If you’ve watched the BBC programme ‘Who do you think you are?’ you’ll know that tracing your family history can be an eye-opening experience. In a recent episode one of the participants discovered he was a descendant of King Edward I! Our family tree can tell us something about our identity but it isn’t the whole story. For young people the three key questions they ask in relation to their identity are ‘Who am I?’, ‘Where do I fit?’ and ‘How can I make a difference?’
It’s some of these ‘Who am I?’ questions that our brand new Energize series ‘Have you got ID?’ seeks to address. Young people’s understanding of this question impacts how they make everyday decisions, it determines how they interact with others, and it reveals their purpose.
Young people will be exploring their identity with or without us, so we believe we should be helping them uncover the truth about who they are in Christ. Many issues young people face are rooted in their sense of self – we need to engage with these issues within the context of scripture, to reveal the young people’s God-given identities. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are transformed into new creations and there will be plenty of opportunity in this series for young people to start this amazing journey with Jesus.
Our sessions for young people include topics such as gender identity and digital identity and, in addition to sessions for young people, we’ve also created some training resources to help leaders expand their own understanding of how questions around identity impact the lives of young people.
To help young people to answer the question ‘How can I make a difference?’ we are also continuing to develop our ‘Act Justly’ series that explores how young people can partner with God to make a more just world.
Whilst finding yourself related to past monarchs might be pretty cool, we know that it’s only through a relationship with the King of Kings that young people will discover their true identity.
Peter Andrews
Resources Manager
If you're not already using Energize, you can try it free for a month. Help yourself to resources, training and support for groups and churches reaching out to ages 3 to 18+. Unlock everything you need to help release potential in children and young people.