Every year I look at the photos of the graduating seniors in the newspaper. I look at each school and each student carefully and I wonder . . .
Single-A schools or private schools may have as few as 50 graduating seniors while big schools like Franklin County might have 500 seniors. But in total there are a LOT of high school students.
Every year as I look at their senior photos, I ask myself, how many of these young teens are Christ followers? How many of them have joy? How many have hope? How many are plugged into a healthy church? Youth group? Young Life?
I can tell you the percentage is small and shrinking. While teens don’t have a label on their forehead that says if they are a Christ follower (Christian) or not and there is no SOL test to determine if they have joy, there are indicators.
Facebook is a good one. Amazing the pain and brokenness these teens share freely. Because I have had children in the school systems, coached and pastored here for over 25 years, I know a lot of teens. My best guess is that less than 15% of the graduating seniors have a personal relationship with Christ, are plugged into any type of regular corporate worship and have joy.
I do not raise this to bash the high school students. No way. I love high schools kids. I say this to stir up some HOLY dissatisfaction in our local churches and church members.
Rather than spending money on non-essentials like $400,000 + organs, $200,000 bell towers, $50,000 columbariums, $20,000 on labyrinths, $2,000 on flowers a year, what if we were to raise and invest that same money for making disciples of high school friends?
What if we had enough love to scream, “It is not OK with us that 85% of the teens in our own backyard do not have a relationship with Christ.” Not on our watch!
Most high school students, like their parents, are like “sheep without a shepherd” wandering in search of real purpose, hope and joy. Whether they admit it or not, many are suffering under the weight of sin. They want to be cleansed of their sin and know to stop falling in the same old “pits.” They want to serve the God who created them. Bottom line, they are hoping there is something or someone better.
My church does not have it all figured out but we do have a heart for high school friends. So we have put money, time and energy into loving on high school kids and discipling them.
We are investing over $50k into the ministry of Young Life in Roanoke, Franklin County, Floyd County, Salem (Capernaum), Straight Street, Acts 2 and Teen Challenge. We are investing a bit more than that in our church budget to have a full time youth pastor and a team of mission minded lay leaders who regularly reach teens, bring them into weekly small groups and into the church family.
Even so, we are not reaching enough teens. Rather than settle, we are hiring two new “20 somethings” to be our missionaries to the 85% of the students within a stone’s throw of us that we are not currently reaching.
Don’t compare your budget to ours. Yours may be higher or lower. That is not the point. The point is Christ has sent His followers out with the GREAT Commission. He tells us to GO. In the case of high school kids, He says, GO LOVE THEM, GO GET THEM, GO DISCIPLE THEM and GO BAPTIZE THEM.
It is not like it is an onerous task. Actually we are blessed in this mission. Teenagers are amazing friends to have. I want them as my brothers and sisters in Christ now.
What are you going to do?
+Quigg Lawrence
Dr. R. Quigg Lawrence is an Anglican Bishop and the Senior Pastor at Church of the Holy Spirit located at 6011 Merriman Road in Roanoke. Visit them on the web at www.coths.org
