Is Faith Thriving on the College Campus?

As parents feels like our influence over kids is beginning to wane one Stanton says we should never underestimate our significance, especially when it comes to faith formation in our kids the scholars in particular and the guy from Notre Dame Christian Smith. He says kind of tongue-in-cheek. He says the number one thing number two thing third thing fourth thing for thing parents you cannot over emphasize the impact of parents and the irony of that is I have five kids like they did listen to a word I said. But these guys would say oh no you know there picking it up. This is family life today. Our hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson and Bob P find us online. A family like today.com are influences parents over our children's faith is not determinative, but it's not insignificant talk more about that today just cleansed and welcome to family life today. Thanks for joining us. Have you ever tracked you been pastoring a church for 30+ years narrowing those later. Plus, she had a severe 30 day yeah have you ever tracked what happens to the kids who went through your youth group. So yes, we haven't really haven't done it like a formal study. We don't have graphs in GABA so it's anecdotal and adorably get together as a team wants and just said, let's let's kinda track our kids right and let's track the average of what's going on and it was true that parents that are on fire for Jesus that are really national negative in their faith and limited out that it was the key. Those those of you were going on a doing well yeah but the kids who were showing up from nominal Christian home as they worship working later on that sort of what we found an eight year exceptional. As always, but you can have a great youth program to all the right things and yet when I go home if that's not seen often is not caught so we we all just say to moms and dads are at the beginning yeah that you don't simply subcontract them outsource faith to other professionals if if you try to do that.

You're not can be happy with how things turn out. And God has called you. Try calling us to be the decisive out of our kids. We got a friend joining us this week on family life today Glenn Stanton Glenn welcome back to family life today. Thank you. Glenn works at Focus on the Family and yes it's possible for people work at Focus on the Family to be on family life today and enjoy you were friends we like each other.

We support each other on the same team we are and are so grateful for how God is been work through the minister Focus on the Family four years and so many balusters would say God's used focus in our lives profoundly over those years and you been there for more than 1/4 of a century. Glenn gives leadership to the family formation studies. Basically Glenn is the trend seeker. I mean you're out looking and saying what are the trends telling us what's going on with marriage with family with faith you've just written a book called the myth of the dying church about how Christianity is actually thriving in America and in the world. So all this number we been hearing for years that 75 to 80% of the kids youth group are going to shipwreck when I go to college. Is that true or not. Well it's interesting that usually that is prefaced with in the next 10 years you look at when those things were said there were set about 12 years ago. You know you're right but there's still repeated in things like that. And again I mean it's it's just like you said you look at the churches around you. And no, I mean you don't meet youth pastors who are now selling cell phones because like my youth group just dried up. You know they are in a lot of churches and I would say most churches like yeah maybe not busting at the seams. But they're doing about the way that they've always done and you had these kids that are just excited about the faith are Christian kids who head off to university's private public universities. Are they walking into what is a more hostile environment than it's ever been before. You know what, it's interesting that they are and they aren't I mean there have always been like these gadfly professors who I've Christian kids are in a show up in my class and I'm just going to shut them down. It's interesting that and I'll make two points. There one. There is research and and these are good scholars.

Some of them are Christians there friends of mine, but their teaching at secular universities. One guy particularly good friend teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. He did some research and he said where our kids most likely to walk away from their faith if they go to college or if they don't attend college and it's the question of is college corrosive to faith.

He said I found out we found out that kids who go to college are less likely to toss their faith than kids who don't go to college. And guess what were you doing here you get these things you hear that you think are actual right to send our kids to college like my hair just went off my head spin. God really we talked yesterday, and I use this phrase that where the people of good news. We don't have to be a why we so attracted to bad news and we are the people who are born again we don't have to act like were born yesterday in terms of this research right. But here's the deal.

Here's what they found in a lot of times the reasons are not the reasons that we think Christian kids who go off to college are more likely to hang on to their faith in kids who do not go to college and it's not the secularizing impact of the University. It's more psychological, and sociological and that those kids know where they're going there intentional in life. They have control of their life. They have goals.

And so, like I want to finish school.

I want to hang on to my faith.

