Study Says Teen Faith Shaped More By Hands-On Ministry Than By Worship
by Ken Camp
February 8, 2007

Excerpt of article: WACO, Texas (ABP):

Serving meals to homeless people at a church-sponsored shelter can have a greater impact than sitting in a pew every Sunday morning on how a teenager’s faith develops, a new study has concluded.

“Involvement in community service is far more significant to the faith development of teens than involvement in worship,” said Michael Sherr, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Baylor University.

But volunteer service in faith-motivated ministries to meet human needs has a direct impact on how involved teenagers become in a variety of religious practices — including worship, Bible study and prayer, he noted.

“The best scenario is involvement in worship and prayer, living out faith through service, followed by time committed to study and reflection,” he said. “The ideal is preaching the gospel and doing the gospel together.”

FROM RTF:

This spring I get to join with 400+ freshmen girls and 30 women to tackle a project in our community. This came after talking about “Vision”.

Vision is leaving a legacy. It’s different than a dream. It’s working with others to make a difference.

The people I will be working with are not all believers. In fact, most of them are not, but I know that this is what God has called me to do.

My faith has to be bigger than sitting on a pew. I don’t want to take and take, without giving back. I don’t think that my faith can be truly shared, until I work side-by-side with others to help someone else.

What about you? What do you think of this article? This issue? What can we do to make a difference in our communities? In the life of one person? Let’s talk!