The Stories of the 60%
Julie
Julie grew up in a Christian home and attended a Christian grade school and high school. She also went to her church’s youth ministry regularly. Julie was a great student that loved music and theatre. Excelling in academics was a top priority in her family so they were all thrilled for her to be heading to a prestigious university. Despite the encouragement of her youth pastor to find Christian friends by getting involved at the campus ministry, Julie found a group of friends with the motto of work hard, play hard. As she routinely went to parties, Julie started to drift from her faith. She soon started to “discover herself” and decided that her parents’ faith just wasn’t for her. She was successful, confident, and having plenty of fun without Jesus. In fact, the more she talked with her friends and listened to professors, the more she realized how foolish and even hateful it was to believe in what the Bible taught. Julie graduated from college and is now engaged to a man who is an unbeliever. She has spent the last few months traveling the world with him. Julie is one of the 60%. Will your daughter be Julie?
Jared
Jared grew up in a blended family. He went to church most weeks and attended Christian grade school and high school. Yet, his parents were not very strong in their faith, so God and the Bible were never mentioned at home. He knew that Jesus was his Savior, but he, like his parents, looked to the things of this world for his purpose and happiness. Jared’s real love in life was sports and his life was dedicated to them. He spent all his free time training, playing, and watching sports. His athletic abilities and good looks together with an outgoing personality made him one of the popular kids. Dating one girl after another, Jared was constantly looking for validation and love from the girls he dated. After high school, Jared attended a public college where he continued playing sports and quickly joined the other team members at the party scene. He also found a steady girlfriend for the first time. He recently graduated college, rented an apartment with his girlfriend, and is striving to establish a career. Jared stopped attending church as soon as he got to college and still doesn’t attend. His life has no sign of Jesus in it. Jared is one of the 60%. Will your son be Jared?
Susan
Susan grew up in a happy Christian family. She attended Christian grade school and high school. Susan loved athletics and thrived in high school sports where she was known for her hardworking, go-getter attitude. Her parents loved this trait and complimented her drive. While Susan was happy to work hard for what she wanted, she was never taught how to use her God-given talents to serve others. Susan’s life was all about Susan. After high school, she entered the work force and landed a good paying job. She started skipping church because she could make good money working on Sunday mornings. Susan soon began to love the higher end things in life and spent lots of money on new clothes, technology, and entertainment. She found friends who lived the same way. Her faith, which she still claimed was important to her, had little to no impact on her day-to-day life. Susan soon met a guy who promised her the world. He was not a Christian, but he had all the things that really held Susan’s heart: money and possessions, status, and he lived to fulfill her every want. Eventually he left Susan, which left her broken, lost, and still searching for what is going to make “her” happy in life. She is unhappy and doesn’t realize that her life is far from the true life that Jesus offers her. Susan is one of the 60%. Will your daughter be Susan?
PAUL
Paul’s family attended church pretty regularly. He also went to Christian grade school. However, at home their faith had very little impact on their day-to-day life. No one prayed, read the Bible, or talked about God. Paul attended youth ministry for a few years in early high school, but stopped going once he had a car and job. At his public high school, where evolution and atheism were taught as fact, Paul started to question the accuracy of the Bible. He had never been taught Christian apologetics and didn’t know enough of the Bible to feel confident in his faith. Paul grew to believe that science contradicted Christianity. Jesus already had very little part in his life, except for imposing his “rules” on him, so he embraced a life without God. He no longer goes to church. Paul feels like his life is missing something so you’ll find him continually trying to champion some new cause or group of people. Despite his efforts to find his purpose and identity, Paul finds himself feeling empty and unfulfilled. Paul is one of the 60%. Will your son be Paul?
There is hope for the next generation!
We don’t have to sit idly by as our young people walk away from their Savior who loves them so much. We’ve been given true life in Jesus and our kids need to see that. Learn how you can fight back for the next generation!