What do these statistics mean? They mean that the current practice of student ministry has marginalized success. It means the universal Church isn’t having a lasting impact on this generation of teenagers. We might get them to attend camp or Wednesday night Bible study, but we are losing them in young adulthood.

So clearly, we must change. But how and what will it look like? Kyle has learned five key things from his research:

 1. Students now, more than ever, are abandoned. We have become a society of the self-absorbed. As a society, we have stopped taking the time to help one another and solely look to the advancement of our own goals. (See Chap Clark, Hurt, 2002 for more explanation). Not every person is this way, but it is the majority view of our culture. As a result, teens are lost without adult guidance. This causes them emotional pain, lack of coping skills, and lack of social capital. As a result, they have looked to their own for uninformed guidance and self-centered advice on how to live. (Not surprisingly, God stated this in Proverbs 22:15) In order to stop this process from repeating every generation, adults have to genuinely care for teenagers. This is critical to the ministry of our church. If students don’t know adults care for them, they will not listen to any message.

2. Statistically speaking, the average caring adult can only significantly impact 5 to 8 students per year. It doesn’t matter if the adult is a teacher, a youth minister, or a coach. Because of this, it is very important that we increase the number of adults that students interact with while they are at church. God never intended one or two people to care for the spiritual well-being of others. The principles behind this are found in Ephesians 4:11-13.

3. Additional research shows that 3 to 5 caring adults can insulate a student from negative social effects (divorced home, abuse, poverty, etc.) Knowing that we can make a difference, the goal should be to surround every student that enters the door of FBC with at least five adults who will genuinely care.

4. There is a huge difference between faith education and faith transmission. Faith education teaches knowledge and comprehension about faith. (The Bible has 66 books, Jesus lived in Galilee, etc.) Churches do this very well. But faith education does not lead to changed lives. In contrast, faith transmission is a person passionately in love with Christ producing others who are passionately in love with Christ, who in turn also produce others who love Christ. As it turns out, the most effective way to transmit faith is by surrounding an individual with people who are passionate followers of Christ.

5. The most effective people at transmitting spiritual truth to teenagers are their parents. The spiritual impact of parents on their teenagers is greater than the impact than any other adult could have on their teenager. No wonder God instructed parents to be the primary source of spiritual education to their children. (Deut 6:4-9) Parents have the most impact and influence!