One thing I often hear from volunteers and those considering volunteering with YFC is that they feel like they have nothing to offer teens, especially teen parents. Half of my team, myself included, were not teen parents and it is easy to feel like we have nothing to offer. 

We’ve all felt at some point that maybe this ministry is not for us or that maybe there are other people better equipped to do this.

Peter Scazzero, author of Emotionally Healthy Leadership, speaks of God’s call on his life to be “God with skin on” for his wife. Though he is speaking in terms of his marriage, I believe that there is a truth here to be applied in all of our relationships. Since God calls us all to be disciples and make disciples, we are all called to be “God with skin on” to those he has put in our care and reach. 

Most of our teens have not had a consistent and caring adult presence in their lives. I’ve seen that our needs and desires as humans to be cared for, taught, guided along, and seen do not go away with age. If not met, they are often ignored or go unnoticed before getting buried. I believe we have a role to play as an aunt/uncle, older cousin, grandmother, etc. to our teens to be present and engaging in hopes that they will catch a glimpse of Jesus’ gaze over them just as God’s never-fading and never-leaving presence is with us. 

Our teens sense this and it will do exceedingly more than we know for a young heart who has been judged, rejected, ignored, or abandoned. 

It no longer has to do with what I know, what I’ve experienced, and how well I can communicate. It’s about who God is, how he has loved me, and how I can try and love others in the same way.

And for me, this has made all the difference in relieving the pressure of having to have good answers to hard questions or a life story that matches theirs. We need not be expert parents or advice-givers, but expert listeners and learners. I believe we can meet basic and necessary needs by being “God with skin on” to our pregnant and parenting teens!