Hopeful news—no matter how you say it

My wife is a high school math teacher, and because of this, I get to hear some of the lingo used by the current generation of students that, let’s just say, isn’t native to my own vocabulary. 

When something’s good—very good—it’s bussin’. When something’s not good to the point of raising suspicion about its nature or motives, it’s sus. Things or people who are attractive have rizz, and things that are fun or enjoyable are lit. 

My wife’s favorite: Rather than punctuating a statement with the word “seriously” or “for real,” such as, “That steak was good—for real!” this generation might say, “That was an amazing steak—no cap.” Don’t ask me what it means. I’m about half afraid to even look it up on my work computer. 

I write these things with good humor in my heart, and yet, these kinds of generational culture gaps also have the potential to create cynicism stemming from a lack of mutual understanding.. Allowed to grow unchecked, such cynicism can create disdain and even full-on apathy—and it’s hard to reach people for Christ through a haze of apathy.   

There are plenty of statistics that don’t shine a favorable light on the next generation as it pertains to their faith. But as we spend this issue of the Texan focusing on how God is working through the next generation,
I want to share with you a statistic I find encouraging.

In an article for Lifeway Research in January, Paul Worcester, national collegiate director for the North American Mission Board, pointed out that 87% of evangelicals came to faith before age 30. We have heard ad nauseam about how teens tend to drop out of church in droves immediately after high school, but when was the last time you heard someone excitedly proclaim the opportunity that exists to reach young people throughout the decade after graduation?

“Youth ministry is not a junior varsity calling,” Worcester writes. “College ministry is not the B team. These leaders are on the front lines of the battleground for the next generation. We need our best resources and best troops where the battle rages hottest.”

In this issue, we’ve attempted to zoom in and show you the victories being claimed for Christ on some of those battlegrounds. You’ll read about a church where the youth department is taking responsibility to lead and reach their own friends with the gospel. You’ll read about amazing things happening on college campuses where leaders got hyper-focused on prayer and diving deep into God’s Word. You’ll read about what one couple has learned about the next generation by ministering to them on multiple levels—kids, students, and even young adults into their 20s.

When you’re finished, I pray you’ll not only be inspired by what God is doing in the next generation, but filled with insight that may help you win more battles for young minds through the truth of Scripture.

Yeah, that would be lit. No cap.