Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Why Does Quality Youth Ministry Matter?

From Monday Morning Insight…

Seventy percent of people, 23 to 30 years old, are nowhere to be found in church on a regular basis for at least a year. They become church dropouts, according to a 2007 study from LifeWay Research.

“The most frequent reason for leaving church is, in fact, a self-imposed change, ‘I simply wanted a break from church’ (27%),” according to a LifeWay report summarizing the study. “The path toward college and the workforce are also strong reasons for young people to leave church: ‘I moved to college and stopped attending church’ (25%) and ‘work responsibilities prevented me from attending’ (23%).”

Following are some similar findings cited by the Youth Transition Network (YTN), a coalition of some of the nation’s largest denominations and ministries that are working together to help reduce the dramatic loss of youth from the church:

“An Assemblies of God study showed a loss of 66% of their students within one year of high school graduation.”

“A Southern Baptist transition project estimates an 82% loss of youth within one year of high school graduation.”

“Fifty to eighty percent of high school students walk away” from the church.

600th Post

I wrote my first blog post on July 24, 2006. Now, here I am writing my 600th post.

Blogging has had a deeper impact on me and my ministry than I ever dreamed it would. Here are a few reasons why I've grown to love it…

I hope this blog is a blessing to you. My goal is to challenge you, motivate you, encourage you, and to give you a good laugh from time to time.

On to the next 600…

Brokenness

Got this email from my friend, Dave, after my message on Sunday. He said it better than I could, so here you go. (Shared with Dave's permission, of course.)

Thanks for the great message as usual. I have found in my life that as often as I allow sin to get a hold again, I need to be broken and repent again. I think the people who are into "religion" think of repentance and brokenness as something that happened in the past when they came to Christ and now they are done with it. Pride blinds them from seeing the ongoing need for brokenness and repentance.

I have found it be a regular process in my life that renews God's grace and keeps it alive in me as I continue to allow Him to break me. It never gets fun or easy but it sure is a blessing that brings joy, as you said.

Sometimes I feel like I am continually playing musical chairs with God for the throne of my heart. I get off the throne and surrender to Him, then I push Him off and get back on it. Then I start the cycle over again. It's so hard to stay off that throne but it is so important to keep getting off of it when you find yourself back on it.

Amen, Dave.

Why I Hate Religion

I "borrowed" one illustration from this message by Mark Driscoll yesterday. Thought it was worth sharing a much larger portion of his message today.

Sunday Night Reflections

Great day today! Long, tiring, but great!

I know I sound like a broken record, but the Demolition series blew my mind! I have a hard time grasping what God did through the last five weeks as we focused on the often-ignored Old Testament book of Ezra. Wow!

Then I got to hang out at Nexus tonight with our Jr./Sr. Highers and our adult youth staff. Crazy stuff tonight! Calling Chinese restaurants, talking donkeys, a rock-paper-scissors tournament…we had it all tonight. If you're the parent of a teenager, they need to be at Nexus (and all our other stellar youth ministry programs). Awesome stuff!

Time for dinner, a little TV (although there is absolutely nothing on!), and bed.

G'nite!

Welcome Home, Matt

We honor Matt Maupin.

Keith, Carolyn, and all Matt's family…we're praying for you.

Final Demolition

The final message in the Demolition series is tomorrow. It's been amazing how God has blessed this series. Every week, I have walked on stage feeling as if I had a fresh word from God to share. As a pastor, that is the mountaintop you want to live on every week!

Do not miss this Sunday. I've got a word!

Bad Day at the Office?

Betcha it hasn't been this bad…

Bad Day at the Office

If you find yourself relating a little too much to these people, I can refer you to a good counselor!

(Thanks for the video link, Andy!)

The Reds Stink

What would cause me, a loyal, committed, true-blue fan to make such a statement?

Losing 10 of the last 13 games…that'll do it.

Pappadeaux – The Recommendation

A few weeks ago, I wrote a series of posts about our dining experience at Pappadeaux. (See the links at the end of this post.)

I was recently informed that I left out one thing…and it's so obvious that I can't believe I overlooked it. We would have never even visited Pappadeaux if someone hadn't recommended it to us.

My sister and her husband highly recommended that we give Pappadeaux a try. (I'm not sure why we listened to them because they've give us some bad recommendations in the past!) Jason & Lori were so high on the place that we decided to try it…and we were so glad we did!

Let me tie that thought in to the church…

Are you excited enough about your church that you "recommend" it to others? Do you see the exciting, God-sized potential in your church…so much so that you want your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to be part of the journey with you?

If not…maybe you're plugged into the wrong church. Or maybe the problem is you. Remember, it's a two-way street.

One of my core convictions is that life is too short to be part of a church that you don't believe in. I believe in my church so much that I have no hesitation inviting someone to check it out. Hope the same is true for you!

Other posts in this series…

Pappadeaux – First Impressions
Pappadeaux – The Atmosphere & The Customers
Pappadeaux – The Food
Pappadeaux – Last Impressions