I began this assignment with some reservations about what I would ask, but also with excited anticipation at what the results would be. In some areas of the survey, I was pleasantly surprised at the responses; others, I was disappointed by the minds of our young people. This, however, was an excellent opportunity to see something of how this generation thinks and how well the church is doing at educating them for the future.

I surveyed two groups—churchgoers from age 15 to 19 with two males and four females (six total), and non-churchgoers from age 15 to 19 with five males and four females (nine total). In some areas, the results were similar; in others, they were quite different. I will explain the results of the survey and summarize the implications of these findings for those who minister to adolescents.

More than half (66%) of the churchgoers believe we live in a liberal society, and the non-church group came close at 55 percent. This does not come as a surprise to me, because it would be rather difficult to argue that our society is mostly non-liberal. I appreciate that a majority in these groups recognize this about our society. It should be noted that some of the respondents did not accurately understand what this term means and had responses that didn’t correlate with what was being asked.

When asked if they think voting is important and if they actually vote, 83 percent of the churchgoers agreed that it was important and they did vote, compared to 67 percent of the non-churchgoers. This begs the question: Does the church have an impact on civil responsibilities? This also could be connected to morality. Does a person who would be expected to have a higher level of morality (churchgoer) differ from the expected lower level morality of a non-churchgoer, and what impact does this play on decisions in society?

A startling reality about divorce in our country is that both groups share in the number of divorces between their parents. Half (50%) of each group are part of divorced households. This is a shocking and sad reality that we face in our world today. Even within the confines of the church, we see families being torn apart by divorce. Again, the question could and probably should be asked: How are differing levels of morality impacting this conclusion? To coincide with this statistic, both groups believe the divorce rate is too high in our society and that married couples should go to counseling before making a decision to get a divorce. What was surprising was the high number of churchgoers who believe divorce is OK, even if only for the reason a couple cannot get along. Also, there were very few of the churchgoers who mentioned adultery as a legitimate reason for divorce.

Another interesting find was that only 66 percent of churchgoers were against homosexual marriage, and more than half (55%) of non-churchgoers were against it. This begs the question: What is being taught in church today? Why are young churchgoers OK with something that is an abomination to God? Is it because the liberal society has invaded the church? If so, what is being done about it? In contrast, I think it is somewhat encouraging to find that more than half of the non-churchgoers believe homosexual marriage is wrong.

When it comes to pro-life or pro-choice in connection with the abortion issue, all the female churchgoers (100%) were pro-life and believed abortion was wrong and in most cases compared it to murder. In stark contrast, three quarters of the non-churchgoing females were pro-choice and believed a woman has the right to choose. Remarkably, 50 percent of the male churchgoers supported abortion and relayed the choice was up to the woman. Paradoxically, 75 percent of the non-churchgoing males were pro-life and were adamant that abortion was not right. This, of course, is a hot-topic issue of the day for our society as a whole and probably never has been more pervasive in the church than it is now.

Of all the participants interviewed, 100 percent believed the Ten Commandments are a good moral standard to live by and that following them would make our society better. This is encouraging because we live in times when moral relevance is extremely persistent throughout discussion in our society and even within the context of the church. Some people believe moral standards change and can be different from culture to culture.

Half (50%) of the non-churchgoers believe it is good to go the church. However, only two out of six (33%) of the churchgoers admit to reading the Bible, with some admitting they think it’s boring and only two out of nine (22%) of the non-churchgoers saying they read the Bible. These are not good numbers for the church. This essentially says that almost as many non-churchgoing youth read the Bible as churchgoing youth. This is something that needs to change within the church, and leaders need to take a proactive approach in educating their people. Amazingly, although not many of the non-churchgoers actually read the Bible, 77 percent say it is a good idea to read it, and more than 80 percent of the churchgoers agreed. This is yet another incredible reality that the church needs to act upon. According to this survey, nearly eight out of every 10 people in this age group approve of Bible reading.

This survey brought forth some interesting results of the questions asked. In conclusion, I will share some of the implications of this survey in connection with youth ministry. This is not an exhaustive list, but helpful nonetheless.

1. Majority of young people are aware that our society is liberal.
2. Half of all youth are personally effected by divorced parents, even in the church.
3. A high number of youths in the church believe in unbiblical reasons for divorce.
4. Very few of the youths know the biblical reasons for divorce.
5. Almost half of churchgoing youths believe in homosexual marriage.
6. Half of male churchgoing youths support abortion, and three quarters of non-churchgoing females; but three quarters of male non-churchgoers are pro-life.
7. The Ten Commandments are still relative to youth today.
8. Half of youths believe attending church is a good idea.
9. Only one out of three youths read the Bible on his or her own.
10.  Nearly eight out of 10 youths believe reading the Bible is good.

Survey Facts
• 66 percent of the churchgoer group believes we live in a liberal society; non-churchgoers group decrease to 55 percent.
• 83 percent of the churchgoers are pro-vote compared to 67 percent of the non-churchgoers.
• 50 percent of both groups were raised in divorced households.
• Both groups believe the divorce rate is too high.
• Both groups believe couples should go to counseling before making a decision to get divorced.
• 66 percent of churchgoers are against homosexual marriage; the percentage decreases to 55 percent for non-churchgoers.
• 100 percent of female churchgoers are pro-life compared to 75 percent pro-choice non-churchgoers’ females.
• 100 percent of both groups believe in the Ten Commandments; they also believe following the Ten Commandments would make our society better.
• Only 50 percent of non-churchgoers believe it is good to go to church.
• Only two out of six churchgoers admit to reading the Bible; only two out of nine non-churchgoers say they read the Bible.
• 77 percent of non-churchgoers say is a good idea to read the Bible.
• More than 80 percent of churchgoers believes it is good to read the Bible.

Survey
Profile: Gender __________ Age __________
Note: Please be aware that if you feel the desire to elaborate on any of your answers, please feel free to add additional papers.

A. Do you think we live in a liberal society? Yes ____ No ____ Please briefly explain your answer. Why do you think that way?

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B. Do you vote, or are you planning to vote? Yes ____ No ____

C. Explain your decision to vote or note to vote:
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D. Do you think the divorce rate in our country is high? Yes ____ No ____ Please briefly:
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E. Do you think it is OK to get divorced because you are not getting along with your mate, or do you think there should be more reasons for a divorce? If so, what reasons are those?
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F. Do you think married couples should go to counseling before deciding to divorce?
Yes ____ No ____ Briefly explain:
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G. Were you raised in a household with parents?
Yes ____ No ____  Other: _____________________

H. Regardless of the way you grew up, based on question E, how were you impacted by this way of growing up
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I. Do you think it is OK to have an abortion? Yes ____ No _____ Briefly explain you answer:
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J. Do you think it was a good or bad to remove the Bible and prayers from public schools? Briefly explain:
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K. Do you believe it is alright for homosexuals to marry? Yes ____ No ____ Briefly explain:
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L. Who sets the standards of morality in our society and why?
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M. Do you believe in the Ten Commandments? Yes ____ No ____ Briefly explain:
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N. Do you think adhering to the Ten Commandments would make our society better? Briefly explain:
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O. Do you think it is important to attend to church? Briefly explain:
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P. Do you attend to church? Yes ____ No ____

Q. How often do you attend to church? Briefly explain:
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R. Do you read the Bible? Yes ____ No ____ If so, what version? ________________________

S. Do you think is good to read the Bible? Yes ____ No ____

Thank you so much for your time; your input is very much appreciated!