Teens and Faith in Australia

The Open Generation Study in 2022 polled 25,000 young people aged 13-17 years-old across 26 countries. They were questioned about their views on community, the world, faith, the Bible, Christians and Jesus. Here are some stats about Australian teens:

• 31% identified as Christians
• 12% were committed Christians (that is, they had made a personal commitment to Christ)
• 19% were nominal Christians
• 15% believed in a different faith
• 54% had no faith.
• 27% of those who had no faith, didn't know who Jesus is
• 3% were "Bible engaged" (that is, read their Bible several times a week and believe it is the Word of God.
• 59% of teens are open to the Bible
• 14% of non Christians believe Jesus was raised from the dead
• 10% believe that Jesus is God in human form
• 9% believe that Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with people

If you do the Math - those who believe that Jesus was raised from the dead AND that Jesus is God in human form, that equates to 138,000 teenagers in Australia who are open to the Gospel. I think we often assume that our friends, peers and neighbours won't be interested in hearing more about Jesus. We also worry about what people will think of us if we share our faith, or that we won't do a good job of explaining it.

The first step is to pray for the non-Christians around you. That's a long list, so maybe choose a couple of people to start with. Ask God to show you who to pray for, for opportunities to talk about Jesus, and for wisdom to know what to say.