Holistic Approach to Youth Development
Breakaway Outreach is a catalyst for missional youth outreach, dedicated to fleshing out the Good News of Jesus in a bad news world. We work together with churches, community agencies, and other like-minded partners to employ a “holistic approach” for youth development. We do this through ministry models that are relational, contextual, trauma-informed, and relevant.
The challenges young people are facing today have become more pressing than ever. When we speak of “holistic” youth development, we are addressing the “whole” of the person—spiritual, moral, ethical, emotional, mental, physical, social, educational, cultural, skillful, vocational, and more. All of these components make up the fabric of how young people see their world and are situated to flesh out behaviors in it.
“The ubiquity and onslaught of information and competing worldviews, as well as a greater resistance to the gospel among their peers make it harder for young people to find meaning in a complex culture.” —Barna.
The Mental Health Crisis
Many young people today are plagued with anxiety, depression, loneliness, and a sense of hopelessness about the future. Students fear violence, crime, and bullying, too often without even leaving their school campus. Social media and cyberbullying have contributed to mental health issues and a skyrocketing teen suicide rate. The U.S. Surgeon General office has now declared youth mental health a “national crisis.”
Familial, Social, and Moral Issues
Kids growing up today face an unstable future. They struggle with identity issues, dysphoria, ambiguity over moral issues, and a skewed sense of right and wrong. Their trust has been shattered by failed authority figures—religious and political. There are challenges in the home—divorce, fatherlessness, economic insecurity, domestic violence, sexual abuse, familial addiction, parental incarceration, and more.
One third of young people report having no trusted adult in their lives.
Faith and Spiritual Issues
Faith is also in decline among American youth. A recent report revealed the number of religiously unaffiliated people is hypothesized to approach or exceed the number of Christians by 2070. This trend is even more severe for Generation Z (anyone born from 1997 to 2012). One source explained, “The parents of millennials and Generation Z did less to encourage regular participation in formal worship services and model religious behaviors in their children than had previous generations. Many childhood religious activities that were once common have become more of the exception than the norm.”
Daily, youth are caught up in the crossfires of the godlessness of this age—secular humanism, individualism, hedonism, and materialism. In some sectors of society, faith has been portrayed to young people as the enemy, when, in fact, it is an integral part of the solution to one’s holistic wellbeing. Young people of this generation have a shaky understanding of the Gospel and often a distorted view of Jesus.
Join Us in Shaping the Next Generation!
A survey cited by the International Bible Society indicated that 83% of Christians put their faith in Jesus between the ages of 4 and 14, thus when they are children or early youth. Surveys done by the Barna Research Group indicate that American children aged 5 to 13 have a 32% probability of accepting Christ, but youth or teens aged 14 to 18 have only a 14% probability of doing so. Unbelieving adults ages 19 and over have just a 6% probability of becoming Christians in their lifetime. We have a small window of opportunity to reach a child in a way that shapes the rest of their life, and we want to seize that opportunity.
Young people today are at a pivotal crossroads in which their future hangs in the balance. Too much is at stake in the battle for the next generation, and that’s why the heartbeat of Breakaway is the passion of Jesus, who said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Would you like to join us in the battle for today’s youth and tomorrow’s leaders? Here are some ways you can partner with us…
- Stay connected (subscribe to our monthly newsletter, pray for us)
- Volunteer to serve (see ministry opportunities here)
- Donate (invest in this “Great Commission” ministry)