Identification

• Southern Baptists are evangelicals, believing that--while everyone is a sinner--Jesus died for the sins of all who place their trust in Him. Therefore, youth sermons should reflect the message of sinners saved by grace. To be effective, preachers need to adjust their delivery style, making it relevant to young people in a lingo kids can understand.
  
  

Function

• As Southern Baptists believe in the new birth, an effective youth sermon should gently convict young people to turn from sin and trust Christ as their Savior. It should give teens hope and encouragement rather than scold, while convicting hearts. Southern Baptists also believe that it's through grace alone that one is saved. Therefore, youth sermons should emphasize there's nothing one can do to earn salvation. On the other hand, there's nothing you've done that cannot be forgiven by Christ. Youth sermons should end as a Southern Baptist service with an invitation to receive Christ, with follow-up visits for all who respond.
  
  

Types

• Evangelical sermons typically address those outside the church who may not know Christ. Such sermons should point young people to their need for salvation. Southern Baptist youth revivals, conferences and rallies are excellent opportunities to use evangelical sermons to lead teens and young adults to Christ.
  
  Teaching sermons are usually addressed to believers. Because Southern Baptists place a high premium on purity, teaching sermons should focus on how teens can be different and stand against the crowd when tempted to compromise their moral standards. Because there's always the possibility that someone listening hasn't trusted Christ as Savior, a teaching sermon should also offer a salvation message and invitation.
  
  Topical sermons focus on Biblical topics such as forgiveness, prayer and living the Christian life. For example, because Southern Baptists believe in tithing, sermons should stress giving ten percent of an allowance or any income for God's work. Topical sermons should also teach the Southern Baptist doctrine of eternal security of "once saved, always saved."
  
  

Considerations

• When preparing a sermon, don't be afraid to be honest. By only entertaining and sugar coating sin, you fail teenagers. What they need is the truth of God's word. The Southern Baptist faith holds God's word as the ultimate authority. Sermons should reflect that, and they should stress the importance of reading and studying the Bible daily.
  
  Because Southern Baptists focus on witnessing more than most denominations, youth sermons should also teach teens how to share their faith with their peers, leading them to salvation.
  Online youth sermons can minister to Baptist kids worldwide, so consider posting old sermons on your church web site.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• Sometimes Southern Baptist youth pastors write sermons without first knowing their kids. This can lead to teenagers ignoring sermons. Get to know younger kids even before they are teenagers. For example, speak to preteens at GA (Girls in Action) meetings, encouraging them to get involved with the youth group when they get older.
  
  After youth group meetings, go for ice cream with a small group of kids, allowing them to open up. Allow them to share their problems in a group setting. Get to know their needs, entering their world. For example, a preacher would channel a sermon differently speaking to inner city youth than to kids in an upper middle class church.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Preachers can mistakenly believe that the best way to preach is through formal sermons. However, some of the most effective Southern Baptist youth sermons are preached through plays and concerts. More significantly, preach a sermon through lifestyle, showing Christians love and values by the way you live as a preacher or youth pastor. Remember that Christianity is caught more than taught.
  
  

Warning

• Unlike some denominations and televangelists, Southern Baptists caution their members that your problems don't vanish once you become a Christian. Southern Baptist preachers and youth pastors should not deliver sermons that falsely represent the Christian life to be easy.