The evidence supporting this charge is both overwhelming and damning. As I wrote last week, less than one percent of professing Christians aged 18-23 possess the very basics of a Christian worldview. Droves of young people are leaving the church; countless numbers of young evangelicals—ill equipped—are being morally and spiritually decimated upon entering the university. The moral conduct of young evangelicals is barely distinguishable from their unchurched counterparts. And very few can articulate any doctrines remotely related to historic orthodox Christianity.

The travesty exists in the fact that among church leadership, this isn’t new news. Countless studies documenting these facts have been published and available for years. In 2004, sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton conducted the largest study ever documenting the vacuous religious beliefs of young people. So discordant were the theological beliefs of young professing Christians that the researchers coined the phrase, “moralistic therapeutic deism” to describe the practice and belief of this generation. The results were published in the popular book Soul Searching, receiving widespread acclaim. A documentary-style film version followed, which was distributed to thousands of churches.

In regards to moral conduct, Christianity Today reported in 2003, “Specific studies of sexual trends among Christian teens have been limited, but all indications are that, on average, there is little difference between their sexual behavior and that of non-Christian youths…” (Jennifer Parker, Christianity Today, “The Sex Lives of Christians,” Mar/Apr 2003). In 2007, Mark Regenerus, a sociologist and Christian, published Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teens. Regenerus’s study confirmed earlier findings, adding that evangelical teens may actually be having premarital sex at younger ages and more frequently than their nonevangelical counterparts. Barna’s research on a range of moral and ethical questions also reveals little or no difference between Christian and non-Christian youth.

Again, this isn’t news to anyone involved in youth ministry, and yet there appears to be little in the way of serious self-examination resulting in new strategies designed to remedy this deplorable condition. The emphasis still favors entertainment-based strategies designed to attract youth through big-event evangelism, celebrity testimonies, concerts, and pizza parties—but teaching them nothing of substance.

I’ve talked with numerous youth pastors who grieve over the state of the youth in their charge but concede that they are under pressure from church leadership to “keep the numbers up.” These young leaders confess that if they simply sat down to exegete and teach the scriptures, their numbers would likely drop and thus would be sure to end their career in ministry. Where are the senior pastors, youth leaders, men and women willing to say enough? Are we willing to see the crowds diminish in order to reveal those earnest followers receptive to intensive discipleship? What is worse? Leading masses to believe that because they play dodgeball in church on Sunday night they are followers of Christ—or making disciples out of small but committed groups of young people who are serious about following Christ?

© 2009 by S. Michael Craven

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