From Chapter Five

"Working with teenagers means having a hard deadline: high school graduation. What do you want to accomplish with your teens by the time they graduate? What does your church leadership want you to accomplish? What do their parents and guardians want? Do your teens, most of whom are just beginning to think critically, even know what they want?

Based on my own experiences in youth ministry, I could sum up most of the explicit and implicit requests that have been made of me as a leader with this "top three" list, which just might fit your ministry experience too:

-Get them all saved
-Preserve their virginity/make them take a purity vow
-Prevent them from drinking/experimenting with drugs/watching bad movies/listening to bad music

This list could be shortened into a single phrase: "preserve their innocence." Although I've always understood the good intentions behind these high hopes, I also knew that something was inherently wrong with singling out these objectives. Even so, it can be hard to articulate that to concerned parents or expectant pastors."