How to Encourage Faith in Today's Youth

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How can we encourage faith in today's youth?

I think they have to need heroes that inspire them. I think they need to see the adult's in the generation above them. With two things, they need to see the adults in the generation above them as people who were living lives of integrity, people who are living passionately, people who are living beyond themselves who are not satisfied with tried answers, people who are willing to go there, to enter into any discussion. No topic is off limits and they see people who actually put their faith into practice. It seems like maybe students are younger generations see their parent's generation as those who did a lot of talking, but not a lot of action. So I think they need to see that happening to inspire them, but I also think that they need to believe that they have something significant to contribute.

There is been a lot of talking that last, I do not know 15 to 20 years about the generations. I am baby boomers so the generations coming behind me. It is been a lot of criticism of them is being people very self-absorbed. Thinking about their career, thinking about where they are going to go on life, materialistic, and I think if they can see themselves as somebody who can make it significant contribution that really all of these thing that we are dealing with on the world basis. All of the things that you are even bringing up, that if they do not see themselves as not only as part of the solution but thus solution, I think when they got mobilized to that, then they will get active.

Last week on World Aids Day, we did not only a global summit on aids for just anybody who wanted to come on at World Aids Day. We did a youth summit, and we have about a thousands students. Junior high to college students gathered, at our church plus 200 churches, who simulcast. So there were several more thousand who were watching by simulcast. There were like 4000 students on World Aids Day who where gathered in one place saying, "You know what? We are going to take on HIV. We are not content to let this be something that only parent's generations dealt with." We are not content to just let this be something that takes over and continuous to decimate lives. We are taking a stand. We are committing to remain HIV free ourselves. We are committed to helping other students remain HIV free, and we are going to care for people who are HIV positive. The excitement in that place was probably you could touch. You could cut with a knife. They went out of there so jazzed and so enthusiastic. Believing that they had a contribution to make to a significant world problem.

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