I usually do not like to post something so long, but in this case I truly feel it is imperative for the body of Christ to get this right when it comes to our responsibility.  Within this post I have copied my latest Bible college paper in regards to my favorite topic of 'Youth Evangelism starting at Home".  Please do not be turned away by the length of this post, as I encourage You who care about our youth and being obedient to the Lord's calling to take a little time for the benefit of our children's future.

      Another church door closes, the lights are turned out never to be turned on again, and another family falls into an abyss as they watch their children fall away from the faith.  The post modernistic culture we all live in continues to grow in number as our concept of truth according to a biblical framework quickly erodes away.  We are facing an epidemic of massive proportion and the future salvation of our children as well as the future of our society is at stake.  That epidemic is the well documented and studied decline of Bible believing Evangelical Christians within our country today.  It is my desire to speak to what I feel has contributed to the demise of the Judeo-Christian worldview which was so instrumental in the development of this country, and to challenge parents and mentors alike to take responsibility for this failure and to return to obedience.  That obedience is simply stated, “Youth Evangelism Starts at Home”.  “Most people assume that students are lost in college.  We’ve always been trying to prepare our kids for college (and I still think that’s a critical thing to do, of course), but it turns out that only 11 percent of those who have left the church did so during the college years.  Almost 90 percent of them were lost in middle school and high school (Ham & Beemer, 2009, p.31)”  Within this paper, it is my strong desire to equip parents and mentors of children with a game plan for fulfilling their God given task of evangelizing their own children.  We will touch base on 6 key areas that I believe can truly aid us in our spiritual battle with the enemy for the hearts and minds of our children for which God has called us to disciple.  Time is of the essence and every day that comes to a close we draw nearer to our Lord’s return.  We must ask the tough question, “Lord, have I been obedient concerning the training and teaching of my own children according to your statutes”.  Obviously, the numbers don’t lie, and as a church family overall, we have missed the mark.  Thankfully, we serve a God who is ready to forgive and forget when we repent and turn to him.  That being said, it is time to turn over a new leaf and dive into obedience concerning youth evangelism starting at home.

     First and foremost, if we are to become obedient concerning our youth and children, then we must fully grasp and understand God’s desire according to his word.  One of my favorite scripture’s cuts right to the point concerning our topic, “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up (Deut 6:6,7, New Living Translation)”..  When I had first read that scripture as a father I immediately became convicted.  I realistically had to answer the question, “was I wholeheartedly pouring myself into the training and equipping of my children, or was I leaving that up to the local church or youth group”?  It is plain to see that God has called us as parents to be the main source of edification and training according to the word of God, while the church should serve to compliment our responsibility.  All throughout Proverbs and Psalms we are instructed to train up a child, we are told that our children are a heritage from the Lord, and we are instructed to teach them.  This word from the Lord is loud and clear and he even gives us an example of what can happen when we do not accept our role as youth evangelists to our own children.  When the children of Israel entered into the Promised Land they entered in under the command of Joshua to train and equip their children according to the word of God handed down through Moses.  Immediately after the Joshua generation, the book of Judges provides the example of disobedience.  “After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.  The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal (Judges 2:10,11, New Living Translation)”.  How could the Israelites not remember the mighty things the Lord had done?  I would contend that the youth were not wholeheartedly poured into as the previous generation was.  If we are to bring about another Joshua generation that can experience the blessings of a promised land then we must accept our role and understand that according to scripture, “Youth Evangelism Starts at Home”.

            The next area that is crucial to creating a desire in our children to follow Christ is what I will title, “Walk the Talk”.  Our children today now more then ever, want to know that mom and dad can “Walk the Talk”.  Jesus words himself in the book of Mark hammer home this truth.  “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.  For you ignore Gods law and substitute your own tradition (Mark 7:6-8, New Living Translation).  Too many of us adults today have a tremendous opportunity to evangelize at home but our children see right through the surface and into the heart and it does not match what our lips are saying.  “What is the number one perception of the Christian church today?  No matter how you slice it, it always comes down to one word-hypocrisy.  Hypocrisy has far more to do with honesty (including one’s approach to the Bible itself) and transparency that it does being perfect.  It insinuates that people say one thing (For example, we believe the Bible is God’s word), and live another way (For example, don’t really believe all the Bible) (Ham & Beemer, 2009, p.121)!  We cannot expect our youth and children to follow Christ and do what we say but on the other hand don’t pay attention to what we do.  Our children know we are not perfect and we cannot pretend to be.  We should be willing to open ourselves up to our children when we have fallen, and they will appreciate and understand that we are not hypocrites but followers of Christ going through sanctification.  I truly believe that if we “Walk the Talk” and admit our defeats we will create more of an atmosphere that is conducive to youth evangelism starting at home.

