Through research and more importantly, the leadership of the Holy Spirit, it is imperative that adults (plural) not an adult (singular) be the main connection between the church and students in our community. The universal Church has done good things with youth ministry. But the good it has done is broad and scattered. Consider the current state of youth ministry in America:
Student Retention Rates –
61% of young adults now in their twenties used to go to church as teens but not longer do -- TIME, Oct 31, 2006.
A study from UCLA found that only 29% of those who were raise Christian attended church activities by their junior year. -- abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1375842&page=1.
Even Lifeway has stated “an overwhelming majority of children from evangelical families are leaving the church as they enter adulthood” -- “Lord Send Your Holy Spirit,” SBC Annual Meeting, Prepared by the Executive Committee of the SBC, 2007, pg 78.
Depending on what research your read, 58-84% of graduating youth from church youth groups are not returning and will not return to church. -- Mark Mattlock Youth Workers Journal May/June 2006.
Student Pastor Tenure –
The average tenure for a youth pastor is 3.1 years. Less than 8% of YM stay ten years or more. Why is this important? Because relationships take time, building a community of faith takes time. Right now, with so much emphasis place on a single individual for the spiritual health of teenagers, youth ministers are not taking the time to matter to students. -- Associations of Youth Ministry Educators Survey, 2002.
Student Baptism Rates –
In 1971, the churches in the SBC baptized 130,000 students. Since then, there has been a steady decline to 2006 where the number dropped to 79,000. During those thirty-five years, the population of the United States grew by 100,000,000. Last year, 23,000 SBC churches baptized zero teenagers.
-- Baptism information taken from NAMB as reported in Baptist Press “Baptisms are Down Amid Growth,” Russ Rankin, April 17, 2007. Population taken from Wikipedia.org.
“Over the preceding twenty years the number of full-time youth pastors has grown dramatically and a plethora of magazines, music, and ideas aimed at youth had been birthed along the way. Meanwhile, during that same time span, the numbers of young people won to Christ dropped at about as fast a rate….If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting what we’re getting.” --Alvin Reid, Raising the Bar, 38-39.
Student Bible Literacy –
You would think with as many Bible studies that are available to teenagers that teens would have a vast knowledge of the Bible, God, and theology. Research shows this is not the case.
The following eye-opening statistics came from one national survey of Christian teenagers:
63% of self-identified Christians don’t believe Jesus is the Son of God
58% said all faiths are equally valid
51% don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead
65% said Satan isn’t real
68% said the Holy Spirit isn’t real
Another study of teenagers (70% who attended church youth group and 82% identified themselves as Christians) found similar results as the survey above:
63% said all faiths serve same god
87% said Jesus was real and 78% believe Jesus was born of a virgin.
But 46% say Jesus sinned and 51% say he didn’t rise from dead
-- Josh McDowell, Beyond Belief to Convictions, 9
One of the many alarming things revealed by the 2005 National Study of Youth and Religion was that most students can talk openly about God but seem quite perplexed when it comes to even talking about Jesus, let alone explaining who He is or what He has done.
-- Christian Smith, Soul Searching, pg 267.