the genesis of deeper youth ministry

By now, you have probably read or heard that studies have repeatedly shown that an alarming percentage of young people are leaving the church after they graduate from high school.

Furthermore, research shows that American teens struggle to put into words what the Christian faith is all about, and what’s worse, many of them don’t even know what it is about, and have replaced the teachings of Scripture and the demands of discipleship with a watered-down Christianity which makes them feel good. Jesus is viewed as someone who will come to their aid when they are in trouble, but doesn’t make any demands of their lives. This belief system is completely out of touch with the historic Christian faith and the terms of discipleship as taught by Jesus.

These realities should not cause us to wring our hands in despair, but they should cause us to do something to address the problem. It is in the context of this problem, and our desire to fight against it, that Deeper Youth Ministry was established in 2014.

THE mission OF DEEPER YOUTH MINISTRY

Specifically, Deeper Youth Ministry exists to help parents and churches instill a faith in our young people that will last throughout their lives. Currently, DYM seeks to accomplish this goal through two different means:

• The Deeper Youth Conference, a two-day event for 6th-12th graders held each November in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where students learn from top-notch Bible teachers and are encouraged to deepen their faith.
• Deeper Youth Resources, a collection of high-quality Bible class curriculum, small group studies, youth retreat packages, eBooks, and more that have been specifically designed to teach Scripture in a challenging way to aid in the process of developing faith.