Who cares that in the next 24 hours:
• 1000 unwed teenage girls will become mothers.
• 1106 teenage girls will get an abortion.
• 4219 teenagers will contract a sexually transmitted disease.
• 500 adolescents will begin using drugs.
• 1000 adolescents will begin drinking alcohol.
• 135,000 kids will bring a gun or other weapon to school.
• 3610 teens will be assaulted; 80 will be raped.
• 2200 teens will drop out of high school.
• 2750 kids will watch their parents separate or divorce.
• 90 kids will be taken from their parents’ custody and placed in foster care, a group home, or institutional care.
• 7 kids (ages 10-19) will be murdered.
• 7 juveniles who are under the age of eighteen will be arrested for murder.
• 6 teens will commit suicide.
A few more sobering facts to ponder:
• Homicides are the second-leading cause of death among fifteen-to twenty-four year olds.
• Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for ten- to twenty-four year olds.
• 4 million American alcoholics under the age of 18.
• 57.5% of kids born to married parents will experience divorce prior to age 16.
• In step families 33% of these kids will endure this trauma again.
Children in single parent families:
• 6 times more likely to be poor.
• 2-3 times more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems.
• More likely to drop out, be expelled or suspended from school.
• More likely to get pregnant as teens.
• More likely to use drugs and get in trouble with the law.
• Struggle with intimacy and have intimacy issues with parent(s) often being the cause to sexual or substance addictions.
• Struggle holding steady jobs as adults.
Marital instability in married homes makes teens feel threatened, afraid and angry and is a significant cause of teen rebellion against parents.
So, who cares? Who cares enough to be a better parent, keep your marriage together and be a better spouse, be a good example, pray for youth on a regular basis or get involved in ministry to youth? If we aren’t willing to do anything then we don’t care. If you want to get involved in youth ministry let our youth pastor and Christian education director know. Please prove you care by doing something.
- Pastor Al Hill
