Why are we losing the younger generation?

This question has been discussed over and over again on blogs from several ABA ministers, as well as SBC experts, as well as church planting/growth gurus on CNN.

Some who examine this question are close to nailing the issue, while others miss the point altogether.

If you really want to know why we lose so many young people when they leave for college, it would help to think like an 18-year old. Such is not too difficult, as most of us have been 18 at one time in our lives.

In May 1996, I graduated high school. I spent the summer working for my grandfather who maintained a cemetery. I also attended summer classes at Jacksonville College. (I had actually been attending Jacksonville College since the summer prior to my senior year in high school. I graduated from high school as a college sophomore).

I eagerly anticipated the arrival of August, as I had landed a full scholarship to join Kilgore College's nationally ranked debate team. August rolled around, and I packed my stuff into my 1983 Ford F-150, and took off down State Highway 135 from Jacksonville to Kilgore.

All I kept thinking was "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I'm free at last."

I arrived at Kilgore College, checked in with the dorm supervisor, registered for classes and unpacked. I sat in my room, taking it all in, then I hit the town. I had money, freedom, no curfew, no accounting for where I had been, and I took full advantage of that freedom that night (No innuendos intended... I stayed out late going to restaurants and hanging out at the mall).

I quickly made friends with some of the other guys at the dorm. I had a chance ot reinvent myself from the awkward Leland of Jacksonville to super cool Leland of Kilgore.

I missed church that Wednesday... then again Sunday. Wednesday, I was out with my new friends. Sunday, I slept in.

This behavior continued on through that year at Kilgore. Why would I want to go to church? I wanted to be with my friends. I wanted to be cool. Not that going to church wasn't cool... it's just my friends were not at church.

I graduated Kilgore after that year and transferred to Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. While I continued to "reinvent" myself, and my lifestyle had gotten worse, I managed to stay in contact with God's people through the Association of Baptist Students (ABS).

The ABS was the Baptist Missionary Association's student ministry, much like our MBSF (Missionary Baptist Student Fellowship). It was a beautiful thing. I made friends there, some who were quirkier than me.

Church attendance was still almost non-existant... as I had other things to do. Wednesdays, I was out with my non-Christian friends. Sundays, I had taken an airshift at a local radio station. (Church was good, but I had a career to build).

Still, there was the ABS... Fellowship night on Tuesday where we went putt-putting, bowling, or even better, out to eat... and Bible study on Thursday.

Over time, I drew closer to my Christian friends at the ABS. They even provided me with refuge when I needed it. Slowly but surely, I began to clean up my life and began to think about my relationship with God (which unbeknownst to me at the time, was non-existant.) I still messed up, but the ABS was always there to welcome me back, rebuke me, encourage me, teach me and nurture me.

It was through the ABS that I eventually went to University Baptist Church in Nacogdoches. It was there I met Jessica, my southern Californian beauty.

It was through her loving patience that I came to know Christ as my Savior.

Where would I be without the patient ministering of the ABS director and the students he worked with? Only God knows.

Why are we losing the younger generations? Two reasons.

1. We have lost the ability to think like them. I've heard it said if you want to catch fish, you have to think like a fish. To catch the youth, we have to think like the youth. Young people (18-24) have a newly found freedom. They don't want to come to church (like their parents may have made them). Church dampens their freedom. They have to get up Sunday morning, miss time with friends Wednesday evening, and there are rules to follow, expectations to be met (you know, don't drink, smoke, party, etc). I'm not saying that the way we do church is wrong... University didn't alter its Sunday morning worship schedule or format to accomodate me. We just have to realize what is important to young people and work within that.

Young people want their freedom and friends. The thing that drew me to ABS was not the praise band (they didn't have one), it was the friendships. We should find ways to minister to young people to foster this level of fellowship.

2. We aren't where they are! More young people go to college now than ever before... almost to the point that college is being referred to in some circles as the new high school. Some students go to four-year institutions right out of high school. Some go to community college. Some go to vocational schools. Right now, in Texas, I think there are four or five MBSF's on college campuses. There is West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas A&M in College Station, Texas Tech in Lubbock... that's all I can name off the top of my head.

I'm told there is one at SFA, but it must be dormant because when I went to school there (1997-99) and when I have since visited, there is no evidence of such an organization on campus.

I have heard the one at UT-Tyler is no longer in existence... but it may just be that they don't have a director.

Why are we losing young people? Because when they go to college, they are no longer required to go to an ABA church. Their parents aren't there to make them go, and we're not there to minister to them.

If a church decides to rectify this and start an MBSF, they'll wind up going it alone as many churches and pastors in our associated work see little value in supporting a college ministry. After-all, their thinking is that it won't produce a self-supporting New Testament church, therefore it isn't mission work.

What they fail to see is the number of students answer the call to preach while in college and attending an MBSF, how many go on to be missionaries, and how many are saved. You want to send the Gospel into all the world? Send it to college, where the people are there for a few years being equipped so they can go into all the world.

(The guy who first invited me to ABS is now teaching English in South Korea. That was after he starred in some independent films in San Jose, California. Nothing bad, I assure you.)

I'm not trying to be the expert here, nor am I trying to revolutionize the ministries of the ABA. I certainly don't have all the answers. My goal here was to share my story (as I was a youth who fell out of church in college), and share some thoughts on possible solutions.

I also wanted to advocate the idea of supporting and starting new MBSF works in Texas. Starting an MBSF is simple... usually you need three students to be recognized as an official campus organization. Some campuses require the student leadership to attend a training seminar, some require that the organization have a university employee designated as a sponsor.

You will probably be able to find three students on any given campus in Texas with Missionary Baptist backgrounds. (University of Texas, enrollment 150,000; SFA, enrollment 12,000).

Getting the official campus organization designation opens university facilities for meetings and functions, and opens the door to advertise on campus.

The benefits to an MBSF are immeasureable. MBSFs in Arkansas are thriving, sending their students on missions trips to the Navajo reservation, as well as some going overseas. Many of these students surrender to the ministry and go on to be pastors and missionaries. We'll never know the benefit of that.

These are just some thoughts that I have. I welcome any discussion, and won't be offended if there isn't any.