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TechnoratiORLANDO, Fla. – Leaders of church denominations, along with youth pastors and parachurch organizational leaders, gathered to brainstorm ways to keep college students from falling away from the Christian faith and how to correct the dysfunctions in youth ministry.
Mission America and the National Network of Youth Ministries – two large American networks of churches, youth ministries, and parachurch organizations – convened the meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Fla., from Jan. 11-12.
"A significant majority of our church's youth are leaving the foundations of their faith when they transition from High school," said Paul Fleischmann, president of the National Network of Youth Ministries.
Researchers found between 69-94 percent of Christian youths forsake their faith after leaving high school. The Barna Group reported 64 percent loss after college graduation. The Assemblies of God conducted a 10-year study and found 75 percent loss of their students within one year of high school graduation, while the Southern Baptists found that number to be even higher at 88 percent loss. And Josh McDowell Ministries reports 94 percent fallout within two years of high school graduation.
“After three decades of working with teenagers, we feel like we've done something in our lifetime," said Fleischmann. "Yet, to come out and realize that after all the work, effort, and growing, to think that over 50 percent and maybe as high as 88 percent, are leaving [faith behind] when they leave our church youth group is just depressing."
"My heart is broken," said Jeff Schadt, a major organizer of the event, after interviewing 120 college students on film about their college experiences. "It was jumped up and down on as I saw the wreckage and the scars that were being created in our youth's lives.
Student after student, he said, broke down and cried about the scars they carried with them from falling into deep sins in wanting to make friends.
“First couple of days, I’ll be honest, they were crazy. I was probably drunk half of them. I wanted to fit in,” said one student from Arizona, Laurie (last name withheld). “I didn’t know anyone.”
“Eventually in all this mess, I was sexually assaulted, and that throws you down really deep. And you go, ‘God, what am I doing? How did I get in this situation? How did I put myself here?’” she cried. “And I went home so broken for Christmas.”
A pilot study conducted by Fuller Theological Seminary was presented during the meeting. Only 69 questionnaires were returned of the 234 that were sent out to students.
Results found that 100 percent of the youth group graduates used alcohol, 69 percent (nearly seven out of ten) had a sexual encounter, and 20 percent had 20 or more sexual encounters in the last twelve months.
The study also found, however, that the greater their faith maturity, the less likely the students were to engage in risky behavior.
A meeting in April 2005 of youth leaders found six problems contributing to youth fallout, the first of which is youth culture.
"MTV and everything else is creating wounds and destruction in our children's lives that's so much greater in this generation than in previous ones," said Fleischmann. Continue »
