Called to Disciple

Most of you know what I do with the majority of my free time, but in case you don’t, here’s a brief run down. Through my church, I volunteer to lead a small group of freshman girls. I have been with them since they were in sixth grade, and will be with them until they graduate. They are amazing. I love them, and they keep me on my toes. For some reason, the Lord has seen fit to place me in a place of influence in their lives. Rarely do I feel worthy or equipped of such a job, but I do feel called, and I know that’s enough.

One of my girls is at a Christian school that has started a mentoring program this year. It was their goal to have every freshman student (130 of them) paired with a mentor. Someone who would do three things over the course of this school year: 1) Pray daily for them, 2) Make contact with them once a week, and 3) Get together and hang out with them once a month. I have the honor of being Maddie’s mentor. (The picture si the two of us at her homecoming game). This morning there was a breakfast for all the mentors. They told us stories of people who had influenced their lives, had us think about people who had influenced ours, and gave us some staggering statistics about this generation we are trying to reach. They are calling them the “M” Generation. The M stands for media. Here’s a few of the more interesting ones:

- 50% of teens are growing up in divorced homes.
- 85% of teens will have sex by age 21.
- 35% of teenage girls will get pregnant.
- 88% of them will abandon church within two years of high school graduation
- 66% of kids between ages 8 and 18 have TV’s in their rooms.
- 75% are on a social networking sight such as facebook or myspace. 69% of those regularly receive messages from unknown persons.
- Kids ages 8-18 spend over six hours per day consuming media.

It is crazy how even the twelve year age difference has so drastically changed the world they are growing up in. It breaks my heart, and it spurs me even more toward pouring my life into these girls, and being real with them, and doing whatever God calls me to do so that they don’t end up becoming one of these statistics and instead end up equipped to disciple others.