Tag: Stats

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The new Fall Version 4.o "Did you know?" video is out

Awesome video and SUPER informational. I can already see pastors and church leaders gathering all the stats they'll need for this next years workshops, conferences, etc. Go get it! (Video Embedded)

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TEN COMMANDMENTS for Parents & Teens

Last week at Journey Class (our midweek Bible study) we gave our students an opportunity to write "Ten Commandments" that all parents & teenagers should do.   Here's a condensed list of what they came up with.  There were SO MANY good ones but these stuck out to me. PARENTS SHOULD...

1. Not try to be Kool "with a K" (This created MUCH laughter and "AMENS" throughout the room)
2. Not yell
3. Listen to their kids sometimes
4. Not "cling"
5. Not make their child be just like them
6. Be caring
7. Be Fun
8. Be more laid back
9. Be more willing to do stuff with us
10. Be good at parenting

TEENAGERS SHOULD...

1. Be respectful
2. Not lie
3. Stick up for themselves
4. Be active
5. Follow/Obey rules
6. Help their parents when they need it
7. Be good at being a friend
8. Talk
9. Tell parents they love them.
10. Be Fun

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88% still have sex

  (this is Lydia Playfoot.  the same thing happened to her in 2007.  Read her story here.) The Jonas Brothers wear them, some High School Musical cast members wear them...but that doesn't say much because Britney Spears used to wear one. It's a purity ring. According to researchers at Yale University, a recent study showed that "88% of purity ring wearers had sex before marriage." A related article on a families.com read:

So would you encourage your child to wear a purity ring? One mother in the UK did, and now she and her daughter are making headlines around the world. Apparently, not everyone is gung-ho about teens sporting the chastity bands. According to news reports, when 12-year-old Kioni Lansbury donned her purity ring to school she was ordered to remove it. Lansbury's school in Ottery St. Mary in the UK has a strict no-jewelry policy. School administrators say rings pose a health hazard in science and physical education classes. However, the school's ban on rings didn't sit well with the Lansbury's who maintain the dress code allows Muslim students to wear banned headscarves, therefore an exception should be made for students who desire to publicly declare their commitment to abstinence by wearing a ring. Kioni told local news reporters that she plans to continue wearing her ring to school, but will remove it in situations where it might be dangerous. Meanwhile, the girl's mother says she stands by her daughter 100%.

Interesting.

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Lost Generation

Loved this video.  We did a video like this a few years back but this one on the "lost generation" is good!

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Pop Culture isn't all bad

Sometimes in the church world pop culture gets a bad rap...rightfully so many times, but I was browsing CosmoGIRL (yeah I do that from time to time...don't judge me, haha) and saw that they are encouraging teens to volunteer.  They teamed up with dosomething.org to get students some answers on how to get involved. The article titled: "Do something, Like Volunteer" had some decent things to say about why teens should be volunteering.

They gave these tips about why to volunteer:

• The Number 1 reason you should volunteer is because you're passionate about a cause. (I would DEFINITELY agree with this one.)
• It will get you off the couch
• You can pick up some new skills
• It looks good on college applications
• 38% ranked community service fourth in a list of most valued criteria for getting into college. (from a survey done of college admissions counselors)
• Obama plans to enact his plan of giving financial aid in exhange for service hours.
• "you'd be amazed at how happy you can make someone else by giving an hour a day or a few hours a week..."

They gave some "How To" help for volunteering (If your church is looking for partners some of these might help.  I haven't researched any of them but just a thought):

 

• Text "Do something" to 30644 to get local monthly volunteering opportunities
• Act Now! Action ideas using Do Something's action matrix
• Enter your zip code on dosomething.org to find custom opportunities

  Dosomething.org has projects and causes to get involved in.

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Stats we need to know

I read these yesterday on Youthministry.com and they blew me away:

• 88% of children raised in Christian families leave church at the age of 18, never to return (SBC).
• A majority of adults no longer consider Christianity America’s default faith (Barna).
• 64% of decisions for Christ are made before the age of 18, and 77% are made before the age of 21 (Barna).
• An estimated 4% of the “bridger” generation, or Gen Y, will be Bible-believing Christians when they reach adulthood. Their grandparents’ generation: 65%. Their parents’ generation: 35%

"88% of children raised in Christian families leave church at the age of 18, never to return. 64% of decisions for Christ are made before the age of 18, and 77% are made before the age of 21. We can’t sit back and watch this generation be stolen out of our own churches and homes. By God's grace, we must take action, and we must do it now." (Bridger Generation by Thom S. Rainer).

Thanks for awareness youthministry.com I value this information!