What makes you, you? Is it what you’ve done? What’s been said about you? Is it where you’ve come from or where you’re going? These are questions we all wrestle with at some point or another. The answers to these questions matter so much because when we know who we are, then we know what to do. To take it a step further, when we know who we are in relation to our creator, then we start to discover who we are and how to live in relation to our community and our culture. So, who are you? And what are you going to do?

Description and Notes

This month, we’re asking our students, “What makes you, you?” We are going to challenge some of the unhealthy ways we define ourselves and replace those false identities with an identity that is rooted in who God says we are. We are going to explore the labels that have been placed on us, the question of where the best version of ourselves comes from, what we have to offer, and finally how to respond when we are experiencing an identity crisis.

In week one, our Youth Pastors will challenge us with this question: What makes you, you? In a Live Speak, we’ll start the conversation we’re having all month about identity. The goal isn’t to tie the bow but to set small groups up for great discussion about what makes you, you. We’re going to help our students discover that a better question isn’t, “Who am I?” but, “Whose am I?” Then, we’ll point our students to three key habits that will help them discover how to live with an identity rooted in who God says they are.

During week two we’re diving deeper into the idea of where the best version of our identity comes from. We will be using the stories of Facebook, David, and the Ugly Duckling to help our students understand the truth that the best version of who they are comes from their creator. On top of that, we are going to give our students a list of Scriptural truths to help them know and understand what their creator says about them.

Week three we’re asking the question, “What do I have to offer?” Our students are hungry to make a difference, but so many of them don’t know what they have to offer or don’t think they have anything to offer. This message is all about helping our students understand that, on their own, they aren’t as important as they think they are, but with God, they are so much more important than they think they are.

Finally, we wrap up week four with a conversation about what to do when we’ve experienced an identity crisis. How do we respond when we run into a setback, or a failure of some sort? Does that failure define us? We are going to encourage and challenge our students to stop sipping on the lies of the enemy and start putting their trust in who God says they are.