Your kid—or the young people in your church—has recently returned home from a summer faith experience, perhaps a mission trip or week at a Christian camp or even a local vacation Bible school. They’ve experienced incredible worship and heard inspiring messages of Jesus and what it means to be a disciple. Or maybe a mission trip brought a new view of the world and the people of God through a different culture. Maybe the experience prompted a new commitment to Jesus and some deeper connection with friends. If you are like me and experienced something like this in your own youth, you know that shifting back into the regular rhythm of life can feel jarring. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and the spiritual “high” can be supported so that the ignited flame of faith can continue to burn and give light.

What are we called to do? 

As the church, we have a mighty role to play in supporting the faith formation of younger members. If you are a parent, a church leader, a grand parent, or a caring adult, hear this: you are the secret sauce to maintaining the faith growth of these young leaders. You are key to helping them stay connected to this rich faith boom from their summer experience.

You may not be a mighty gifted musician, teacher, or preacher, but as someone invested in the lives of young people, you possess the greatest gift that can maintain the spiritual growth of these incredible young people: presence. 

Through our research connected with Generation Spark—which pairs young adults with an older adult mentor to solve a problem together—we have found that two-thirds of young people who had a mentor reported feeling a sense of belonging, missional purpose, and deeper faith because of their connection to a mentor.

In Scripture, time and time again, we see the positive effects of mentorship and support for a growing faith. We see leaders walking alongside leaders: Paul and Timothy, Lydia and her family, Priscilla and Aquila with Apollos. The mentor’s main purpose? Discipleship. In other words, those of us in the church are called to grow the people of faith to better understand God and our responsive call to follow Christ daily. 

How are we invited to act? 

I love the example we see in Acts 18:26: “[Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” This is an education for us as leaders today. Priscilla and Aquila do not simply speak the truth of who God is to Apollo after church. No, they invite him into their home. This, too, is their way of explaining more about who God is. It’s not just about what we say, but also how we live into discipling one another. 

I wonder: how many young people are we connected to in such a way that we can both witness and affirm young people in their unique callings? Better yet, can you think of a young person you know who you could invite into your home to hear about their summer experience and possible transformation of their faith? 

As the summer comes to a close, don’t miss this moment. Don’t wait for someone else to speak into the lives of the young people around you. You are uniquely positioned as a constant presence in the lives of our youth and young adults to support them as they stabilize from a summer experience that has likely disrupted them in a positive, yet dramatic way. You can be what these experiences can never be: a continual presence to help them understand God more adequately. Cheer them on, invite them in, shore them up, and most importantly, grow together in faith. 

By Rev. Annalise Radcliffe; Originally published on Faithward on August 4, 2026