This is an obvious one, right? Sometimes it’s the only spiritual habit we can name. After all, isn’t “growing spiritually” synonymous with “spending time with God”? Well, not exactly, but it’s still pretty important. After all, if teenagers are ever going to make their faith their own, they’ve got to start spending time with God on their own. It means opening the Bible on their own, and discovering how they best connect with God through worship on their own.

Engaging in healthy community can, and should, be a spiritual habit we help our students develop. But “healthy community” doesn’t just mean hanging out with Christians. This spiritual habit is about growing in Christlike relationships with everyone.

Teenagers need to know that God made them unique, and special, and with really specific gifts, talents, passions, and resources. Then thye need to use those gifts to love God, love others and influence the World around them. When teenagers begin to discover who God made them to be, and then use their unique identity to love both God and others, they grow.

Teenagers need to learn how to talk about God. Sharing your story is the spiritual habit of making faith a regular, everyday, go-to topic of conversation in our lives. When we talk about God and His place in our story (or, more accurately, our place in His story), it helps us believe, helps us understand, and helps us take ownership of our own faith.