More thoughts on the "Youthquake"

Here, again, is the chart from the Feb. 28, 2011 from Time magazine. It demonstrates the significance of the age demographic throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

This chart once again stirs our passion to reach the youth of the world for Christ.

Here are some additional perspectives on realities and trends among US students that I thought might be of interest.

Megathemes of 2010: In December, Barna published its "megathemes" for the church in 2010. These are not written for college students in particular, but Christian students seem to mirror the broader church in many of these areas.

· The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate.

· Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented.

· Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for life.

· Among Christians, interest in participating in community action is escalating.

· The postmodern insistence on tolerance is winning over the Christian Church.

· The influence of Christianity on culture and individual lives is largely invisible.

Each of these is not new to campus ministry – and offer unique challenges in how we spur students on to live lives worthy of the Gospel. (Barna.org December 13, 2010)

Fast Company’s Dec 2010/Jan 2011 issue, (p. 137), Before turning 21, the average American has spent 2,000 to 3,000 hours reading books— and more than three times as much playing computer and video games. Ten thousand hours of practice, according to Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell, is a defining trait of virtuosos. Globally, 350 million people Spend a combined 3 billion hours per week playing these games.