When We Were Your Age, We Needed Jesus Too

Author - Umn ministry

February 04, 2022

Thirty Christian authors remember the struggles of their teenage years while sharing hard-won gospel wisdom with teens today.

Youth ministry is real pastoral ministry. That ministry involves a hefty dose of pastoral care for students and their parents as they navigate a host of challenges: doubt, perfectionism, mental health struggles, eating disorders, questions about their sexual orientation or gender identity, suicidal ideation, and grief—to name just a few. It can be overwhelming to know how to offer pastoral support while applying the gospel without minimizing their crisis.

For this reason, The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School has quickly become one of my go-to books to give away. It offers a unique perspective that easily resonates with students, helps them realize they aren’t alone, and invites them to consider what difference the gospel makes in real life.

The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School is edited by the leaders of the Rooted Ministry and features 30 chapters, each with a different author reflecting on their teen years and what they wish they understood about the gospel when they were younger. The editors describe the intention of the book this way: “We want you to be filled with hope, peace, joy, and freedom. We want you to have Christ at the very center of your life, because he is the only place where we find true, abundant life.”

Multifaceted message of grace

Each chapter follows the same general pattern: The author recounts a pivotal moment in their teen years that highlights their own need for Christ, and then they apply the gospel to their teenage self before closing with a final word to their teenage readers today. Each chapter also contains a keyword (gospel, justification, shame, grace, and so on) that is defined and then applied with a two- or three-sentence statement about “What this means for ...