Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Cold Case Christianity

Christian Case Making

Christian Case Makers: Young People Ought to Be Our Jury

Every year I have the honor of speaking to students and youth pastors at the RETHINK Apologetics ConferencesStand to Reason has been hosting these conferences for several years now; they provide us with the opportunity to reach hundreds of young people in a single setting. When I speak to youth leaders at these events, I am struck by the fact that these pastors and ministers are doing the most important work in the church. As Christian case makers, we ought to join them and realize that young people are our most critical and important audience.

Young People Are the Most Culturally Engaged
If you’re reading this and you’re a parent over 35, I bet I can ask you a number of questions related to the culture that will challenge you. What’s the most popular video on YouTube? What’s the most popular set of lyrics on the iTunes Top 20? What’s the most popular series on HULU or Netflix? More importantly, what are the messages that these media sources are conveying to the culture? While adults are often too consumed by their responsibilities and the steady rhythm of their lives to pay attention to the daily twists and turns of the culture, young people are listening. They get it, even when we don’t. To make matters worse, they’re using technology to consume this steady cultural smorgasbord. I bet you’re not texting, Snapchatting, or Instagramming at the rate your kids are. While older folks are just getting comfortable with Facebook, young people are already moving on to the next greatest technological phenomena. The culture targets young people like no other group, and young Christians are technologically savvy enough to devour what is being offered.

Young People Are the Most Challenged
As a result, young Christians are more likely to be challenged when it comes to their worldview, particularly when the Christian worldview under attack asks them to deny themselves, resist the hedonistic influences of the world, and take the higher, more difficult road. The university experience only exacerbates this challenge. Adults typically start careers and align themselves with like-minded social groups. After a few years, we find ourselves in a place where our worldview is largely unchallenged. Young Christians, on the other hand, enter into a university environment where they are far more likely to be surrounded my differing worldviews and challenged aggressively. While parents are home in the safety of the communities they’ve created for themselves, young people are struggling in communities created by people who largely reject our values. We’re safe while our kids are at risk.

Young People Are the Most Likely to Leave
The statistics demonstrate the consequence of this challenge. Young people are leaving the Church. Regardless of survey or source organization, the statistics are troubling. 60-80% of college freshman who claim to be Christian will walk away from Christianity by the time they are college seniors. No other age group within the Church is more likely to leave. People my age aren’t leaving; young people are leaving. And when surveyed, most young ex-Christians report the primary reason they rejected Christianity was simply because they no longer believed it to be true. They had intellectual doubt that could not be resolved by the Christians in their lives. They found better answers elsewhere.

9780781414579_HIIn light of this situation, I often wonder why we, as Christian case makers (apologists) haven’t made young people our primary audience. In fact, if you look at all the “apologetics” ministries operating in the country, few are designed to target young people specifically. At best, each organization offers some limited, selected materials, “dumbed down” for young people. Really? We can do better. In fact, we need to do better and we need to start sooner. That’s why Susie and I wrote Cold-Case Christianity for Kids. Our own experience as youth leaders and pastors taught us that young people begin to question their faith in junior high. We wanted to provide a resource that would answer critical questions kids might have before they even begin to ask them. We need to RETHINK the audience we are trying to reach and recalibrate our efforts. We need to stop tailoring the case for older folks (with an occasional modification for young people), and start making the case for young people (with an occasional modification for older folks). I know that sounds drastic, but we are at a critical juncture in the history of the Church in America. All of us need to become Christian case makers and young people ought to be our jury. We need to stop tailoring the Christian case for older folks (with an occasional modification for young people), and start making the case for young people (with an occasional modification for older folks). Click To Tweet

For more information about strategies to help you teach Christian worldview to the next generation, please read So the Next Generation Will Know: Training Young Christians in a Challenging World. This book teaches parents, youth pastors and Christian educators practical, accessible strategies and principles they can employ to teach the youngest Christians the truth of Christianity. The book is accompanied by an eight-session So the Next Generation Will Know DVD Set (and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.

J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured Cold-Case Detective, Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Adj. Professor of Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, author of Cold-Case ChristianityGod’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith, and creator of the Case Makers Academy for kids.

Subscribe to J. Warner’s Daily EmailSave

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Save

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Written By

J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker and best-selling author. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is also an Adj. Professor of Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and a faculty member at Summit Ministries. He holds a BA in Design (from CSULB), an MA in Architecture (from UCLA), and an MA in Theological Studies (from Gateway Seminary).

