Crisis demands immediate response
If this doesn’t get you worked up and ready for action, I don’t know what will.
- 88% of children raised in Christian families leave church at the age of 18, never to return (SBC).
- A majority of adults no longer consider Christianity America’s default faith (Barna).
- 64% of decisions for Christ are made before the age of 18, and 77% are made before the age of 21 (Barna).
- An estimated 4% of the “bridger” generation, or Gen Y, will be Bible-believing Christians when they reach adulthood. Their grandparents’ generation: 65%. Their parents’ generation: 35%. (Bridger Generation).
4%! 4%!!
We can’t sit back and watch this generation be stolen out of our own churches and homes. We must take action, and we must do it now, before they reach the pivotal age of 18 and make decisions about what they believe that will last for the rest of their life.
If you know anybody that needs to hear this, please pass it on. You can use the links below to share this post, re-post on your own blog, or just copy and paste this web address into an email.
This is bigger than any of us alone, and by God’s grace, we need to work together to rally around our young people–starting today.
(Special thanks to Ron Luce for sounding the alarm and bringing many of these shocking statistics to light.)
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88%! Wow! Alarming stats, Nate! Thanks for all that you are doing to overturn these!
Thanks J-Lynn.
When I posted this on Facebook, somebody asked, “so what do we do about it?” I think youth group as we know it is not the end-all only answer. What we really need to learn to do is grow strong personal relationships with students, and especially develop our own walk with the Lord.
Anyway, more on that later.
Nate,
This has been a matter of great concern for me for several years. What I have observed is: many call themselves Christian and think of Jesus as being outside, walking with them, but not living inside. He is the outside God who walks beside them, but scriptured tells us something else: Colossian 1: 27 “it is Christ IN you, the hope of glory” It is the outside God who came to live INSIDE. It is the same power of God that raised Jesus from the dead that abides IN ME. Jesus gave us the example. He was the first fruits of what a human filled with God’s Spirit looks like on earth. He was baptized by John, filled with God’s Spirit, and went into the wilderness to meet the enemy head on. He won the battle and set His face like a flint toward Jerusalem to die. Jesus has been living inside me for over 50 years and I can say confidently: The answer is Jesus and a Spirit filled life of prayer. I am praying with you for the Bridger generation to come to Jesus and let the Spirit of Jesus live inside them.
Thank you Gladys! You are right. Many teens see Jesus on the outside, and someone they have to please more than someone that loves them unconditionally.
Thanks for praying with us, that the power of God will transform this generation!
Nate - tragic but true this numbers are real. Ironically, I liked the pic of the ship tossed at sea. It sadly depicts many in ministry who have lost focus that our sole mission is still for lost souls. May we as youth pastors, helpers and Christians get back to reaching out to those hurting and dying without Christ. The greatest way to grow a youth group is get folks excited about Jesus and leading the lost to our Lord. When we make much of Jesus - we will no longer be a ship without a sail.
Frank, it burdens my heart so much to see so many teens wandering, like you said, like a ship without a sail. They’re doing everything they can think of to try to be happy, but they’re only finding hopelessness without Christ.