Relying on Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is real. It is an especially significant force for young people trying to navigate the challenges of adolescence. However it is not something to be feared. In fact, as youth workers we need to press in on the fact that students hold such sway in the decisions their friends make and encourage them to be positive Christian influencers in their world.

REACH PARTNER UPDATE [Brian Biedenbach, Youth For Christ] 

We call it peer evangelism—friends leading friends to Jesus. Those who have spent much time in youth ministry have seen this phenomenon occur and we sit back and marvel at the hand of God working through young people. Consider these brief stories of how this looked for a couple of students we connected with last year through the ministry of Youth For Christ.

Aaron introduced me to to his friend Alex at a football game last October. Aaron had been attending Campus Life for a couple of weeks at that point and invited Alex that night to join him. Alex was skeptical at first, but because of his friendship with Aaron, decided to check it out and for the next month he was a regular. Four weeks later we talked about forgiveness and what it means to follow Jesus. By then Alex’s shell of skepticism was cracked and that afternoon he gave his life to Christ. 

Zach started attending our after school Campus Life club meetings early in the fall last year. He always showed up with his friend Kyle. He was a good kid but as a sixth grader was having difficulties adjusting to life at the middle school. He found Campus Life to be a place where he was accepted and cared for and he therefore made it a point to be with us every week. At the end of the year we asked students to share something they learned or discovered about themselves over the course of the year. In response to that question, Zach wrote the following:

I was challenged by my best friend, Kyle. Groups like this (Campus Life, youth groups) are not what I usually do. And he challenged me to come. At first I was scared. But now I am happy I came.

Zach went on to write that he was also attending a local church youth group at that point all because of the influence of his friend Kyle.

Peer evangelism—friends leading friends to Jesus. It is a primary ministry focus for Youth For Christ this year. We are partnering with Emmanuel and other local youth ministries in a new initiative to equip and mobilize young people to reach their friends for Christ. We believe that as we work together and invest in more students like Aaron and Kyle we will see greater Kingdom impact in our community as more students meet Jesus through their friendships and are invited into the marvelous journey of following Him.

If you would like more information or if you are interested in how you could be involved in the ministry of Youth For Christ please contact Brian Biedenbach.