Connecting With Young People

Young people crave relationships. The fastest way to make a connection with young people is to form a relationship with them. However, some people don't think they have the skills to know how to relate to young people. They often get tongue tied or feel awkward talking, so here is an easy acronym to remember when talking with the young person on how to connect with specific meanings in their life. The acronym is F.R.O.M. (as in "where are they from")

F stands for Friends - One of the easiest things to do to get to know young people and to make a connection with young people is to ask about their friends. Who are they? Where did they go to school? Do they go to our church? Etc. If you show an interest in who their friends are, it's an easy doorway into their lives.

R stands for Relatives - Another very important part of getting to know young person is knowing who their family is. Asking things like, who is their mother and father? Do you have living grandparents? Aunts and uncles?  You need to be careful in asking a lot of these questions because they may be embarrassed about the family they come from. They may come from a nontraditional family where they are being raised by a single parent or they maybe living with grandparents because their parents can't take care of them. But if you can find out this information in a nonthreatening way, it will tell you a lot about the young person and how better to relate to them.

O stands for Occupation - This can get a bit tricky because a lot of kids don't work, however there are kids who do work. If they work at a local restaurant, making time to visit the restaurant when they're working can be a great "in" to their lives. If they're too young to work, ask them about their hobbies or interests. Did they play sports? What sports did they play? Again if you can find out some of this information, you can use it by visiting them at a game or by making a connection with a particular hobby like hunting or fishing.

M stands for Memories - This gives you an opportunity to ask a young person about moments in their life. Examples could be a favorite holiday, a favorite vacation, a favorite place to eat, etc. This then gives you an opportunity for you to share one of your favorite memories. Maybe you have similar memories and you can make a very strong connection with a young person.

Now you don't have to go in order asking them first about their friends than about their relatives and so on. Nor do you have to cover all four in any one conversation. This acronym is only there to help you touch on various aspects of a young person's life when you are stuck with what you say. Have fun! Who knows you just might make a difference in a young person's life.