            I can remember as a child knowing all the stats of all my favorite football players inside and out.  When March would roll around I could fill out a basketball bracket with the best of them, or even explain interesting facts about an animal I had just watched on a PBS documentary the previous night.  It is amazing how much children can absorb when provided the motivation to do so.  The question that resounds is, “Why do we not expect our kids to produce that kind of knowledge and memory when it comes to a Biblical understanding.  We have already discussed through scripture our responsibility to do so, therefore let us speak to how we can practically train and equip our children’s minds to follow Christ not just with their heart.  Jesus himself tells us in Matthew 22:37 that we should love God with all of our heart, soul and mind.  I would contend that as parents many times we leave out the mind and miss a tremendous opportunity to enhance our youth evangelism in the home.  “What do kids need?  In essence, everything they need emanates from their worldview, so our challenge is to enable them to develop a worldview, so our challenge is to enable them to develop a biblical worldview, which is a means of interpreting and responding to reality that is consistent with Gods ways as described for us in the Bible (Barna, 1996, p.60)”.  We must help our youth and children to understand that a Biblical worldview applies to every area of life and helps to provide a road map for them to circumnavigate this tough and challenging world which can easily lead them astray.  Along with helping them to fully understand a biblical worldview; I feel it is very important after they are grounded to introduce them to competing worldviews.  If we as committed Christians truly believe what we preach then we are fully aware of the fact that Christianity will always stand the test.  We must equip our children to think critically and to be able to ascertain the fallacies of competing worldviews which in turn will only enhance and encourage their own faith.

            Another area of youth evangelism starting at home that runs hand in hand with worldview issues is the subject of apologetics.  Whether we are reading out of 2^nd Timothy, 1^st Peter, or Jude we are told to study, be ready to give an answer, and to earnestly contend for the faith.  Apologetics simply put is the defense of the Christian faith and scripture admonishes us to do so along with equipping our children to do the same.  I will never forget my personal example as a young man attending high school, in regards to the power of one young Christian defending her faith in the midst of ridicule.  My high school Biology teacher was articulating the facts of evolution very eloquently until one student decided to object and precede to inform the professor as well as the class that God created man from the dust of the ground and evolution was nothing more then a unsubstantiated theory at best.  I can remember laughing along with others as we told here to just shut up and sit down.  Little did I know that many years later when I accepted Christ and began to study to show myself approved unto God, the Lord himself never let me forget this moment. I can truly say that I am grateful for her witness!  In today’s day and age our youth and children are faced with challenges that far exceed the challenges to their faith that mom or dad experienced.  Teaching our children to defend the faith will enable them to plant seeds in others lives, actually lead skeptics to Christ themselves, or simply strengthen and enhance their own faith in order to withstand the intellectual attacks that are so prevalent in our government run schools.  “Most self professing Christians can not articulate, much less defend, the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, but why is it that we spend so much time on things that will not last and that do not matter?  Adults as well as teens can tell you all about pop culture, about sports teams and superstars but can these same teens and adults tell you how we know Jesus is God, how we know the Bible is true, or how we know Jesus rose from the dead (Howse, 2007, p.21)”?  If youth evangelism starts at home then worldview and apologetics training cannot be neglected.

            “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character” (1^st Cor 15:33, New Living Translation)”.  The apostle Paul speaks directly to the next area essential to youth evangelism starting at home.  That area is one of influences and surroundings in our children’s lives and how we play a role in the monitoring of these positive and negative factors.  “We must be careful what we invite into our living room in the name of entertainment.  If you let the wrong things in, these terrorists will seduce your kids, impart harmful values and, in doing so, inject poison into your kid’s worldview that could follow them for the rest of their lives.  If we can perceive the perils of a depraved culture all around us, surely we are smart enough not to invite a terrorist into our living room (Luce, 2008, p.45)”.  Time and time again I am amazed at the things that are allowed to become a part of a child’s entertainment in Christian homes.  For years now the church has become infested with the disease of trying to adapt and acquiesce to the culture rather then providing a beacon of light to a culture in need by allowing the culture to adapt to the church.  Unfortunately this spirit of tolerance in place of truth has influenced our homes as parents and mentors as well.  Whether it is a television in a bedroom, unlimited, unsupervised access to the internet, a cell phone for children to young to accept the responsibility, unlimited gaming privileges, Twilight or Harry Potter DVD’s, the list goes on and on.  Many of the influences or surroundings are children face are evil, but in and of themselves many are not, although left without the careful instruction, wisdom and monitoring of biblically minded parents they can suck the life out of our youth.  The X-box or Playstation is not a built in babysitter.  How often do we take the time to read a wholesome book with our young ones or play a game of Battleship with the older ones?  If youth evangelism starts at home then influences and surroundings must take a priority.  I cannot leave this subject without touching on what probably is the hardest area as a parent to play a role in.  That area is helping to influence and determine the interaction of other families or friends with your children.  I am fully aware that we cannot be with our children 24/7 and we must equip them to make positive decisions on their own, although I also believe we can and must when given the opportunity determine who we will allow to interact and possibly influence our children.  If we send our children to homes that do not reflect the same values and core beliefs as our homes then we are providing opportunities for them to fall and we cannot be surprised when they do.  Many of the influences and surroundings in today’s culture can provide opportunity for growth and we must learn to cultivate these and not always dwell upon the negative.  Although, I truly believe we can help to influence the influences and monitor the surroundings while still allowing for personal growth.