I want to do this. It's kids who are like you know just not going to school. I don't know what I want to do their kinda drifting. They drift in their faith to notice I said days are ahead of a toner going to do is it also that if there at college, there's a chance of community you know what that's exactly is all right. That's the other point and I make this point in my book in terms of kind of iconic youth groups nationally young life and inter-varsity young life deals with high school students in her varsity deals with college students and I go through a lot of date. I looked at their annual reports for the last 20 years young life is exploding.

They are reaching more kids today than they ever have. Having more decisions for Christ than they ever have. Both of these organizations started in 1941.

This takes us to the college is inter-varsity is a wonderful organization that has its mission on college campuses. They in the last couple of years have had more decisions for Christ on campus than they ever have in the 50s in the 60s in the 70s.

Their numbers report that they have more faculty involvement and more diverse faculty involvement in terms of ethnicity and things like that than they've ever had and one of the sociologist Christian Smith. He teaches at Notre Dame. He's like why is this the case and one of the things that he comes up and says is because there is more faith support on campuses. The impact of crew that is exactly the case and I would bet you if you look to cruise numbers say absolutely right and and even that there are there's not a lot, but the faculty on campus that kid that guy over in the psychology department solid Christian that guy that woman over in the sociology department, strong Christian, there may be four of them on campus, but the Christians know about them. You know and that's that thing.

Lo and behold, God continues to work in the world.

He's got this holy conspiracy, you know, to infiltrate his church into the world when our kids were looking at colleges. The thing my radar was always up for was what's going on spiritually on this campus. I remember taking our daughter and we were on one college campus and I was looking for the signs that always stop at the bulletin board where everything is posted. I'm looking and saying where's the Bible study announcement right and on this particular college campus. There was nothing I was seeing no indication of anything going on spiritually. So I went home and went on the Internet and ask about religious groups on this campus I found there were just a handful of them. I called one of the student leaders and I said tell me about what's going on in this student leaders Obama commuter and we got a small group that's get together. I'm looking at this and I'm glad this is a well-regarded academic institution, a degree from this place would help you professionally and I'm looking to that's not where I want my daughter to be heading off to college and then we went to another public university, and it was everywhere Bible study Wednesday night Bible study Thursday morning, so the quality of education.

In my mind was important, but what's more important is what's the spiritual environment on this college and he think we should do his parents while a call saying we check that out.

Oh yeah yeah actually say you have to go to the student ministry on campus Catholic two. Here's how to spend the duty that here's how I said to my kids and glad be interested in your thoughts on this. I said when you go to college about 35% of your education over the next four years is going to happen in the classroom environment.

65% of your education is going to happen as you try to figure out life as you try to adjust to your now on your own you're calling your own shots. How do you develop community.

How do you figure out how to balance a checkbook. They used to use checkbooks back in the days I cried so II was explaining yes we want to look at this college for what it provides academically, but that's only 35% what the next four years are going to be. We want to make sure were looking at what is it provide for you spiritually, we will look at what is a provide for you relationally what it will house all of that work together to get the same thing and and our kids understood that as a priority so we could walk away from a campus visit and I could say academically looks good we think about the spiritual climate.

What can you tell about the relational environment and how that works, and they could see it and they knew what they wanted when they were juniors and seniors in high school. They wanted to go to places that would be faith nurturing not faith destroyed really cool and what you're single and I'm in.

We have talked about the sports world but that's really strong in the sports world. Every major college that I know of has a chaplain under for monthly yeah I was a chaplain in the NFL for 33 seasons every NFL team as a chaplain is really a sinner is a player that came to Detroit as a free agent. He was being recruited from another NFL team quarterback and he told them I don't want to come to Detroit for my recruiting trip. They still call that even though it's NFL. Yeah unless I can have lunch with the chaplain, then he made his decision after lunch with Anna and I and I said as they were asked yet and I said the team afterwards. Had I get 10% of the but anyway it's so star son play college football and the day he was recruited this one school. The chaplain came out admitting as he walked in the football billing my Mike. It's over. Yeah because I knew right then that he was going to go.

Oh my goodness they care that much. So what you're saying about the college campus really is true in all areas and we were talking about parents earlier and and parents need to know.

Should they be encouraged. I have a chapter in my book, chapter 8 whole chapter on the research. What are the things that are strongest and most empowering and successful in passing faith onto the next generation and the scholars. One of the scholars in particular again.

The guy from Notre Dame, Christian Smith, he says, kinda tongue-in-cheek.

