MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Faith Time is our weekly conversation on matters of faith. Joining us this morning is Chris Floyd, the next-generation pastor at Cottage Hill Baptist Church. So we wanted to talk about how to keep youth engaged in church. How do you do that?

Guest: Absolutely. I think it’s treating them that they’re not just the church of tomorrow. They’re just not the future of the church. They’re the church right now. And so we see across all of our campuses, every age group is serving and being a part, whether that’s holding a door open or helping serve coffee, whatever avenue, making know that they’re part of the church right now.

Anchor: What pressures do you see from society and culture for teenagers?

Guest: And it is huge and it is something I feel the weight of amongst all of our teenagers and young people within the church, because they have social media, they have a certain amount of followers. They have to look a certain way, act a certain way. You have to have a certain GPA or a school from parents or coaches. And so much we see of pressure that they feel it is a very real thing.

Anchor: So how do you go about really moving kids with that pressure?

Guest: Absolutely. I think I think we have to push them so that they know the most important thing is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So their identity can be found in that, in their relationship with him, not how good they are, how many followers they have or their ACT score, but also the number one thing is their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Anchor: And you mentioned that some of that sometimes that pressure, while perhaps good intention, does come from parents. What can adults do with their teenagers or young adults to ease the pressure off of them but still encourage them to go in the right direction?

Guest: Right. So I think we read scripture. Whatever our hand touches, we do it with all of our might. So they should work hard. They should have good grades and work as hard as they can on the practice or in school. Ultimately, their identity is found in the relationship with Jesus Christ to his parents. We should push that. First and foremost, their relationship with Christ is even more than sports and academics.