Identification

• Sermons for inner city youth are different from sermons preached to middle-aged people who are living in the suburbs. If you want your congregation to understand you, then you need to present your sermons in a way that your audience can understand. Children who grow up in the inner city are not going to relate to riding donkeys and wearing sandals, so Bible stories need to be retold in a way that makes sense to them. Present the same message in a package that makes sense to your audience.
  
  

Function

• The function of sermons for inner city youth is to bring the love of God to teenagers who might not otherwise learn about God's love. Many inner city teenagers have grown up surrounded by poverty and violence, so biblical concepts might seem foreign to them. A typical sermon is unlikely to reach them because they cannot relate to a different way of life. Sermons for children who have grown up in the inner city need to introduce the teenagers to God's love, which transcends all living situations.
  
  

Considerations

• Sermons for inner city youth need to use language to which teenagers can relate. Most of these teens are not familiar with the vernacular frequently used within churches, such as "creature comforts" or "travel mercies," much less biblical terms such as "supplication." Those giving the sermons need to "translate" the verbiage into language that makes sense to city kids. The sermons should drive home the message of the Bible in a way that is understandable to these kids.
  
  

Features

• Sermons for inner city youth need to be dynamic. While many older people who grew up in the church might be patient with the delivery style of a sermon, children who have grown up in the inner city need sermons delivered in a way that will hold their attention. Use day-to-day life stories to which the teenagers can relate and then apply biblical principles. Enhance the sermons with audiovisual aids to help keep the teenagers' attention.
  
  

Significance

• Many inner city youth do not feel connected with anyone or anything. Gangs can seem appealing because they provide a "family" to which an inner city teenager can "belong." For this reason, sermons that are preached to those who have grown up in the inner city will be most effective if they focus upon God's openness and desire to connect with each person. By sharing God's love with these kids, these teenagers can find a place to fit in that is a much safer environment than gangs.