He says the number one thing no close competitor is parents.

He said the number two thing third thing forth thing for thing parents really sick, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th parents if he's just saying you cannot over emphasize the impact of parents and the irony of that is you know I have five kids like they did listen to a word I said. But these guys would say oh no you know that they're taking it and it's what the parents do again. Parents need to know you do not need to be a super Christian, you do not need to be like those people in church you know like they can quote Scripture there always doing it great again if it's you know what the Stan family goes to church. This is our church where they are. We know the pastor. The pastor knows us were involved in groups, even if we don't go every week.

If we miss here and there again. God is very gracious in this way, but we read the Scriptures at home.

We talk about the Scriptures there's Bibles around the house that are actually used. We pray about things in normal everyday life were going down the highway you see an accident, you know, a kids lives. Pray for the EMT workers.

Let's pray that that family would be okay just real quick kids are soaking that up.

The other thing is if kids see God working in their own life.

You know what we prayed for this. It didn't look possible. God did it.

Those things have a big imprint in their life. But here's another thing in an and I saw this with my kids and parents who have older kids will see this is parents being strong parents having a serious faith. Again, not perfect faith, not Superman faith, but serious. The other is what they call satellite or scaffolding adults.

That is, aunt Susie, uncle Jim, the youth worker. Mom and dad's friends parents at school who like okay mom and dad believe the stuff, but they're kinda nerdy. They don't really always know but Kim, the youth worker means she serves. She rides a motorcycle she knows are music you know she's hip and she's smart, but she believes the same thing that my parents do that is fusion of yellow kids who have that are nearly guaranteed to carry their faith into adulthood.

What a motivation for us as parents.

Yes is getting deep into Jesus and that I walked with God and I drink I'm looking at page 133.

In chapter 8, and again you said most of these don't need, but I'd say every parent not only read the book I read this page because you list nine things that parents do that help their their children as they become adults retain their faith. Here is when you didn't say which is so so critical right you said almost all these but number seven was help their children be honest about and resolve their own spiritual doubts and struggles. Yes, so it's okay for your child.

The struggle but you're there with them and honesty Simpson it's it's actually not only okay it's good you think about this when you go to the gym. It's resistance then bills your muscles get up if you're doing weights and there's no weight on that. If there's no resistance. That's the same thing with faith is encourage your kids to ask tough questions and never say one that's a silly question, or will. Here's the answer. You know a friend of mine when he was growing up in and we were close buddies. I mean, he had a problem with the issue of evil. How can a good God allow evil. His parents were wonderful and said you want. That's a great question and nearly every Christian philosopher deals with that see your right on asked that question. Let's go find the answer and so basically, his parents taught him rather than give them a fish taught him how to fish and its strength in his face. I think that dialogue with our kids.

This important yeah I remember when I started putting my kids in car seats.

I thought every time I'm in the car. I'm just praying out loud just became this habit when we go to school were praying for their task. Praying for their friends that are struggling and then it have friends in the car and your friends are talking about this hard thing. Mike is so high, I'm to be pretty thought is pray right now so we got to the point where all their friends were coming for prayer. They were running away will yeah she's listening. She's praying for us ever was Cody, one of our sons called us on a mission trip ever.

Yeah, that he was all exciting blades. He was in college in their mission trip in their walking down the sidewalk and they prayed aloud in the in the people there with himself. While that was so cool. We prayed out loud about something. Goes like extra semi life is that was some have and every time the cars he was a Q thinking that that was just a habit I didn't even realize how special that way the other funny thing there.

And I've had this is wow you prayed with your eyes okay yeah but see that's coming your story about in the car is like those kids go oh wow that's weird. And they may go weird, but that's awesome you know II wish that I had that growing up there drawn to that kind of thing one because it shows care and concern. The other is she lives in another reality about a relationship as a line going in the here that in your prayers that authenticity.

Yeah, that an interesting thing about as I leave. As I think about my wife and doing that she didn't do that like oh I want my kids to stay in the face right on their prey as if it was an overflow of where she spent her morning very much have been vertically connected with Jesus. It's what he's doing in me. It's an and the and the kids right they sniff that out though they consider real or not. From the start is real, there's a chance it's going to continue with them. 10 I had a bunch of these are high schoolers in the car, anything you guys. I feel like I sent this led by the Holy Spirit to get some money to this woman it's hurting so that I like this happens all the time. She says to me all that that I feel led to give money see with him with her and she is coming to church. He was a recovering addict seems he was struggling with alcohol her husband. She's trying to get him to come to faith. She just given your life to Jesus so I might, I want to put some money on her front door and I want to do it anonymously.

