Some of the most common questions pastors
and youth pastors discuss when we conference together are:
“How
can we equip teenagers to truly live out their faith in today’s world?”
“What
is the secret to mentoring kids to own their faith by the time they leave
home?”
“How
should we actually disciple teens today?”
The truth is, we can use words like
“disciple” and “mentor” all day long, but that doesn’t mean we are truly making
a difference in their lives and increasing their faith.
I’m proud of youth leaders in our
church like Galen Beck, Bre’anne Northcutt, Tyler McKinney, and Danny Himmel that are investing significant time to build relationships with our youth…for relationships
are key! Youth Pastors have known for decades that the biggest players in a
young person’s spiritual development are their parents. The reasons for this
are simple—relationships, relationships, relationships.
Over 85 percent of Christians in
America send their children to public schools (The Harsh Truth About Public Schools by Bruce Short, page 199).
Imagine the alarm that would sound in these Christian homes if parents learned
their children had graduated from High School without learning how to read,
write, or to calculate simple math problems. I imagine you wouldn’t be able to
hold back the flood of parents working to overhaul the education system. In the
same way, imagine how the alarm should sound in the church and in Christian
homes today with the knowledge that over 70 percent of our Christian youth are
graduating High School without the ability to clearly articulate their own
faith and belief system. In fact, studies show most of them (70-88% depending
on which region they attend college in) will drop completely out of church by the
end of their freshmen year of college (Battle
Cry for a Generation by Ron Luce, page 34).
Most churches and Christian homes
today are producing “moralists” but not “followers” of Jesus Christ. This means
that our students may be successful at identifying right and wrong behaviors;
however, when asked to articulate the fundamentals of our Christian faith,
their answers are unimpressive and sometimes simply wrong. Christian Smith, a
sociologist and expert on America’s Christian youth, argues that this inability
to articulate their faith is crucial to discovering why so many Christian youth
are deserting their faith upon leaving their homes (Soul Searching by Christian Smith, page 131).
The bottom line is: we need more
people spending time with our youth, loving on them and earning trust through
relationship. We must be proactive and tackle this problem head-on and
urgently. And, we must pray for, support, and encourage all you parents to set
a godly example for your teens at home. For, it is certainly true that “the
apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” (quote from every grandparent who has
ever quoted anything)!
What are you doing to make disciples
of our youth?
