Being a Christian Teen in the "Post Christian Generation"

Many of you might not know, but I'm only 15. I started the Instagram account Jesus__for_life when I was just 14. Although I don't have years of experience, I think I provide inside on the future generation. News Flash: It's not looking good. As hard as it is to admit it, we are living in a world where the majority of youth have little to no knowledge of the gospel. Countless studies show there is a rapid fleeing of the church in teens and young adults. This brings up questions that at times are hard to answer. How can a Christian teen point to Jesus through everyday life? How can we draw these people back into the church? Why is there this sudden faithless generation?

You may still have doubts about this whole "Post Christian Generation" thing. If so, this next part is just for you. According to a study, 63% of teen Christians don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of the one true God. Think about that for a second. That is a percentage of teens that consider themselves "Christian". Furthermore, 51% of teens don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and 68% don’t believe that the Holy Spirit is a real entity. Finally, only 33% of churched youth have said that the church will play a part in their lives when they leave home. This study was publicized in the book The Last Christian Generation. After reading that, my jaw dropped, and it is a pill that is hard to swallow. Personally, I think that the church universal tries to cover up this fact. They focus on adults and ignore the fact that one day the believers will run out. Youth needs to be more of a focus! We'll get back to that, but I'd like to tell you personal experience of living as a Christian teen.

I've been attending church ever since I was born thanks to my parents. I was baptized shortly after my birth and can remember reading bible stories from a young age. However, I never really gave it much until I was about 13. From there, my faith skyrocketed. Now, my life's activities and daily routine revolve around him. I'm an overall happier, healthier, better person because of my faith. It's given me new hobbies, friends, and I will never be able to explain the impact it's had on me. It's a much longer story, but you can read how faith changed my life and saved me from a near-fatal drowning accident in my blog "A Story of

Faith". Now, as a devoted Jesus lover I see things in my peers that scare me. I rarely meet someone my age who shares my belief or has any belief period. A lot of this is caused by the media and technology. Technology does so many good things for us and makes life easier, but kids are receiving freedom at a much younger age because of this. Most of this freedom can't be handled. Kids can now have access to anything they want with a click of a button. Teens have access to videos that would be better off going unseen at that age. Also, there are social media that is constantly telling the youth what is cool. Teens are told that this is "fun" and "everyone" does this. It's scary how much power is given to anyone that has access to the internet. That is why I made my Instagram account. I hope to provide a positive and enriching media experience. I want to talk one on one to hundreds of people as brothers and sisters in the faith. I want to spark a fiery belief in the hearts of thousands. I know personally how much God's presence can change a life because he changed my life. I want to share the extraordinary life I found in Christ with as many people as possible. The faith in Christ gives the hope that there is life after death.

So let's go back to some of the questions stated at the beginning. How can a Christian teen point to Jesus through everyday life? You don't need to stand up in the middle of class and start going off about how Jesus died for everyone's sins. It's not that complicated. You simply need to live with the happiness and joy of knowing the Lord. People simply seeing you happiness and faith in Him will make them curious about what God has to offer. Furthermore, look for opportunities to share your faith. The Holy Spirit will put you in situations for you to share the word. He will bring you people that need the comfort of God. In life, there will be so many situations to share it, but you can miss these situations if you don't keep an eye out.

Finally, the church universal needs to put more emphasis on teens and youth in general. The teen years are where some decisions are made that affect your whole life. I know from experience there is all kinds of stress, peer pressure, and more to fit in and as brothers and sisters, we need to show them that they are apart of something much greater. We need to show them that they can call the highest by the name father because of how much he cares for them. This focus on the youth doesn't have to be classes and bible studies. Although those are good, they don't draw the youth in. Just playing games with fellow members of the Christian family can help their relationship with Christ. It doesn't have to be religious at all. Overall, as a Christian teen, I can report that the future isn't looking bright, but it isn't too late to change. We can preserve the church for the future by reaching the youth because one day, they are going to be the only ones left. The one thing you can do is pray. Whether it's general or specific to someone you know, it helps. We need to pray that the youth will be led to God and continue the faith for generations to come.