You don’t have to look far today to see someone telling you the next thing you should buy or where you need to go on your holiday. Head online and the voices just get louder and grow in number. The rise of the influencer has been huge.
How, in the midst of this, do young people decide whether influences are positive or not, and how do we point them to Jesus?
In steps our new ‘The Ultimate Influencer’ lesson. We caught up with Emma Owen, Head of Youth Engagement, to hear more about it.
Why is the topic of influencers so important?
Emma: Influencers hold significant power over young people. They can shape perceptions, relationships and even behaviours, both positively and negatively, and there’s a growing need to help young people realise and understand the power they hold. But as well as this we want young people to discover the greatest influencer of all, Jesus.
Tell us more about The Ultimate Influencer lesson.
Emma: After discussing world influencers past and present, we introduce students to Jesus. As we explore how he affected the world and still shapes it today, as well as what the Bible says about Jesus, we boldly present the gospel to every young person we meet in class using the4points.
Our hope is that every young person leaves the lesson not only knowing how to make good choices about who they allow to influence their lives, but also wanting to explore more about Christianity too.
How is the lesson changing lives?
Emma: At the end of each session, we ask students an important question – what have you learnt about influence today? And I love reading the answers that come back. Whether it’s a 14-year-old saying, ‘That the people you look up to can change you’ or, more importantly, a 16-year-old saying, ‘That you need to have the right influence in life and Jesus is the best influence on the way we live.’
The fact we always head into school with the local partner church means that, as teenagers want to find out more about Jesus, we can connect them with follow-up straight away.