            The next area which is near and dear to my bias heart follows perfectly after our discussion of influences and surroundings.  That area is the often controversial topic of homeschooling.  My wife and I have homeschooled all 5 of our children for over 10 years and the Lord has truly provided grace and wisdom in order to persevere.  This area of homeschooling can even be a tricky subject within Christian circles.  I often hear objections such as, “what about socialization, our children need to be salt and light, or I am simply not capable to do such a task”.  My response to socialization is quite simple, are we so convinced that the majority of children and teachers entrenched in a secular humanistic government run school system are the best way to teach socialization.  Personally, I allow for all of my children to be involved in extra curricula activities outside the home interacting with other children, but the best socialization skills they will ever learn will be from their father and mother.  Once again I hearken back to Deut 6 and challenge parents and mentors of children to wholeheartedly pour into their children.  In regards to salt and light, let us be realistic.  Do we really think that the majority of our children can be equipped enough to be that salt and light after maybe a few hours on Sundays or home sandwiched between hundreds of hours a year of indoctrination in the secular humanistic government run schools.  Yes of course we have exceptions to the rule but as for me and my house we will provide every opportunity available to serve the Lord.  Let me be clear and state once again, I am fully aware of the fact that some children can handle this battle, but I would contend that a far greater will lose and that evidence I believe is clear in the results of society as a whole.  When it comes to the inability that many of us express in performing the task, we have to dig deeper.  I am not naïve enough to say that every Christian home is capable and should be homeschooling, although I do believe much more then not are capable and should be wholeheartedly pouring themselves into their children through homeschooling.  I will also advocate that if homeschooling is truly not an option, then our government schools must not be an option, leaving only private Christian schooling.  God knows what we need to perform this task and all throughout scripture God provides when we ask anything according to his will.  “In biblical times the concept of education was completely different from what modern society perceives it to be.  The Hebrews did not separate the child’s need for education into categories, such as spiritual, mental, emotional and physical.  The Jewish worldview was holistic-one in which mind, body, and spirit functioned together, each part as much in need of education as the others.  David Mulligan explains that the Bible teaches that holiness involves the whole life, “We must avoid the artificial and unbiblical compartmentalization of life that keeps religion in one room only and allows secular standards to reign everywhere else (Sampson, 2005, p.66)””.  Along with all the scripture and practical advice we can simply say that, homeschooling is another tremendous opportunity to start youth evangelism at home.

            In conclusion, let us recall the bleak picture painted within the introduction, and vow as committed followers of Christ privileged with influence over our own children to stand in the gap.  Deut 6 speaks clearly to our call of obedience to their instruction.  Each and every home with a child is awaiting their Moses in order to equip them to be a part of the next Joshua generation.  We cannot neglect the words of Jesus within Mark 7, and vow to honor God with our heart, not just our lips; in order that our children understand that “We Walk the Talk”.  Matthew 22 admonishes us to Love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind.  How do we teach our children about the often overlooked mind?  Worldview studies along with apologetics will be tremendous tools in order for them to be ready to give a reason for the hope that lies within.  1^st Cor 15:33 reminds us that bad company corrupts good character, therefore it is not an option for us as parents and mentors alike to relinquish monitoring of influences and surroundings to the culture itself.  After a generation of unbelief has been fostered in our government schools, homeschooling must be considered.  Finally Psalms 127 tells us our children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.  My prayer is that we would pick up the bow and sharpen the arrows and embrace the fact that “Youth Evangelism Starts at Home”.