15 Day Prayer Challenge - Day 9

Dear Abundant Life Family:

In the book, The Last Christian Generation, by Dr. Josh McDowell the author makes this bold statement regarding the spiritual state of American teenagers: "I sincerely believe unless something is done now to change the spiritual state of our young people - you will become the last Christian generation." McDowell supports this previous statement by sharing these statistics:

63% don't believe Jesus is the Son of the one true God.
58% believe that all faiths teach equally valid truths.
51% don't believe Jesus rose from the dead.
65% don't believe that Satan is a real entity.
68% don't believe that the Holy Spirit is a real entity.

This is a major issue. In the statistics above, over 50 percent in each category, believes that one of the fundamental and life changing aspects of the gospel are not true, necessary, or important. Thus leading students to the conclusion that a personal relationship with Christ is not true, necessary, or important.

This, however, is not the first time in history that the gospel has been under attack, or in trouble of being lost. In fact, a very strong argument could be made that this is the perfect settings for the gospel to thrive, and win! I hold to the promise that Jesus Christ is building a church, and that the gates of hell cannot stop it.

Here are four prayer focuses for our students. First, please pray for our Sunday school teachers. These are the people who work hard to prove the claims and truth Scripture. Pray that the Lord will lead them, speak through them, and give them wisdom to communicate the truth of the Gospel to our students. Our youth Sunday school teachers are: Guy Church, Josh Mings, Jordan Russell, Gary Kasprzak, and Betty Gutierrez. Second, pray that grace will be given to our students. Pray that the Lord will guard their hearts and keep them from things that will distract and pull them away from Christ. Third, pray that a passion for the Scripture will grow in their hearts. I love what the Psalms say, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." And last, pray with fervor that you will not be the last Christian generation and that our students will continue on in their faith!

Wednesday afternoon prayer time 12-1 pm
Wednesday evening Speaker Joe Bailey will be in the auditorium for worship.
The Youth will join the Adults in Worship.
Following worship the Youth will be dismissed for class with Josh Mings