What affects which?

When we work with young people, and obviously we want God to touch them through the work that we do, but do we go to God and work out what we should do with our young people, or do we look at their circumstance and try and work out our Theology around their circumstances. Do we go to God first, and then try and work that into the situation we find ourselves, or do we look at the situation and then try and see if we can fit God into that circumstance? I am sure that there are benefits to both, but which way round do we do things.