All this week we’re looking at barriers to lasting faith and the reality that far too many kids are leaving high school, home, and church, then heading off to college and walking away from their faith. Pastor Jon Nielson believes that one of the foundational reasons for this is that our kids have not been converted to the faith. Nielson says that we all too often settle for our kids being nominal Christians or pretty good kids. In Second Corinthians five seventeen, Paul tells us that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. Salvation is a miracle that comes from the glorious power of God through the working of the Holy Spirit. Nielson believes that we need to stop being pleased with attendance at youth group and retreats. Instead, we need to get back to a focus on conversion and trust God’s Spirit to bring about change as we preach, teach, and talk to our kids. Converted kids are hungry to know God’s Word. Converted kids go on to love Jesus and serve the Church.

Several years ago here at CPYU we began what we call our College Transition Initiative. This initiative was our response to the concern parents, youth workers, and pastors were expressing regarding the growing percentage of youth group kids who had been raised in Christian homes, but had then gone off to college and pushed either the pause or stop buttons on their faith. It was as if they were jettisoning everything they had learned while growing up, in order to live what’s now seen as a normal college life void of Christian commitment. We realized that perhaps we aren’t nurturing or discipling young people correctly, leaving them with a mutation of the Christian faith that at the very least is just an ad-on to the rest of life, or at the very worst not even Christian faith at all. Parents, we are called to nurture our children and teens in the faith, teaching them the truths of God’s word and trusting God’s spirit to change their hearts. Stick with us all week, as we look at barriers to lasting faith.

Several of my youth worker friends are reporting that many kids in their youth groups are feeling increased loneliness. The data supports this growing widespread epidemic of loneliness. God has made us for relationships, and when the pressures of life, the breakdown of the family, over-scheduling, and increased time focused on screens combine, it's a perfect storm resulting in feeling alone. Sadly, Common Sense Media reports that three in four teenagers are now using AI for companionship. And, in an effort to find emotional and mental health support, many are relying on non-human chatbots to counsel and guide them through their struggles. Common Sense Media has issued this stern warning: “Teens should not use AI chatbots for mental health or emotional support. AI chatbots are not safe and reliable for these purposes.” Parents, our kids need real flesh and blood relationships, starting with you. That is the first step in stemming the tide of teen loneliness.