He noted that every year, one in four sexually active teens gets an STD, and chlamydia is now four times more widespread than chicken pox. Youth ministers can help to encourage sexual abstinence before marriage by urging teens to delay dating, enforcing boundaries and being responsible adults. Don t say to youth, I just want to be your friend.
Teenagers have friends.
When a teen-age girl faces a crisis pregnancy, a youth minister should not try to solve her problems, push her toward a solution, or encourage her to make any hasty decisions. For teens who have not become sexually active, Tooley recommended that youth ministers share some good news. Both independent research by government agencies and surveys by Aim For Success reveal that the majority of teen-agers have not had sex. They think everybody s doing it, except them.