Dealing With Today's Teens

For Bible Studies, Small Groups, or Your Whole Community!

About the Study

The Dealing with Today's Teens 8-lesson video seminar offers parents of children ages 10 and up a new and sometimes shocking glimpse into the world of teens today. Presenter and teacher Mark Gregston offers proven strategies and biblical counsel for parents who wish to keep their teen from falling prey to the self-destructive culture in which they live and to maintain an open, loving and honest relationship. You’ll find Mark's insights to be based on the practical reality of his daily work with dozens of struggling teenagers. You, too, can learn the key principles he’s learned from over 30 years of working with and counseling teens.

About Mark Gregston

Mark Gregton is the founder and executive director of Heartlight Ministries, a residential counseling center for struggling teens, where he has helped turn around more than 2,500 teenagers over the past 30 years. The Heartlight campus is home to 48 teens for periods of 9-12 months, usually after a family counselor has prescribed a temporary break away from family or peers.

Now, Mark is sharing the same concepts and principles with parents across America via publications, two national radio programs, and in live and video conferences. He is the author of several books on the topic of parenting teens, including: When Your Teen is Struggling and Parenting Teens in a Confusing Culture. He writes a weekly blog for parents and articles on parenting for websites including Crosswalk.com and Christianity.com. He is a popular conference speaker, a featured speaker for Focus on the Family, and a frequent guest on national radio programs. Mark is married to Jan, who also co-founded and directs Heartlight. They live in Longview, Texas and have two grown children.

A Complete Seminar or Bible Study in a Box!

• Lifetime group viewing license
• Eight 20-minute lessons on DVD
• 2 copies of the 192 page Workbook and Guide
• 4 Posters (more can be ordered)
• 50 Bulletin Inserts (more can be ordered)
• 25 Reminder Cards (more can be ordered)
• 25 Postcards (more can be ordered)
• CD with reproducible promotional pieces and ads
• Demo/Promo DVD
• Audio CD of all lessons
• Online viewing link of first two lessons

BONUS! Receive the new book Parenting Teens in
a Confusing Culture as our free gift to keep, just for
previewing this study for 15 days.

*Satisfaction Guarantee

If you preview this series and find that it won't fit the needs of your group, then simply return it undamaged and unused and we’ll refund the amount you paid, less shipping. Purchase includes lifetime group viewing license and replacement privileges for any damaged DVD or CD in the kit.

This seminar is timeless! Show it again and again, year after year.
Charge a fee to those who attend to offset the costs.

What others are saying about this study...

"Mark overflows with biblical wisdom and practical insights gained from over three decades of helping parents like us. Implement these insights and God's blessing will be increasingly yours and your children's."

-- Dr. James MacDonald, Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Church, Chicago

"Practical, relevant and effective help in a painful world for teens today."

-- Jon Rivers, Radio Host of the KLOVE Morning Show

"A rare blend of humor, heart and biblical wisdom."

-- Dr. John Trent, bestselling author of The Blessing

"Mark shares his secrets to survival and success in raising teenagers, offering parents a hand as they struggle for help."

-- Steve Largent, former U.S. Congressman and Pro Football Hall of Fame Member.

"Mark has his hand on the pulse of this generation of young people and offers Biblical insight, Godly counsel and practical steps to help parents and leaders capture the hearts of young people. Mark is the real deal."

-- Senior Pastor, Dallas, Texas

"It helped our parents and our ministry staff to better understand the culture and world that our teenagers live in. It also helped us to better understand the pressures that teenagers face, some of the thinking that goes on in their minds, and the reasons they act like they do."

-- Minister to Students, Palestine, Texas

"What makes Mark different is his years of living and working with struggling kids who have needs beyond the capabilities of their parents. He has a God-given gift to understand of how to help them."

-- Seminar participant

"Mark's logical approach to behavioral issues made addressing and correcting them rewarding and relatively simple."

-- Seminar participant

Lesson Outline

Lesson 1 - Understanding Your Teen's Needs

• Creating an Arena for Healthy Relationships That Meets Their Longing for Security
• They're Entitled and Overindulged on Many Levels
• They're Less Mature than Past Generations
• Really, They Want It All
• When Parenting Moves to Peerenting
• They Long for Significance and Security
• Creating an Arena for Healthy Relationships
• Committing to Not Disengage

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

Lesson 2 – Understanding Your Parenting Role

• Understanding Your Role in Parenting Your Teen
• Understanding Their Changing Perceptions
• My Child's Relational Style
• Embracing Your Teen
• Offering Rest for Their Soul
• Being Who God Has Called You To Be

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

Lesson 3 – Understanding Your Teen's Behavior

• Why Do Teens Do What they do?
• Their Behavior is Goal Oriented
• Your Child's Needs
• Determining Factors in your Child's Understanding of Needs
• Establishing Boundaries

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

Lesson 4 – Understanding Your Relationship

• When A Child’s Behavior Doesn’t Determine Their Behavior
• Does Bad Behavior Necessarily Equal a Bad Kid?
• When Value Isn’t Determined by Behavior
• Loving Your Child Unconditionally
• When a Child Fails
• Providing a Way of Restoration
• When Expectations Become the Standard and Alienate the Child

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

Lesson 5 – Understanding the Purpose of Pain

• How Pain Leads us to God's Blessing
• Pain Causes us to Examine Our Circumstances
• Pain Appears at Predictable Moments
• Ways to Avoid Pain
• The Godly Results of Facing Pain
• When Protecting Becomes Enabling

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

Lesson 6 – Developing Boundaries For Your Teen

• Setting Parameters that Guide and Direct A Child
• Boundaries Define Us
• Boundaries Help us Set Our Priorities
• Directing Our Child's Path

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

Lesson 7 – Understanding the Roots of Discipline

• Putting Rules and Consequences Into Effect
• Establishing Policies and Procedures Where There Were None
• Determining Your Beliefs
• Communicating the Rules
• Agreeing on the Consequences
• Examples

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

Lesson 8– Issues of Control

• Helping a Child Make Decisions and Choices
• Who Is in Control?
• The Motivation for Control
• Under And Over Control
• Handing Over Control
• Lack of Limits and Wrong Decisions

Watch a Short Video Clip of This Lesson >>

How to Use This Study

This study is designed for small groups, Sunday School classes or even community-wide events. You'll be surprised how many parents are secretly struggling with teen issues today. These issue go far deeper than rebellion, and they can be life-threatening. Parents, distraught by the change in their teen, may not reveal the difficulties they are experiencing, for fear that they will be seen as "bad parents." But you'll see it on their faces or that they suddenly look ten years older than the last time you saw them.

This seminar offers encouragement to parents and practical insights that will help them beyond measure. So, feel free to charge participants a $25-$50 fee for attending, which will offset the video kit and workbook costs. We've provided everything you need to get a number of people signed up for your event, including posters, bulletin inserts, ads, postcards and much more.

Target Audience

Parents, grandparents, youth workers, counselors, church staff, and teachers will benefit from these lessons.