A well-known evangelist says Christian parents and churches must do a better job of teaching and modeling biblical truth to young people.

Author and speaker Josh McDowell is about to embark on a year-long schedule of conferences with the purpose of equipping youth and adults to share, defend, and model their Christian beliefs effectively. McDowell says young people who call themselves Christian often have distorted beliefs about God, truth, and the Bible.

McDowell says contemporary research shows that accepting Christ and making a profession of faith today makes little or no difference in young people's beliefs, attitudes, or behavior. Studies indicate that 63 percent of Christian youth do not believe Jesus is the Son of the one true God, 58 percent believe all faiths teach equally valuable truths, and 51 percent do not believe Jesus rose from the dead.

Meanwhile, 74 percent of Christian kids say they cheat on tests, and 93 percent say they lie to their parents. And although these trends are alarming, McDowell contends they are not surprising or difficult to understand.

"If you do not understand not only what you believe but why you believe it," McDowell explains, "then, in our multicultural society where Islam used to be in the next continent -- now it's the next 7-11 [Store] -- then you start to back off of your convictions and beliefs about the scriptures."

McDowell believes pluralistic postmodern culture makes it more important than ever that today's youth be equipped with a thorough grounding in the biblical truth. This is imperative, he says, "because the world has come to us. We need to train our young people, more than ever, not only in what they believe but why they believe it and to see them experience it in their lives."

And to do this, the evangelist says parents, church youth leaders, and other adult mentors need to focus on building and maintaining positive relationships with young people. "Most of our beliefs are not formed," he explains, "but they're engendered by our relationship with authoritative adults in our lives."

Most kids today "are deeply hurting in relationships, and it's affected the very things that they believe," McDowell contends. He says when important relationships with adult authority figures are missing and or failing to connect, young people tend to walk away from the very beliefs and behavior of those who have authority over them.

In an effort to help adults connect with kids and help them stand strong in the face of today's culture, McDowell has launched a campaign called "Beyond Belief to Convictions." Through this campaign his ministry provides resources to help adults raise and train up "a generation of transformed followers of Christ" who know what they believe and why.

The Bold Truth Tour Comes to Boise!

Bring your youth to the BOLD TRUTH youth event and pray that God will ignite a lasting transformation in their lives.
 
This one-evening, three-hour youth extravaganza is a combination of live drama, motion picture, lights, sound, and music punctuated by the gripping questions: "What are you searching for?"; "What is the most valued treasure in life?"; and "Where are you trying to find it?"
 
Young people will be caught up in this unique, experiential event-of-a-lifetime as the drama unfolds around them, draws them in, and immerses them in a riveting, interactive, multi-sensory experience unlike anything they have ever attended. Through it all, they will be brought face-to-face with the bold truth that Christ is the only true source of meaning in life - the One we are all searching for - and the only one with the power that "satisfies every need there is" (Acts 17:25, NLT).
 
But more than that, students will be presented with this startling realization: IF CHRIST ISN'T WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE THEN HE HAS NO POWER TO FORGIVE SIN OR TRANSFORM LIVES! If Jesus isn't the Son of the one true God then our faith in him is worthless and our lives have no meaning. Yet, if Jesus is the true Christ then what he offers is real and relevant to every aspect of our lives! It is here that Josh provides compelling evidence for the deity of Christ, establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that Christ is who he claimed to be. Using captivating video and live drama, Josh drives home the bold truth that Jesus is the ONE and he does in fact have the power to transform lives.
 
The entire evening is full of teaching, music, intrigue, and fun with one central objective in mind - bring students to an encounter with the evidence and reality that Jesus Christ is the one and only true source of meaning in life. The evening concludes with a challenge to commit or recommit one's life to the powerful Creator and loving Savior of the world - Jesus Christ.