Church Youth

According to Josh McDowel's research on "Christian" youth…63% do not believe that Jesus is the son of the one true God, 58% believe that all faiths teach equally valid truths, 51% don't' believe that Jesus rose from the dead, 68% don't believe that the Holy Spirit is a real entity and 65% do not believe that Satan is real. As a matter of fact, he found only a 4% difference in the attitudes and actions of professing Christian youth and non-Christian youth.

What should this tell us as a church? I believe that it should tell us that we need to stop segregating the youth from the adults and stop expecting Youth Pastors who have very little experience or knowledge to replace the Senior Pastor in young people's lives. I think that far too many well-meaning churches are placing way too much responsibility on the youth pastors. Yes, there is a place for youth ministries. They should be places where youth can meet, have fun and fellowship, but they should not replace the opportunity for them to worship with their families and sit under the teaching of their senior pastor.