50% of the world’s population is under the age of 25. That amounts to over 3,000,000,000 people! There are more than one billion teenagers in the world, with 34 million in the U.S. alone. These are staggering numbers. Were you aware that 95% of all believers in Christ are saved before age 21? And yet the average church spends about 2% of its budget to reach teens for Christ, and less than 2% to reach pre-teens. We’re doing a little better than that here at Westmoreland with roughly 5% of our budget going toward children and youth ministries, but that is still woefully short. Children and youth must become a focal point of our ministry.
Did you know that John Calvin was a pastor at age 17? George Whitfield preached to great crowds by age 21… Charles H. Spurgeon was a well known preacher by age 16 and pastored London’s great Metropolitan Tabernacle by age 20…Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were probably 21 or younger when they made their stand. Jerry Falwell was 22 when he founded Thomas Road Baptist Church. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s richest men was once known as the “boy wonder”. Just look at the impact the boy king, Josiah, had in bringing a nation back to God. Young people need Jesus. Furthermore, young people have in the past, and still can, can impact their world for Christ.
Our church must reach children and students for Christ. If ever there were “sheep having no shepherd” the lost young people of our community and nation fit that example. We must be moved with compassion as Jesus was! You see, there is a lost generation under 25 years of age. The problem is a spiritual one. All around us we see examples of youth violence, youth depression and despair, youth without a moral compass. Satan makes a full frontal assault on values, he uses music, entertainment, video games, the Internet, and peer pressure. This is enhanced by lack of parental care, concern, and discipline. We have a lost generation of teens, the pre-teens are right behind them, and precious little children are beginning to walk the same path.
Gun control laws, security cameras, metal detectors, and drug dogs are not the answer. This is a Satanic attack and it is spiritual warfare manifesting itself in the “gothic culture”, violent movies and games, ungodly music and entertainment, easy pornographic Internet access and chat rooms, and simply a lack of a moral compass. But friends, there is a solution. We must be aware of the problem. We must pay attention to the things to whicour children are exposed. Here are some solutions:
- Pray for childrden and students
- Seek to win children and young people to Christ
- Bring them hope and disciple them in the Word!
- Seek to win their parents to Christ
- Parents must take responsibility and take control, but exercising loving discipline, being the right kind of role model, and by letting the public schools know that we support fair and responsible discipline policies.
Above all we must teach our children Biblical values - that is the job of the family and church, not the schools!
My prayer is that our parents will take the lead. Like Joshua of old. Let us say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I pray that Westmoreland Baptist Church will redouble its efforts to win children and young people to Christ. We rejoice along with the Angels in Heaven when any adult comes to Jesus, but remember that 95% of all believers are saved before age 21. That shows the urgency of child and youth evangelism. We must not let a single child “fall through the cracks” because the alternative is an eternity without hope for our precious children.
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