With all of the pressures and distractions that come with being a teen, it is becoming more of an effort to keep them focused. To better understand what it takes to keep youth on track, I went to Pastor Sharee Johnson. Pastor Sharee is over 412 Youth Ministries at St. John's Downtown in Houston, Texas. St. John's is known for being "live" and "real." The youth ministry does not fall short of this assessment. Read the full interview below.

7th Made Online: What led you to minister to youth?

Pastor Sharee: I grew up in the church; I'm a preacher's kid. We had youth auxiliaries but no one focused on the total me and when I grew up I felt like I was missing some tools. I had the church part down but not how to make it applicable to my Christian life as a youth or teenager. Missing that caused me to make a lot of mistakes along the way. My heart has always been to help kids "get it" and make it relevant to where they are now. It's not just pages in the Bible. It needs to be relevant to their lives and life situations. This ultimately causes them to be successful.

7MO: Why is the ministry "412" Youth Ministries? What is the significance of 412?

PS: We look at 1 Timothy 4:12 and the idea an older man - Paul -  was talking to Timothy who, at that time, was a younger man. We challenge our youth to not let anyone look down on them because of their age. Instead, they are to be examples to believers in the things they do in their word, faith, and conduct. We challenge them not to let people stigmatize them, put labels on them or say what they can't do in Christ because they are young. For our youth leaders, we flip the scripture. We have to become Paul in order for our youth to become Timothy.

7MO: Having a youth oriented church service makes it easier for the children to get involved in service and be comfortable. However, outside of church and around certain peers who are not on the same page spiritually can cause distractions. How do you encourage your youth to have the same God-confidence outside the church?

PS: I challenge youth to be authentic and real. Do not put on your Christianity as some type of  robe for Sunday, but allow  it to be who you are. Accept it. I've accepted Christ as my savior and I can walk that out on a daily basis. In saying "daily," I understand that I'm flawed. I get my youth to understand that we aren't perfect. However, as we grow in Christ we become more conscious of Christ. Even if I make a mistake or if I'm around people who are't as into their faith as I am, I realize that I'm different. I challenge them to walk out their Christianity all week long and find ways to include their Christian life into everything that they do. Even if they are around people who are not believers, they are to be that example.

7MO: What is your favorite part of service?

PS: We do something a little different: we have a live DJ on Sundays. After prayer and before the offering, we let DJ Superstar do what she does and we encourage the kids to dance and get to know somebody. It's a real hype time. It's a real fun time. And, it's where I learn all the latest dance moves!

7MO: What is your favorite scripture to teach on?

PS: Psalm 139:14 where David said, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works." With that I usually encourage kids to remember that the way we are is how God made us. Regardless if I'm a little OCD or a little bigger than someone else, I am still fearfully and wonderfully made by God! He said that His works are marvelous! Kids deal with peer pressure and worry they don't look like everyone else or like models. Then they feel akward. More than they let people know. So I remind them they are fearfully and wonderfully made regardless!

7MO: What's the most rewarding aspect of being a youth pastor?

PS: When I see the light come on. For example, I recently went to youth camp for 9 days at Kids Across America in Missouri. The week after we came back one of my youth were in Bible Study and she came to me and said, "I get it." Initially, she said she did not understand why the counselors at camp were so excited about God. Then when she got home she read in her Bible that as Christians, we are to be excited because of the sacrifice that Christ made. We are exceptional people! That made sense to her then. That's the most rewarding for me. When a kid starts to understand that the sacrifice Christ made is something we should hold dear. That should ultimately change our life, decisions, the way we do things and why. The light comes on!

- J. McNair