Networking to prevent abuse

Bullying. Abuse. Terror. Humiliation. Stripping of self esteem. Intimidation. Isolation.

These are some of the words that can be used to describe the act of robbing precious teens of the ability to live their lives.

I had a discussion last night with a teen, who shared his present day bullying. Another teen walked up to him today at school and said "you better watch your back", as apparently he and some of his friends were planning to beat this teen up. I knew something could and had to be done.

I went on facebook and found the bully who had threatened the young man I was talking with. I looked at the bullies friend list and discovered that we had two mutual friends. So I contacted one of our mutual friends. The mutual friend then told me who the youth pastor of the bully is. Now I am contacting the youth pastor to help make him aware that he has a potential bully in his youth group.

Why would I do this? Because we as youth pastors need to be aware of what is happening with the teens we minister to. If I have a bully in my youth group I want to know so I can address this issue in a loving way. If I have a teen in my youth group that is being bullied I want to know so I can help. If I have a bystander in my group (someone who sees bullying taking place but doesn't know what to do) I want to help them so they can make a difference.

As I talk to teens my biggest concern is that they feel like things will never change and that there is no one that can make a difference. They feel isolated. They feel threatened that if the bully or his or her friends ever knew they talked with someone about what was happening then they would be bullied even further.

So as adults and youth pastors we need to open up the doors of communication so that our teens can share whatever they need to share with us. Do you have that type of relationship with the teens you have been chosen to minister to? If they do come to you and share things with you regarding this subject or others are you equipped to do something?

If you are, great share some of your thoughts here. If not I want this site to be a place where you can learn to be more effective.

I am not an expert but I am willing to learn. Lets work together to impact our schools. We may not always be invited in them, but we can certainly have an influence in them!!!