According to a Barna Group report released this month, moms were most likely to be with teens at meals, watching TV / movies, discussing God and faith, praying together and confronting one another. Photo by Irina Gorskaia on Unsplash
Christian teens in the U.S. turn to their moms more than others when in need of guidance, advice or spiritual conversation, according to a Barna Group report published May 7.
In 16 of the 26 categories surveyed, U.S. moms were the primary person whom teens sought out.
Moms were the leading source of encouragement, advice and sympathy, as well as the leading person teens turned to when something was bothering them and when they had questions about faith and the Bible.
Among U.S. teen influencers, mothers were most likely to encourage teens to attend church, talk to them about God’s forgiveness and teach them about the Bible, as well as serving as an example and offering encouragement in other ways.
In addition, moms were also the leading person to interact with teens for five of the 10 one-on-one time situations presented in the survey.
They were most likely to be with teens at meals, watching TV / movies, discussing God and faith, praying together and confronting one another.
“Over and over, this study speaks to the enduring impact of mothers – in conversation, companionship, discipline and, importantly, spiritual development,” said Alyce Youngblood, Barna’s managing editor for this report. “Churches should ask pointed questions about how they’ve set up their ministries and how they can best support moms as they help support their families.”
The full report is available here.
This article first appeared on EthicsDaily.com.
