A recent story at OneNewsNow.com stated, “A nationwide survey found that the number of freshmen attending America’s colleges who have left their faith over the past three decades has skyrocketed.” This should come as no surprise as our nation’s schools have abandoned God, the so-called mainstream media typically portray believers as evil or simpleminded, and many churches have forsaken the true teachings of the Bible.
This is why we continue to focus on church planting and pastoral training. We are proclaiming the Living Christ to an increasingly non-believing nation. And it’s an often hostile nation for Christians. In Maine a few weeks ago, a Christian teacher was told that she cannot even say “I am praying for you” to fellow teachers, even if they attend the same church. Our nation and our young people suffer because of this animosity to the Gospel.
David Bromley, young adults pastor at Calvary Road Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, says, “The millennial generation is the largest generation in America today, and even more so in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Many millennials don’t know where to begin with the church, but many are seeking answers to spiritual questions.”
The answers to those questions are found in the Bible-believing churches we’ve planted across the nation, like Calvary Road. Reaching young people is never easy because the world has so much to offer. Yet, through VBS, camping programs, summer cookouts, athletic programs, and many other efforts, our church plants are reaching out to young people.
Another of our church plants, West Ridge Church in Georgia, holds what they call “SURGE Camp,” in which kids choose from 33 different sports or arts programs taught by world class coaches and instructors. The church says the program includes “large group times full of music, crazy games, videos and creative Bible teaching. Then, we get together in small groups to focus on God’s BIG story for their lives.”
Across the country, our church plants are reaching out to kids and young adults because we want them to know that Jesus calls them to belief in Him.