Pay Attention!

Although I don't normally jump on the negative press bandwagon, an article I read on USA Today is one we should give close attention. "Forget the Pizza Parties" written by Cathy Lynn Grossman & Stephanie Steinburg has some alarming statistics.

The opening line of the article says, "Bye-Bye Church. We're busy..." This is the message that teens around America are sending the church. The numbers tells us that only 1 in 4 teens participate in church youth groups and they have been basically telling us this since 1999. The youth attendance is also low in areas of prayer, reading the Bible, and going to church according to Barna Group. With numbers this staggering, shouldn't we be asking some serious questions? Are we paying attention?

Folks, the days of Pizza Blasts are over! We used to have a saying in youth ministry (back in my day!) - "Whatever you do to get the youth there is what you have to do to keep them there." But what do you do when the pizza isn't getting them there? How do you reach the next generation when their lives seem to be just as busy as the adults? The answer may surprise you.

Chris Palmer is a Youth Pastor at Ironbridge Baptist Church in Chester, VA. He has discovered that the youth in his area have responded to a message that "real church, centered on Jesus Christ, is hard work." He says that the youth he works with want to be involved in something radical and exciting. {REALLY???} Thom Rainer, Lifeway, says that young people "don't want superficiality" In other words church, the youth of today want something real. They want REAL experiences in their faith. They want REAL teaching from God's Word. They want REAL involvement in the things of God. They aren't looking at being entertained but they do want some excitement in their faith...something radical.

The question is whether or not we will use this information to change the way we reach out to the young people in our communities (and in our churches) or will we simply sit back and blame the lack of involvement on lazy parents, lazy students, and their sinful natures? When will we stop an look at what we are doing and what we are not doing? For many of these young people they have only witnessed a shell of a church. Everything that happens is the result of great planning, smooth operation, and proper presentation. For many of these young people the boldest thing they have done in their faith is try to sell t-shirts to raise money for camp, handle hot food for a bake sale, or stand in the blazing heat to wash cars. When will we begin treating them like Jesus treated His disciples? Why not place kingdom principles within them and allow them to venture out in their faith? If they are saved, they have the same Holy Spirit inside of them that we do and we know that He is capable to bringing them into something radical and exciting.

What I think we are seeing in today's youth culture is the shunning of the outward appearance. It's not enough that we have "Family Life Centers" with gymnasiums, a cool church van, and a youth pastor that dresses like them. They don't come to Jesus to play basketball, ride in a van/bus, or to hang with the youth pastor anyway. They come to Jesus because of the promise of a greater existence than what they had before. They come to Jesus because they know He is able to do something radical and real in their life. After they get saved the radical experience shouldn't be over. Salvation should just be the first experience with a radical God! Let's get REAL with these young people and we will see some REAL changes in the results.