PREACHING THE OLD-TIME GOSPEL TO THE YOUTH OF TODAY
by Jeff Owens
Assistant Pastor, First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana Bible Club Ministry Director
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ladies, teenagers, singles, married couples, this is a ``must'' article for you if you're concerned about our country's youth.
According to the ``Digest of Education Statistics,'' produced by the U.S. Department of Education, there are 23,289 public high schools in America. These schools represent 12,160,000 students. In one year of that time, 359,000 of these students became high school dropouts. In that same year, 904,647 teenage girls became pregnant. Of the 904,647 teenage pregnancies, 427,000 of them had abortions. If all that is not shocking enough, 27,756 of those students, committed suicide and all of this in one year of time.
Twenty-five percent of students in grades five through twelve think they can experiment with drugs without slipping into drug abuse and the percentage rises the older the students become.
SCHOLASTIC magazine surveyed 180,000 students in December of 1989 and found that:
** 13% of 5th and 6th graders think they can use drugs without abusing them
** 41% of 11th and 12 graders think they can use drugs without abusing the
**33% of students overall say drugs are easily obtainable at school.
**50% of 11th and 12th graders say drugs are easily obtainable at school.
USA Today
These students must be reached with the Gospel or they will spend an eternity in Hell, separated from God. Satan has indeed made his bid for these teens. Look at that to which they are exposed: unbelief in Jesus, crime stealing, vandalism, and gangs, cartoons and videos, idol worship of movie stars and their music, false religion, occult worship, greed for material belongings, parents who feel that Jesus and the Bible are not important, school systems that are against religious activities. From California to Maine, from Montana to Texas, teenagers are found everywhere, and guess what? We have the answer! Jesus Christ has always been and always will be the answer.
We here at First Baptist Church and Hyles-Anderson College are definitely aware of the needs of America's youth. We have a ministry called the Bible Club ministry which is especially designed to help solve the problems of these teenagers. We not only help young public school students, but we also give in-depth training to our college youth workers on how they can help save America by reaching her youth.
``What is a Bible Club?'' you might ask. It is a club somewhat like a chess club or Spanish club but its roots are in Bible study and Bible living. These clubs are especially designed for public school teenagers. They meet at a local meeting place where they sing Christian songs, have fun activities and are always instructed through Bible preaching and teaching on how to live right.
You might ask, ``How many young people would dare to get involved in this type of program?''
This year on one big Sunday, there were 482 public school teenagers who attended a Bible Club Sunday school department. On March 18, 1990, our church had what we called ``Pentecost Sunday'' (named after a special day in Bible times).l Not only was there a great turnout that day but 365 of the 482 in attendance, publicly walked an aisle and prayed, asking Jesus Christ to become their personal Savior. In the year 1989, 2,146 teens received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and 3,121 teens attended the Bible Club program.
Every Saturday morning, I meet with our college youth workers for a time of practical instruction from the Bible on how we might reach our generation for Christ. I teach on things like:
** Soul winning and how to follow-up on a convert
**Leadership and how to lead teen boys and girls
**Followship and how to be a good example to teens in this area of life
**Preaching and how to preach to teens and teach teens the Bible
**Organization and how to organize a youth department that is used to change lives
**Music and how to teach the truth about it from the Bible to youth
**Principles about dating and marriage that young people must know
**How to work with parents and how to get them into the church program
**How to set up and continue a personal devotional life with Christ
**Sports and how to set up a sports program using the tool of sports to build character and also the philosophy behind sports for the Christian.
While serving the Lord at First Baptist Church of Hammond as an Assistant Pastor to Dr. Hyles, I have learned that when we as leaders stop learning and growing, we limit our ability to teach others. In our college Bible Club workers' meetings, we are constantly learning together and making changes in our own lives. No college student is a finished product. Each one is at a different level or place in his Christian life. I try to take each student from where he is and build from that point. We do not expect anyone to have the answer but we try to give them the answers. This is not only the philosophy that is used with the college youth workers but it is the philosophy they use when working with teens. The Bible Club ministry is best known as a family. Many married couples come to work with us and many single students get involved. I love the members of our Bible Club family and they know it.
The Bible Club Ministry also runs bus routes in our local Calumet area. The routes are worked by our college students. We concentrate on reaching our Bible Club teenagers, their parents and their young brothers or sisters. Providing bus transportation on Sunday has been a great blessing to the Bible Club family. We all learn about running a bus route and we all enjoy seeing people in whom we have invested our lives come to church and learn to invest in others.
I gave this article the title of ``Preaching the Old Time Gospel to the Youth of Today.'' It would not be complete if I did not say, ``What we all need is just some good old-fashioned Bible preaching to help us.''
The following notes were taken during a message I preached to our Bible Club teens and college workers. I called the message, ``The Real Hell about Hellfire is Not the Fire.''
According to Matthew 25:41, Hell was not created for us. ``Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:'' It was created for the devil and his fallen angels. If you go to Hell, you are actually an intruder there. God created you for the purpose of praying to Him and spending time with Him.
The bad part about going to Hell is not the fire, it is the separation from God. The bad part about your going to Hell, for God, is that He wanted you in Heaven with Him. So the worst thing about Hell is not the fire, it is that we won't be with God.
With this thought in mind, let me say that many of us live like we are already in Hell today.
1. Do you praise God? (Psalm 150:1-6) If not, you are in Hell because you won't praise Him in Hell either.
2. Do you pray to God? (Ephesians 6:18) If not, you are living like you are in Hell because you won't pray to God in Hell either.
3. Do you proclaim His salvation to the lost? (Proverbs 11:30) If not, you are living like you are in Hell because you won't proclaim His salvation to the lost in Hell either.
I believe the most painful part of the crucifixion for Jesus Christ was not the crown of thorns.
It was not the spear in His side. It was not the nails driven into His hands. I believe it was when He said in Matthew 27:46, ``...My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'' Jesus, for that moment, was separated from God, and oh! the pain He suffered.
Probably the reason your life seems to be a life of pain, misery or torture is that you have separated yourself from God and His will and are living like you would be living in Hell.
I hope that after reading this article you would feel it is God's will for you to help us reach America's youth through the Bible Club Ministry. Many of you should decide to attend Hyles-Anderson College in September, 1990, and join the Bible Club Ministry where you will be loved while being trained and instructed on how to reach teenagers.
Please help us keep teenagers out of Hell. Remember! ``The real hell about hellfire is not the fire!'' The real hell about Hell is being separated from God. Please help yourselves by staying in God's will and never separating yourselves from Him. His will is that we get as many people saved as possible. Maybe the place you could help to do this is in the Bible Club Ministry while attending Hyles-Anderson College.
EDITOR'S NOTE: If you are a high school graduate of any age, married or
single, and you are living an average life with little direction, pick up the
telephone and dial 219-365-3202 or 219-365-8388. Let us know you are
interested in getting into Hyles-Anderson College this September, 1995, before
you waste any more of the time God has given you. We will put you in
touch with folks who are experts in guiding you through the transition from
home to college in just a few days.