USA, January 12, 2006: (HPI note: The disaffection of youth for religion is a cross-cultural phenomenon.) A story in the Christian Post details how leaders of church denominations, youth pastors and parachurch organizational leaders gathered to brainstorm ways to keep college students from falling away from the Christian faith and how to correct the dysfunctions in youth ministry. Mission America and the National Network of Youth Ministries convened the January 11-12 meeting in Orlando. “A significant majority of our church’s youth are leaving the foundations of their faith when they transition from high school,” said Paul Fleischmann, president of the National Network of Youth Ministries. Research has shown that 69-94 percent of Christian youths forsake their faith after high school, while one study by the Southern Baptist Convention found that 88 percent of youth are leaving the Church. A pilot study of 69 college students conducted by Fuller Theological Seminary was presented during the meeting. Results found that 100 percent of the youth group graduates had since used alcohol. The study also found, however, that the greater their faith maturity, the less likely the students were to engage in risk behaviors. Fleischmann cited youth culture, a lack of parental involvement, and biblical illiteracy as major contributors to the issues at hand.
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