One of the disturbing trends in the youth culture today is the number of kids who, having once embraced the Christian faith, walk away from it as they enter their college years. While the surface reasons for that may be varied and complex, I believe that the underlying source can be traced directly back to the outdated methodology that we so often use in our attempts to reach young people. In this postmodern culture in which our kids are being raised where, as Chuck Colson puts it, "your truth is your truth, my truth is my truth, and neither one is important enough for us to get passionate about," we often use ministry approaches with teenagers that are doomed for failure from the start. While those methods may have been effective a generation ago – when the notion of absolute truth was more widely accepted in the culture – today's kids are skeptical (at best) of those curriculum-driven and event-driven models of youth ministry. Instead, they hunger for the authenticity of relationships with spiritual leaders and mentors who will love, embrace, and model for them what it means to walk intimately and uprightly with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Biblical injunction is clear: "Go and make disciples." Not converts. Not kids who check cards or raise hands or walk aisles every six months or so. Disciples. Followers. Committed-to-the-core-believers. Yet in our hurry up, instant society the slow process of building foundations of spiritual depth and maturity into the lives of kids is often overlooked for quicker, more "exciting" and easily tracked solutions.

Yet the fact remains, that there can be no lasting fruit, no lasting life-change, and no hope for a culture to once again turn to the Lord, without the slow and steady work of discipleship. Consider these words from pastor and seminary professor Eugene Peterson:

"Friedrich Nietzche, who saw this area of spiritual truth, at least, with great clarity wrote, 'The essential thing in heaven and earth is ... that there should be long obedience in the same direction; that thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.' It is this 'long obedience in the same direction' which the mood of the world does so much to discourage."

At K-Life, we are dedicated to this kind of ministry, on a community-wide scale, in each of our local areas. As you browse this site, my prayer is that our God will give you a vision of what could be, in your community, if we were to link arms and resources to effectively reach the teenagers who live near you. After all – the very future of the church, the culture, and ultimately the Kingdom of God, depends upon the impact and influence we have in their lives today.

Interested in knowing more about getting K-Life started in your community? Click here to find out more.