36 Comments

36 Comments

  1. Pingback: Are Young People Really Leaving Christianity? | Cold Case Christianity

  2. Pingback: Stop Teaching Young Christians About Their Faith | Cold Case Christianity

  3. Pingback: Investigating the Challenges Facing Young Christians | Cold Case Christianity

  4. Pingback: Treating the Gospel Like a Cookie Rather Than a Cure | Cold Case Christianity

  5. Pingback: It’s Time for Youth Pastors to CH.A.T. With Their Students | Cold Case Christianity

  6. Pingback: The Choice Between Entertaining and Training | Cold Case Christianity

  7. Pingback: Christian Case Makers: Young People Ought to Be Our Jury | THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM

  8. Pingback: What I Read Online – 06/15/2013 (a.m.) | Emeth Aletheia

  9. Pingback: One Important Reason the Church Will Continue to Compromise. | Rivers of Hope

  10. Pingback: One Important Reason the Church Will Continue to Compromise | A disciple's study

  11. Pingback: The Source of Our Fear When It Comes to Evangelism | Cold Case Christianity

  12. Pingback: To Reach Young People, We Need to “Become Like Children” | Cold Case Christianity

  13. Pingback: A Christian Case Making Strategy for Youth Ministry | Cold Case Christianity

  14. Pingback: Your Motivation as a Case Maker Will Determine Your Message | Cold Case Christianity

  15. Pingback: How to Raise Your Kids So They Will Remain in the Faith | A disciple's study

  16. Pingback: How to Be a "One Dollar Apologist" (What I Learned This Year at CIA) - Cross Examined - Christian Apologetics | Frank Turek

  17. Pingback: How to Be a “One Dollar Apologist” (What I Learned This Year at CIA). | Rivers of Hope

  18. Pingback: Three Tips for Parents Raising the Next Generation of Case Makers | Cold Case Christianity

  19. Pingback: How to Be a "One Dollar Apologist" (What I Learned This Year at CIA) | Cold Case Christianity

  20. Pingback: How to Raise Your Kids So They Will Remain in the Faith | Cold Case Christianity

  21. Pingback: Yet Another Student Survey Confirming the Need for Case Making | Cold Case Christianity

  22. Pingback: One Important Reason the Church Will Continue to Compromise | Cold Case Christianity

  23. Pingback: Parents Are Still the First Line of Defense | Cold Case Christianity

  24. Pingback: Why You Should Write Your Own “Apologetics” Curriculum | Cold Case Christianity

  25. Pingback: Three Tips for Parents Raising the Next Generation of Case Makers

  26. Pingback: Why Are Young Christians Leaving the Church? | A disciple's study

  27. Pingback: Why Christian Case Makers Need to Learn a New Language

  28. Pingback: What the Case Looks Like When Young People Are Your Jury

  29. Pingback: Why Are Young Christians Leaving the Church? | Anchor Apologetics – Best Answers in Christianity

  30. Pingback: What the Case Looks Like When Young People Are Your Jury | Cold Case Christianity

  31. Pingback: Why It’s Important to Inoculate (Rather Than Isolate) Our Young People | Cold Case Christianity

  32. Pingback: When Youth Pastors Ought to Feel Responsible | Cold Case Christianity

  33. Pingback: Your Motivation as a Case Maker Will Determine Your Message | TLG Christian News

  34. Pingback: UPDATED: Are Young People Really Leaving Christianity? | TLG Christian News

  35. Pingback: 10.04.16 | Student Community Bible Study Blog

  36. Pingback: Christian Case Makers: Young People Ought to Be Our Jury | TLG Christian News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

God’s Existence

In this podcast, J. Warner examines the evidence of the origin of the universe and relates this evidence to the case for God’s existence....

Christianity

In this podcast, J. Warner discusses a model to help overcome apathy in the Church and turn teaching into training. Jim outlines the five...

Jesus

Over the past two weeks, I’ve examined the similarities between Jesus, Mithras and Horus. Early mythological characters are sometimes offered by skeptics in an...

Christianity

In this podcast, J. Warner reads an honest (if not politically correct) comment from an atheist describing the consequence of a consistent atheistic worldview....