The Importance of Ministry to Youth

New Ellison Research asked 1,007 American adults to report on their attendance at worship services. Results of the study showed that the traditional definitions of "churched" — people who attend services monthly or more often — and "un-churched" — people who do not typically attend frequently enough to be considered "churched" — often doesn't tell a complete story about how often people actually attend religious worship services. If adults in America are placed in more realistic categories based on their normal behavior, attendance stats at religious services would look like this:

• Attend more than once a week (11%)
• Attend once a week (22%)
• Attend two to three times a month (14%)
• Attend once a month (5%)
• Attend occasionally, not on a regular basis (9%)
• Attend only on religious holidays (10%)
• Do not attend at all (29%)

The study also showed that if an adult attended worship services regularly at some point before the age of 18, there is a 55 percent chance that person is currently attending once a month or more. If the person never attended prior to age 18, there is only a 21 percent chance that individual is currently attending worship services on a regular basis.

Students Challenged to be More than Sunday Christians

Thousands of students from the Assemblies of God are in Charlotte, N.C., this week for a major youth convention, hoping to be "led by fire" and to go back to their homes without extinguishing that flame.

"This week we're on fire for God ... God's doing incredible things. Last month or the month before we were at youth camp. God impacted our lives ... but what about in between? Were you still led by fire or were you led back to sin?" Steve Pulis, national student outreach director for the Assemblies of God, posed to students Monday night.

"When the tough times come, too often it's hard for us to live out the commitment of being led by fire."

Over 10,000 students have gathered for Charlotte08 which is comprised of a Fine Arts Festival, Ambassadors in Mission outreach and other activities. Under the theme of "Led by Fire," students are encouraged to use their gifts to glorify God and to also join with other churches in the are to minister to the city of Charlotte.

"God wants more than just a Sunday morning in youth service commitment," Pulis told the young crowd. "There's more to the commitment of following Jesus than just asking for forgiveness.

"Making the commitment to follow him, well that's easy. But living the commitment? That's where the work comes in."

"God wants you to be led by fire all of your life," he stressed.

Organizers of Charlotte08 want this to be about more than an event. They want to see the younger generation discover their gifts and deploy those talents.

"God is raising up a generation of underdogs to be champions for Christ and this is our opportunity to be a part of His plan for each of their lives. This is our chance to challenge students and leaders to be led by fire," National Youth Director Jay Mooney told staff, according to the Assemblies of God News Service.

As for reaching out to Charlotte, Ambassadors in Mission is partnering with MEGA Sports Camp to use sports as an evangelism and discipleship tool to reach out to the city.

"Traditional church outreaches are not always the most effective in today’s youth culture," said Jim Wellborn, national AIM liaison. "The training and curriculum provided by Mega Sports will greatly benefit the city of Charlotte while also giving our students the experience and confidence to bring similar, relevant outreaches back home to their local communities."

Last year, in Indianapolis, the Assemblies of God launched a major campus evangelism initiative, called Dreaming 2015, with the vision of reaching 1 million American teens and grafting them into a local church by 2015. Over 5,200 students were commissioned as missionaries to their campus.

Study Shows Students Want Spiritual Fulfillment

Though many students drop out of church during the college years, a new study suggests their longing for meaning and purpose only intensifies.

Church attendance among participants in the UCLA study dropped from nearly 44 percent to about 25 percent between the students freshman and junior years. During that period, emotional distress deepened. The number of students who said, "My life is filled with stress and anxiety," shot up from 26 percent during the first year of college to more than 41 percent as a senior. The percentage that felt "overwhelmed" increased from 31.8 percent to 46.3 percent, while depression jumped from about 9 percent to more than 12 percent.

This was accompanied by an apparent rising interest in moral and spiritual matters. While 41.2 percent of first-year students in 2004 reported they considered developing a meaningful philosophy of life "very important" or "essential," in 2007 more than 55 percent agreed.

Additionally, the perceived importance of "integrating spirituality into my life" increased from 41.8 percent in 2004 to more than 50 percent in 2007, and the desire for "attaining inner harmony" climbed from 48.7 to 62.6.

"What I see in local Chi Alpha groups nationwide confirms the findings of the study," says Dennis Gaylor, Assemblies of God national director for Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. "Students are hungry for dynamic worship, authentic relationships and vibrant spirituality. They want to make a difference in the world. Their life stage is ground zero for finding meaning and purpose and making decisions that will last a lifetime."

[For more information about Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, see http://www.chialpha.com/. Christina Quick, Today's Pentecostal Evangel .]