Would you like to come there all about this so I had this money in the bank and I have one of them go and put it on the door and the other one rings the doorbell and then there running to the car were praying.

It was amazing, because they thought this is the best thing we don't know and and and I mean you could think okay we should have apologetics class says that like that was like when into their heart. You jammed it down in their God, and she I mean that was a huge thing and not just for that woman who got the money I made it through Michael what that did to your kids psychologically and spiritually and like you know what I want to live that I want to order my life that way. What you think things are to look like 20 years from now you know what it's interesting the sociologists that have been studying this forward. They say first of all worldwide Christianity is the largest faith and through the rest of this century, it will continue to be is a dominant is growing as fast as Islam is growing absolutely okay yeah yeah but it's it's the way we observe it. Christianity I meet one of the scholars said you know what if if Christians could make news by doing some bad things you know like dry, terrorism, and I'm not saying that Muslims all you know are that way.

But it's we see these things in the news and we think all my goodness that's where everything is happening but no Christianity is just quiet and it spreads one of the big things that they talk about is that faith grows and Christianity grows not so much from going out and sharing the gospel, but by procreation, Christian parents having Christian kids. They go out into the world. I mean sociologists will tell us that's how faiths grow and I've been told that if we get to a point in our lifetime.

Where in China, the church can come out of the shadows without fear.

Yes, what we will see is there are more Christians in China than there are in the United States. Oh my goodness, there are more Christians in in in Africa on the continent of Africa in the last 10 years there have been more seminaries built in Africa than in all the rest of the world combined.

There is an absolute revival happening throughout the continent of Africa. And here's the revival. These pastors are hard-core theological fact, I feel like I'm with Mr. Wikipedia has all the questions.

The answers to the questions. What I ask are a lot of them are in the book the glens written called the myth of the dying church.

Christianity is actually thriving in America and in the world and I would think moms and dads and pastors and church leaders would want to know you the good news. Absolutely this just confirms for us the Jesus knew what he was talking about ways of the gates of hell will not prevail that God is going to be up to something. There may be absent flows in particular regions of the world.

Over time you but God's work and his kingdom that I think I heard this. His kingdom is forever and ever. What you said at the end of your book. He said finally.

It's the Holy Spirit who runs and drives Christ church across time and throughout the nations. He is unstoppable, unquenchable and inherently life-giving. He is not nodding off sickly or on vacation. The word of his heart and very character will not be thwarted, he is God to believe the church is dying to deny these trends and judge God either confused or a liar. That is good. Thank you. Thanks for being nice right in the book. I think you guys. Thanks for your faithfulness in digging in and helping us he was going on in our world and I hope a lot of our listeners will go to our website. Family life today.com to get a copy of your book. The book is called the myth of the dying church and it's encouraging and it's hopeful and it's something that needs to be shared with others.

That's why we've had young today so I can go to family life today.com to get Glenn's book the myth of the dying church or call one 800 FL today to order a copy in the website's family life today.com or call 1-800-358-6329 to order your copy again that's one 800 F as in family L as in life, and then the word today. Oh, one of the things we are convinced about here at family life is that there is a a solid connection between our relationship with God and our relationships with one another.

Dave and Emily you guys say this regularly is that if there's a horizontal problem. There's a vertical problem. If we want to get the horizontal relationships worked out. We gotta make sure the vertical relationship is worked out family life today exists to help effectively develop godly marriages and families in one of the ways we do that is by regularly pointing you back to the Scriptures, pointing you back to Jesus. He is the source. His word is truth when it comes to how work to live in relationship with one another and in relationship to one another so you can count on that. Being a theme you will hear from us over and over again and we want to say thank you to those of you who as listers resonate with that idea. To the extent that you have become supporters of this ministry, your financial partners with us as donors to the ministry of family life today. The cost of producing and syndicating this daily radio program is covered by people like you who believe in this mission enough to say we want to make a donation to see it continue to see others helped and encouraged.

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