Good Ol’ School Days
Yesterday was a fun day at church as we honored about a dozen of our High Schoolers who are graduating this year. Every year John and Susie and their team put together a really awesome video of the kids as their parents parade them up front while John and Susie read all of their accomplishments in school and youth group and community endeavors etc. It’s always cool to hear the great things the kids do.
Then we’re off to the city in a limo where we pig out at Carmine’s famous Italian restaurant. I mean how many cannolis can one man eat anyway? (let me give you hint – several!)
Anyway, as I spent time with these great kids….this year I had something running through my mind the whole day. “How many of them will be lost to the faith?” Now why in the world would I even go there? Here’s why. I had just come from meeting with our General Superintendent Dr. George Wood. (what an awesome man) In the meetings he shared one of the great burdens of his heart was how many kids are lost to Christian faith after they leave High School. Check this out…. First of all we need to understand that of this Mosaic generation – about 60 million of them in our nation…only 3 million of them have any concept of a Biblical world-view. So right off the bat – keeping them in the faith is going to be a challenge.
Now according to Dr. Wood – who uses three sources for info. First, the AG church ACMR which reports all these facts straight from the churches; second the research of George Barna, and third the research of David Olson.
So here is what blew me away… first let me say this is only among kids in AG churches – but our retention rate is as high or higher than any other group. Please understand – of the 60,000 High School seniors in AG churches graduating this June – only 4% of those will go to one of the 19 AG colleges. Now here is the staggering fact. There is solid data that of students who go to public colleges – 60% - 70% of them will stop going to church and eventually abandon their Christian faith by the time they graduate college!
Parents – beware. By the way this is not an endorsement for Christian Colleges – but Dr. Wood investigated the drop-out rate of the college he graduated from – Evangel University in Springfield – and 93% of the students who attended there are still serving the Lord – over 20% of them are in some aspect of ministry.
So here’s the deal – as I sat eating dinner with the students last night I could not help but continually; silently shoot up prayers for them…”Oh God somehow – protect these kids from the influences of the world and lies of the enemy. How about joining me in that prayer?
By the way – Dr. Wood is working on a comprehensive strategy to reverse the things I just discussed. PTL.
