Observations of teenage behavior in a secular pizza shop environment

¶ … Jesus

Any glancing inquiry into today's youth culture will demonstrate the need for a spiritual revival amongst our youth. The elder generations of this environment have led many of our precious youth astray by providing sinful examples of living and ignoring the higher calling of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The purpose of this report is to describe my personal observations of teenagers interacting in a secular environment. The observations from this experiment are used to incorporate an idea of how the youth culture reacts and is imbedded within the cultural influences that are very pervasive in our world. To accomplish this mission, I chose a local pizza shop, located three blocks away from a large city high school. My first observation was done at lunch time around 11 am until 1 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. I returned that Friday for my second observation. This spot was chosen due to the secular nature of food and lunch and that it is a good opportunity to witness unsupervised teenagers in their natural environment.

Observations And Lessons Learned

The most striking conclusions that I reached while observing nearly 50 different teenagers at the pizza shop was that they are truly lost in this world. These youths have very little respect for manners. There is a spiritual sickness that dwells inside these people as they ignore the basic human dignities of life in many different ways.

The dress that these teenagers choose to wear signifies that sex and drugs are very important to them. Many of the females dress extremely sexual with much skin and cleavage exposed. To my surprise, the young boys seem almost disaffected by such overt sexuality. Many of the clothing worn by the teenagers have bold messages stamped across the fabric. These messages are very derogatory, dark natured and intimidating in many cases.

The use of phones and technology by these young students demonstrates a reliance on this method of communication. Nearly every teenager I observed had at least checked their phone during their time spent at the pizza shop. There is an addictive nature about the way that these young people use their phones, and if the right messages were being displayed on their phones, it may be used for positive purposes.

The young people were generally, loud, brash and insensitive to others at the pizza shop, especially those working there. A sense of entitlement has immersed these youngsters into thinking that being rude is cool and trendy. This brashness and exclusionary approach towards life demonstrates a deep rooted fear and a lack of spiritual guidance. These youth are vulnerable to the many influences that are around them at all times.

After observing this location for nearly four hours on two different occasions, I feel that God is calling out to these young people by showing them how not to act and how the Lord does not want them to behave. Jesus' journey was filled with ups and downs, and we should not expect others not to fail and to sin. Sin is necessary for redemption. The fields are ripe with souls that need redemption amongst the youth of today. The oversexed, over stimulated, undernourished, young masses of society are desperately seeking the spiritual truth and redemption that a life of following Christ can offer. Although depressing and confusing at times, this observation experience has brought me closer to God an my mission for Him.

Three Level Strategy

The fertile grounds that have provided for spreading the Lord's good message has directed me to create a three level strategy to begin this task and work humbly in His good name. This three pronged approach focuses on a prayer strategy, personal strategy and finally an event strategy.

Personal Contact Strategy

The youth are very fertile grounds for new ideas and behaviors. They are programmed to look for novel approaches to old ways of doing things. Christ reminded us that he was to bring such trouble and dismay at times, and this is simply a way of clearing out the old and making way for the new.

To attract youth it is important to meet them at their own level and build rapport starting at that point of the engagement. Although they are troubled, they are also possessed with a beautiful soul that deserves to experience the joy and wonders of Jesus Christ and his teachings. Contacting youth must be done in small steps on a case by case basis. Christ did wonders with only 12 apostles to start with, with faith and power, the ministry will grow. Quality is more important than quantity in my approach and keeping my faith strong will greatly assist in this endeavor as well.

Event Strategy

In any strategy it is important that the objectives are aligned with the tasks inherent in the mission statement. Devising a solid event strategy requires that the objectives of the event are clearly laid out and can withhold scrutiny under failure and pressure. God's work is slow and wondrous, we need to mimic this approach in any event development that is directed at helping the disaffected youth.