Youth ministers love to throw around the 90% stat. I’ve personally done informal surveys all of the world. When asked to teach I’ll ask the room if they all are one of the 90%. The results are always the same. More than 90% affirm that they too are in the majority, and then everyone looks somewhat awkwardly at the one or two that didn’t raise their hand interested in hearing their story of how they became a follower. The age changes. Some say 12, others 14. I usually play it safe and say 18, but while the age differs it has become common knowledge within YM circles that 90% of people that ever make a decision to follow the Christ do so before they exit adolescence. If that sounds unrealistic to you, I challenge you to join me in my informal research. Next time you are around more than 10 Christians ask them to raise their hand if they became a Christian before the age of 18.
Recently though I’ve learned this phenomenon is not unique to Christianity. Sociologist Christian Smith studied adolescence from various religious backgrounds and found that 85% of young adults (18-23) who had made a decision to commit to a religion had done so before the age of 14. (Statistic found in Smith’s book Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults.) The harsh reality is that the majority of those 85% establish their religious affiliation before ever being presented the Gospel. Statistically speaking, if we have not reached them before they leave adolescence we do not have much hope.
Calling all pragmatically minded, junior high volunteers with passports, and those interested in missions; please seriously consider focusing your efforts on youth overseas.
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I, too, do the “informal research” thing when I’m sharing and have found it to be true. Great spin on it, though, to think that it is true for those who are not Christians as well.
Great picture. Like always enjoyed the post.