A Note from Hixon Frank | January 23, 2026
THIS SUNDAY
I want to make you aware that our campuses will be closed this weekend out of an abundance of caution due to the weather. We will worship together online Sunday.
Please plan join us for our services online at 9:30 AM or 11:00 AM, as we have a time of worship, prayer, and continue in our series on Luke.
Please stay safe and warm! We are praying for you!
Growing Up Loud, Fast, and Confused
Why a Strong Student Ministry Matters More Than Ever
Back in the day, I served as a Student Pastor in Lubbock and North Houston – when Michael W. Smith and Petra ruled the Christian airwaves, when guest speakers were met with excitement rather than skepticism, and when social media meant making a mixtape for your crush and praying the DJ didn’t talk over the intro. Phones were on the wall, not in our pockets, and if you wanted to gather a bunch of teenagers, just order a ton of pizza and a good band, and you could gather hundreds.
Student ministry has always involved hard things. So, like today, we dealt with broken homes, abuse, hypocrisy, suicide, and “the sin that so easily entangles us.” But it was different then. Simpler.
We know that every generation faces challenges, but this one is unique. Today’s students (12–18 years old) are growing up in a world that is louder, faster, more connected, and more demanding than any generation before them. Not that their lives are in more physical danger (WWII, Vietnam, etc…) and not that most have too little food, clothing or shelter (Greatest Gen). But teens today have hundreds of competing voices all validated by this group or that movement. It is relentless! Teens are constantly online, constantly observed, constantly measured, and constantly influenced—often without the emotional or spiritual maturity to process what they’re absorbing. (If we’re honest, the same is true for many adults)
They’re incredibly connected to everyone, yet many feel profoundly alone.
Underneath it all, they’re asking the same questions every generation has asked—only louder and with more urgency:
Who am I?
Do I matter?
What is true?
Is God real, and does He care about my life?
Scripture reminds us that confusion is not new. Isaiah described people who were wandering and disconnected from truth (Isaiah 29:13), and yet God continually met His people in the midst of their wandering. The problem today isn’t confusion—it’s that many students are navigating it without biblical anchors or spiritual guides.
That’s where the church, and specifically the Green Acres Student Ministry, becomes an essential part of every teenager’s life!
Consider these four truths…
First. Culture Is Always Discipling Us.
If discipleship is “a lifelong process by which we learn how to live a certain way,” then every culture disciples its people. Culture naturally works to recreate itself, and it does so most effectively by shaping the young.
The question is never if students are being discipled, but by whom.
Right now, culture is discipling students relentlessly! Over 77% of students (12-17) in the US have smartphones giving them immediate access to everything the internet has to offer. If your 12 y/o wants to know names of all the Great Lakes? He types in/or says a few key words and Click! “Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.”
- Want to know what time your movie starts? Click!
- The weather? Click!
- Final Score of India v New Zealand Cricket match? Click!
- Anonymous Group Chat? Click!
- Extreme pornography? Click!
Most adults can’t handle that kind of freedom let alone a teenager who is dealing with all kinds of messages aimed at them. Social media, entertainment, peer pressure, and algorithms are shaping how they understand identity, sexuality, success, relationships, and truth—often faster than families and churches can respond.
Culture says:
- Your worth is measured by approval and performance.
- Your feelings are your highest authority.
- Truth is flexible and personal.
- God is distant or restrictive.
Scripture offers a different foundation: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). The GABC Student Ministry, rooted in Scripture, helps students see that truth isn’t invented—it’s revealed.
Second. Confusion Isn’t the Enemy—Isolation Is.
One of the most damaging assumptions we can make is that confusion equals rebellion. Often, confusion simply means a student is thinking deeply about the world they’re inheriting. And whether we are 18 or 80, confusion is both frustrating and unnerving.
Students are asking hard questions about faith, suffering, morality, and identity. When the church doesn’t create space for those questions, students don’t stop asking—they just ask somewhere else. One of the things I love about GABC Student Ministry is the allowance for “honest wrestling.” Jude reminds us, “Have mercy on those who doubt” (Jude 22). Mercy doesn’t silence questions; it walks patiently with them.
When students are met with grace and truth, confusion can become a doorway—not away from faith, but deeper into it. Pastor Kurt and his team of staff and volunteers do this intentionally while, at the same time, offering faith and hope.
Third. Presence Still Changes Lives.
Programs matter. Curriculum matters. Energy matters. But PRESENCE matters more. Students may forget lessons, but they never forget who showed up. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, “We were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives.” That’s the heart of effective student ministry.
In a culture marked by absence and emotional, relational, and spiritual isolation, consistent adults who listen, care, and stay present make the gospel tangible. Student ministry is not information transfer; it’s life-on-life discipleship. Proximity makes the mission possible.
The GABC Student Ministry is committed to being there. To showing up. To cheering on. To noticing and making sure students are seen.
Fourth. Identity Is the Central Battle.
If there’s one pressure students feel most intensely today, it’s identity. Culture tells them to build identity from achievement, appearance, sexuality, or affirmation. Scripture offers something sturdier: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Remember—and this is for all of us—identity is not something we create; it’s something we receive.
When students understand they are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and redeemed through Christ (Ephesians 1:7), it reshapes everything—how they handle failure, relationships, shifting culture, and emotional highs and lows. God’s Word becomes “a lamp for my feet and a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).
The GABC Student Ministry is committed to reaching, encouraging, and challenging teenagers in these loud, fast, and confusing times. To disciple them, to pull them from isolation into a helpful and encouraging faith community, to be in their lives in a way that they feel seen and heard, and to make them aware of their true identity.
Church family, our Student Ministry needs us in these five ways…
- Pray for the Student Ministry—wisdom, insight, and compassion for this generation.
- Become a regular Student Ministry volunteer on Sundays and/or Wednesdays. You will be tired, you will be inconvenienced, and you will change students’ lives!
- Consider being a host home for the WKND, February 20–22 (info below).
- Consider being a special event volunteer for things like summer camps, Wednesday night events, mission trips, and more.
- Consider supporting the efforts of the Student Ministry by financially sponsoring students for the WKND, camps, or mission trips.
NOTE: The WKND 2026 (February 20–22) is coming up soon, and our Student Ministry needs additional host homes for the event. What is a host home? Being a host home for The WKND means that you open your home to a small group of guys or girls (typically 6–10) and create a place for them to stay and connect with one another. You will help provide a few meals, assist with transportation, but ultimately you are serving this group by giving them a safe and fun environment to connect with one another and with Jesus!
If you are interested, please contact our Student Ministry staff by emailing students@gabc.org or by calling 903-525-1190. We are praying for over 450 students to be a part of this event, and we need 60 homes to make this happen—please consider joining us!
Blessings,
Hixon