It's no secret that many Christian parents struggle to effectively pass along their Christian convictions to their kids. That's why the large majority of our youth are completely inarticulate about the most basic tenets of Christianity. Sadly, many youth ministries don't offer much help in training our students. Of course, this is a serious challenge to the church as we watch the emerging generation head for the exits.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the problem: the aggressive false ideas of a secular culture and the resulting intellectual skepticism in our youth, insane levels of media saturation, biblical illiteracy among students, and a host of other reasons. And for good measure, here are a few more reasons (actually 10).
Faced with the daunting task of raising kids amidst such challenges, the parental impulse to over-protect is strong. "It's a big bad world out there, so hide the kids in the basement. For the rest of their lives." Yeah, that approach won't do. Even though we're not called to be of the world, we're still called to be in it. Hiding out is not an option, so let me suggest a different strategy: don't isolate your kids, inoculate them. Protection is appropriate at certain stages, but it can't be our overall strategy. Instead, we must be proactive. We must equip our kids with the truth so they're not taken captive by false ideas (Colossians 2:8). But how? What can we do? What practical steps do we need to take?
Well, this Thursday night, April 24th, at 7:00 pm (Pacific Time), I'll try to help layout a practical strategy and answer your questions. "How To Train Your Kids" is a free online training event to help parents, youth leaders, pastors and Christian educators equip their students with the truth. You can join the discussion several different ways:
- Watch and ask questions on Google+
- Watch and ask questions on YouTube
- Watch and ask questions on the STR Blog
- Ask questions via Twitter, using the hashtag #STRask
I'm in this battle right alongside you, have been for the last 20 years. I spent 11 years as a youth pastor in Southern California and in Colorado. I also have five kids of my own, ages 19, 12, 11, 6, and 2. I've made my share of mistakes, and I've also learned a lot along the way. I hope to offer some practical strategies that I've used with my youth groups and with my own kids. So let's talk this Thursday night. I hope you'll join us!
*Note: This live video event will take the place of our normal weekly challenge question.
Will this be available afterwards as well? I can't make it on Thursday, but would love to listen in later.
Posted by: Kyle | April 22, 2014 at 08:45 PM