A Millennial expert is warning that society is “on the verge of having a generation that has completely lost the knowledge of God.”
Mike Sherrard, director of RC College Prep, a high school ministry of Ratio Christi, a campus apologetics group, recently appeared on “The Billy Hallowell Podcast,” where he offered a detailed explanation of this concern and said he doesn’t believe it’s all that dramatic of a statement.
“Seemingly, no young adult has a biblical worldview anymore,” he said. “They don’t know who God is. Even fundamental things about salvation and heaven and hell and things that are in the category you might argue rear Christianity. They have no understanding of these things.”
Listen to Sherrard’s warnings below:
He continued, “And, so, there is a rush to catch up and there’s a lot of work to be honest, not to be doom and gloom, there’s a lot of work to be done because we have so many young adults that do believe in God, but they have very little understanding why they even should believe in God or who this God even is, which makes them of course ripe for the attacks of the militant atheists when they go off to university that offers them one compelling reason why they should leave behind the fairytales of their childhood, and they’re ripe to be harvested in that regard.”
Ratio Christi is among the organizations on the front lines of that education battle. The group began a few years ago to “help equip college students to withstand the attack on their faith” that many have experienced on U.S. college campuses.
Beyond mere survival, though, the ministry also attempts to help young people “thrive” in difficult circumstances, working diligently to help high school students better prepare their hearts and minds before they enter into the university system.
“[It’s] a program whereby we can equip and train adults to meet weekly with high school students teaching them, helping them to understand the reasons why Christianity is true, why Christianity is good for this world,” he said. “Because we know that the attack on Christianity today isn’t just that it’s unintellectual, but that it’s immoral, that it’s oppressive to women, and minorities, and it robs people for life and whereas maybe 10 years ago, it was just Christianity was intellectual, now it’s immoral.”
He continued, “So, we want to teach students that Christianity is true, why it is good, but then also how to be persuasive and effective communicators of that truth. And, so, that’s what we’re doing at College Prep.”
Sherrard said that apologetics — the defense of the Christian faith — is an ever-popular field, as church leaders realize that culture is rapidly changing. But as culture seems to be transforming, so is the understanding that it is paramount to reach youths with the gospel, he said.
A few years ago, Sherrard said interest was much less pronounced, but that cultural developments have sparked worries — and action.
“As we have seen things happen and legislation on certain sexual issues, sexual morality, parents and pastors alike are now desperate for a tool to help their kids survive this attack,” he said. “So, they’re very receptive to this.”
Sherrard also spoke about Generation Z, the generation behind the Millennials. He described its members as well as Millennials as “passionate” and bent on changing the world, but cautioned that they have been “deprived of truth” and “eat it up” when it’s given to them.
“They become so hungry for it, more and more and more and it’s not just an intellectual game for them,” he said. “We see them quickly become evangelists and teachers.”
Find out more about Ratio Christi here.