The Biggest Challenge Teens Face Today > Likes and Comments

What Do You Think Is The Biggest Challenge Teens Face Today?

Social media.
Comparison.
Constant notifications.
Peer pressure.
Relationships.
Trying to figure out who they are.
Or simply finding a moment to slow down and hear God.

As a parent, grandparent, youth leader, or someone who works with teenagers, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing Christian teens today when it comes to staying grounded in their faith?

And here’s the question I’m especially curious about:

What do you think helps a teenager keep their faith strong in a world that is constantly competing for their attention?

I’d love to hear from parents, teens, youth leaders, and anyone who has walked alongside young people in their faith.

There are no wrong answers. I’m genuinely interested in hearing different perspectives.

This question is actually what inspired me to write Staying Grounded: A 90-Day Devotional for Teens — a devotional built around real-world challenges teens face while encouraging them to keep their identity and faith rooted in God.

What would you add to the list?

Hi, Michael. I wonder if underneath many of the challenges you mention there is something deeper for teenagers: the pressure to figure out who they are while being surrounded by voices telling them who they should be.

Comparison, social media, relationships, achievement and peer approval can all become powerful because they are constantly asking a teenager, in one way or another, “Who are you? Are you enough? Do you belong?” And perhaps that is where the question of keeping faith strong becomes especially important.

What helps, I think, is not simply telling teenagers to pay more attention to God while all these other voices compete for their attention. It is helping them discover that their identity and belonging are found in God in the first place — that they don't have to construct themselves, earn their worth, or constantly reshape themselves to be accepted.

When a teenager has that foundation, the other voices can still be heard, but they no longer have to define who they are. Faith becomes more than something competing for their attention; it becomes the place from which they learn to understand themselves, the world around them, and where they belong.

That makes me wonder whether one of the most important things we can give teenagers is not simply more information about faith, but a secure answer to the question: “If God tells me who I am, what happens to all the other voices telling me who I should be?”

I'd be interested to hear how parents, teens and youth leaders see that playing out in real life.

I believe parents have an important role in helping children build a personal relationship with God from an early age. What young people see at home matters — the example of their parents, the church they are part of, and the friends they surround themselves with can all influence the direction of their lives.

Teenagers are not so different from adults in this sense. A person who truly has a personal relationship with God gradually learns to discern what is good for them, what they should follow, and what they should allow to fill their time and attention.

I also believe every young person needs a strong, trustworthy leader or mentor beside them — someone who can guide, encourage, and help them stay grounded in their faith. Faith becomes stronger when it is lived personally, supported at home, and surrounded by the right influences.

I really appreciate this perspective, Matthys. I think you’re right that underneath so many of the challenges teens face is that deeper question of identity: “Who am I, and where do I belong?”

Teens are constantly receiving messages about who they should be, what they should look like, what they should achieve, and even what should make them feel valuable. It can be difficult to hear God’s voice when there are so many other voices competing for their attention.

I especially like what you said about faith becoming the foundation from which they learn to understand themselves and the world around them. That’s really at the heart of what I wanted Staying Grounded to address. Not simply giving teens more information about faith, but helping them connect their everyday experiences back to who God says they are.

Thank you for adding this to the conversation. You’ve given me a lot to think about.

Monica, this hit home for me, especially the bit about needing a mentor outside the family. Parents can model it all day, but if a teen's only hearing it from mom and dad, it can start to feel like just another house rule. I loved how you put it though, that faith has to be lived personally, not handed down. Feels like that's the real challenge, getting them to actually own it instead of just going through the motions.