Prominent Youth Ministries Urge Fasting, Sexual Purity
Over 20 ministries across the nation have teamed up to spread the message of purity to America's youth.
Beginning June 1, young people are being called to pray and fast every first Friday of every month for a spiritual awakening as the young generation faces a culture of sex and promiscuity, Christian and youth leaders say.
"Recognizing the challenges facing America's youth, and the devastation that sexual immorality and moral relativism have had and are having on this generation of young people, we urge students to pursue sexual purity and to pray for their generation and for our nation," said a statement by the new coalition of Christian groups, which include Family Research Council, Teen Mania, Youth With a Mission and Exodus Youth.
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With some of the nation's most notable youth organizations, the new network plans to spread a counter-cultural message of truth regarding the challenges many of today's youth face.
Today, the young generation faces more media influence and a sexualized culture than any other generation, according to Teen Mania. And, for the first time, this generation is living in a period that has point and click pornography.
A Barna study in 2006 found that young adults – people in their 20s and 30s – held less conventional attitudes toward sexual activities and morals with most saying cohabitation, sex outside of marriage and viewing pornography are morally acceptable behaviors.
Moreover, new research has suggested that premarital sex doesn't harm the mental health of older teens. A report published in the American Journal of Sociology on Thursday revealed that for the majority of students (grades seven through 12) in the study who lost their virginity, sex "had no big effect" such as increasing depression.
The research countered a 2003 report by the Heritage Foundation that found that sexual active teenagers are substantially less likely to be happy and more likely to be depressed than are teenagers who aren't having sex.
In a portrait of today's young generation (18- to 25-year-olds), The Pew Research Center showed that 75 percent of "Generation Nexters" say today's youth are more likely to have casual sex than were young people 20 years ago.
"We've allowed the promiscuity in our culture to become more and more common," Teen Mania founder Ron Luce said earlier.
Plus, seven in 10 nexters say today's youth resort to violence to solve conflicts more often than the previous generation and nearly as many say they more often binge drink compared to their predecessors.
"This country desperately needs young men and women of character to make a difference among their peers," said Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries at Exodus International. "This can only happen when our youth encounter and experience the life-giving power of Jesus Christ. We are pleased to partner with such dynamic organizations who are eager to accomplish this goal."
Other organizations joining the new coalition include: Bethel Church, Bound4Life, Global Outreach Campus Ministries, High Impact Leadership Coalition, Institute for Christian Legal Studies, Intercessors for America, Karen Wheaton Ministries, Kentwood Community Church, Impact Movement, Liberty University, Men for Nations, Prepare Ministries, Teen Pact, The Call USA, Victorious Life Church, Wellington Boone Ministries, The Witherspoon Fellowship, Worldview Academy, and Youth Interceding for America.
