Youth For Christ Parent Life Supports Teen Parents to Show the Love of Christ to Two Generations

Teen Moms

There are approximately 158,043 births to teen mothers (between the ages of 15-19) in America every year. Unfortunately, teen parents tend to struggle with their new role as a caregiver. A pregnant teenager can face social discrimination. They, also, may often not get the support they need. This could be support to complete their studies, get a job, and care for themselves and their children. During such a pivotal time in their lives, many young parents don’t know where to turn to get the help they need to raise their children and pursue their own dreams.

Youth For Christ (YFC, www.yfc.net), a leader in the missional ministry community in America for 77 years, is dedicated to reaching young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other like-minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ, and commitment to social involvement. When it comes to teen parents, YFC’s Parent Life ministry seeks to connect with expectant and parenting teens and their children through intentional relationships with caring adults and community partnerships.

Parent Life

Anabelle Chambers is YFC’s Parent Life Senior National Community Ministry Specialist. “Our aim is to empower teen parents to thrive in every aspect of life. We encourage them toward becoming life-long followers of Jesus Christ,” said Chambers. “There are so many misconceptions about teen parents. Almost all of them want to be the best parent possible for their children. These young teen parents — and their children — are created in the image of God. It’s easy for outsiders to forget that they are just kids themselves and still need guidance.”

“Being pregnant at such a young age can be incredibly traumatic,” Chambers added. “Consistent, loving, caring relationships can make all the difference in the world. And this relationship is not one-sided — it’s a journey of discovery for the teen parent and the mentor together. It has to be mutually vulnerable or it’s not authentic. The perception many of these students have is that Christians have it all together. We share our stories about how God showed up in our lives. We do this in hopes they start realizing that God can do it for them too.”

 Break the Cycle

Judy Phillips is the director of staff training and parent life director for Metro Maryland YFC. “By coming alongside young parents during their time of need, we’re really reaching two generations,” Phillips said. “We build these strong, Christ-centered relationships. This helps us love on them and introduce Jesus to them in order to break a cycle. This can help move toward health for a whole new generation.

“We ask the students, out of all the things that we do — getting diapers and tutoring and all the other things we help with — what is the one thing that’s most important? They always say, ‘You come back every week.’ It makes me cry because they are so sincere. A lot of times, people will leave when they hear what all these youth are going through. Sometimes, it’s too much to handle. Having the commitment just to listen and come back is more powerful than you can imagine.

“We might be walking in a world that is unfamiliar to us, but there is beauty and resiliency and strength.”