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Connecting teens to Christ and one another

Just two months after WELS teens joined together for the biennial WELS International Youth Rally in Colorado, over one hundred WELS teens found a way to connect with one another again—this time online. Phil Huebner, campus pastor at Wisconsin Lutheran High School (WLHS), Milwaukee, Wis., led the first National Online Teen Bible Study in September.

Huebner worked with Oliva Hermanson, a 2024 WLHS graduate with a heart for bringing teens together for faith and fellowship. “I recognized that there are teens across the country who do not have the opportunity to go to a school with almost a thousand people who share their faith,” Oliva explains. “I was looking for a way to bring Christian teens together on a regular basis, create a space where we can discuss our faith, and make connections that are meaningful.”

International youth rally. Teenagers on stage with Phil Huebner
Phil Huebner (left) led a panel of high school students as part of his keynote presentation at this summer’s international youth rally. These high school students, including Oliva Hermanson (far right), shared the ups and downs of their teenage journeys.

Oliva brought her idea for a national online teen Bible study to Huebner, who connected her with Donn Dobberstein, director of WELS Discipleship. With the whole-hearted support of these two men and others at the synod level, Oliva played an active role in planning and executing the event she envisioned: “A Bible study for teens everywhere, with messages from lots of different pastors, and connections with all sorts of teens in situations both similar and different from your own.”

This first online Bible study focused on the parable of the prodigal son. “I chose a topic that I thought teens would relate to well and that would touch their hearts with God’s compassionate love,” says Huebner. In addition to hearing this relevant message, attendees dug deeper into the topic in small discussion groups.

For Oliva and so many other Christian teens, staying plugged in to their faith community can be hard. “If [the study] showed just one struggling teen that they are not alone and built them up in their faith, then it served its purpose,” Oliva says. “I praise God that he worked through me to help do that.”

She continues, “We are all learning so much about ourselves and what God has planned for us in our teenage years, and it is so important to have faith-based discussions about what we are struggling with.”

Going forward, the National Online Teen Bible Study will take place on a quarterly basis and feature messages from a variety of WELS pastors. The next study is scheduled for Nov. 10, at 6 P.M. Central Time.

Learn more and register for the next online teen Bible study.


Resources

Donn Dobberstein, director of WELS Discipleship, provides an update on resources to keep teens connected.

God has blessed WELS with about 16,000 souls in the 14- to 17-year-old age group. At the same time, the size of congregations has trended down, meaning fewer teens are in churches today than in past decades. Many churches don’t have the critical mass of youth as they did in the past. Teens are increasingly feeling isolated in their faith.

To support churches, WELS Discipleship is working on a strategy to create more connect points for teens. The main event is the WELS International Youth Rally. . . .

But after the 2022 youth rally, WELS Discipleship asked, “How can we encourage and strengthen local churches in their youth ministry efforts in the 24 months between youth rallies?”

First, we developed resources for WELS Youth Night—a series of youth-focused events during the school year that bring high school youth from area churches together.

The WELS National Online Teen Bible Study reinforces this concept but in a digital gathering. Geography no longer is a barrier. A teen from anywhere in the country can now meet, fellowship, and grow in faith alongside fellow WELS teens. It’s about connecting teens at a critical time of their life to Christ and with one another.

Learn more about youth ministry resources.

Author: FIC
Volume 111, Number 11
Issue: November 2024

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