Every generation has its challenges and this one is no exception.  Parents today face the problem of over saturation.  There are so many demands for our allegiance and no room left for margin.  Coaches demand high levels of commitment, educators insist on academic excellence including honors classes, colleges require resumes full of extracurricular activities, and parents are conditioned to believe that their children must perform in all areas at high levels of proficiency. 

To demonstrate this just look at how many kids are enrolled in SAT classes to be sure they exceed expectations, sports camps to improve levels of play, even in jr leagues, and receive tutoring because they’re only performing at B+ academic levels. Just to cope, our children lose themselves in the latest techno games and gadgets – they escape to an imaginary world with no expectations or pressures. 

I never would have imagined a day where kids couldn’t step out the front door to walk the length of the street knocking on doors to see who can come out and play, but we’ve arrived.  We now have play dates!  We actually have to schedule play time because if we don’t it wouldn’t happen.  Some of us parents actually get annoyed today if the next door neighbor doesn’t call before he comes.  What’s happened to us?

It should be no surprise to any of us that healthy self-esteem among young people is on the decline, that despondency and depression are on the rise, that our children’s sense of purpose is elusive at best and that our kids are becoming tolerant of everything and passionate about nothing!

I wrote a sermon some years back that I continue to preach titled, “If Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.”  It now seems prophetic as I see church attendance dwindle in the wake of tightening schedules.  The first activities to be sacrificed in a culture with little margin are spiritual ones since society puts little practical value on them.  Church is great as long as my son’s baseball game doesn’t conflict and as long as it’s not a top ten day weather wise, otherwise the beach would be calling. After all, the Lord wants us to be happy, right?

Spiritual Apathy is the death knell of our day.  It has also been the downfall of nations historically.  In the midst of all the madness and distraction God is whispering, “Do you love me?”  Scripture tells us that the greatest command is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.”  Unfortunately, our response too often is, “I would Lord, but I’m just too busy.”  Well, there we have it, if Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy – anything as long as you’re not attentive to God.

Parents, it’s time we take a stand and say, “Enough is enough!”  “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!”  It’s time to stop the spiritual apathy of our country and it begins with you and me and then our children.  This is what TTW is all about – turning young people from Apathy to Energy in their faith!  Most everything our society has to offer is temporal, but the gift of faith is eternal and will carry our children through their toughest days and on into eternity.  Thank you for trusting TTW with your most precious possession – your children; we will give all that we have to instill in them our most precious possession – a living faith!  We will give them what we believe is the most important gift a child could receive – an experience with the Living God! 

Fighting for our kids,

Jeff Boucher, President

Touch The World Youth Ministries