to consider putting parental controls on their phone to ensure they are not looking at inappropriate things that could lead them astray. 

While most teens have phones, they can also use their phones for good. For example, they can download the Bible app on their phone or other features that allow them to spend time with God. 

Many teens also follow blogs online where they can meet other believers or read what believers are doing around the world. 

Spend Time Evangelizing 

One of the best ways to become closer to God is by telling other people about Him. This means encouraging others to read the Bible and pray. Any place can be a mission field whether it’s a school or an after-school workplace. 

Make sure you are always telling others about Jesus and you will also learn more about Him in the process. 

Final Thoughts 

The key to growing closer to God for teens is for them to spend more quality time with Him both by reading his Word and praying as well as spending time with other believers.