Alexis Slifer… from the Rubyz, has her own blog and offers her unique perspectives on life, faith and the challenges of being a Christian teenager. Check out her latest post below or at her own WordPress site… Alexis’ Blogsite.

August 2011:

Four years ago I was sitting on the floor of the sanctuary at my church listening to my youth pastor’s word for the night. We were having a lock-in. My youth group was so close, all of us were best friends. We had a lot in common, and our favorite place to be was youth. I can remember nights we would all be crying, laying on our faces. Praying and listening for God’s voice. We were on fire.

I would encourage anyone to set aside an hour this week and watch this movie. (movie “DIVIDED“  )

Left me wondering. How can I fix this….? But the better question is… Can I?

I am lucky enough to have been raised in a home where Christ is always the center. My parents always asked us the tough questions about what we believed and why. When I had a question I knew I could take it to them, and if they didn’t have the answer I knew where we would turn.. The Bible, Christ. We would study together and figure out the answer I was looking for.

I learned 90% of what I know about Christ, the Bible, and living a godly life.. from my parents.

Those statistics from my title. What are they? The percentage of youth leaving Christ. I heard those same percentages four years ago, as a freshman, during a fun all nighter.. My youth pastor explained it like this…

Out of the 40 of you here now, MAYBE 3 of you will still follow Christ once you get into college..

He said this challenging us to break out of that percentage. That night we all made promises that it wouldn’t be us. We were too on fire.. Unfortunately, my youth pastor was right, and we became part of the statistic.

I guess what I am asking is.. will you be the statistic too?

Because that night none of us thought we would be. . You have to take steps to prevent it. Read your Bible on your own and really study it for yourself. Don’t just believe what everyone else has to say.

I am not willing to let another generation slip away.. something needs to change.

So when we grow up and become parents, lets step up to the plate and really TEACH our children about the God we love. Then maybe we won’t lose another generation..

And if you’re a parent reading this, please teach your children. Don’t assume that your staff at church is providing what we need. You don’t understand how much we really do want to hear from YOU.. Even if we are rolling our eyes.

Alexis….