Christianity is youth way of life
Story and photo by Susan O'Connor

Spend some time with youth in Jonesboro and one fact becomes clear. It is cool to be a Christian here. It is supported, it is accepted, it is the norm.

“Most people our age, since we do live in a highly religious community, have this common bond,” Valley View senior Taylor Woodruff said of Christianity in Jonesboro.

I recently interviewed four Jonesboro youth and their youth pastors, Aaron Filippone of Central Baptist Church and Abbey Jackson of Southwest Church of Christ, to learn more about their faith, and to see how closely their responses aligned with an extensive survey by The Associated Press and MTV that deals with the role of spirituality and religion in the perceived happiness of people ages 13 to 24.

The AP poll’s mission was to “figure out what makes young people happy,” and according to survey results, it appears religion helps. Of those surveyed, 80 percent who describe religion or spirituality as the most important thing in their lives say they are happy, while 60 percent of those who say faith is not important to them consider themselves happy.

According to the four local teens, happiness is directly tied to a relationship with God.
“How can you tell if someone’s a Christian?” Valley View senior Iain Bailey asked. “Even in the worst of times, they find something positive. God does have a great impact on how happy you are.”

“You see those who have faith and those who don’t — especially when something happens like 9-11 or someone dies — and even though those things don’t make sense, Christians still have that sense of peace to pull them through,” said Meghan White, a Valley View junior. “People who don’t have faith are lost.”

“Just praying about it and knowing he’s there makes all the difference,” said Shanna Broadaway.

Bailey also pointed out that his faith keeps him on the right track.

“I feel God keeps me out of trouble,” he said. “If I have him to rely on, I don’t have to turn to other things. I don’t have to worry about anything hurting me, because I have him to back me up. A lot of kids don’t have that kind of support and turn to drugs and other bad things.”
I asked the youth if they think regular attendance in church and youth activities is vital, or if a person can be spiritual on their own. They strongly agreed that the church family is very important.

“A kid can try to be a good Christian on their own, but you need the support of a church family — that sense of community,” Bailey said. “Being around people who can help you and be there for you — just talking with them — that is the most important thing,” Woodruff added.

Bailey took it one step further. “If you don’t have any fellowship, you don’t have any accountability,” he said. “You’ll justify all kinds of things.”

I also asked the teens a question from the survey about religious tolerance. As our nation becomes more religiously diverse, this is particularly relevant. In this instance, Jonesboro youth differed from the national results.

The survey asked youth to identify with one of the following statements: “I follow my own religious and spiritual beliefs, but I think other religious beliefs could be true as well,” or “I strongly believe that my religious beliefs are true and universal, and that other religious beliefs are not right.”

Seven out of 10 youth in the AP survey said that while they follow their own religious or spiritual beliefs, others might be true as well.

The youth I interviewed said unanimously, without a moment’s hesitation, that they agreed with the second statement. They believe strongly in thetruth of the teachings of their churches.

These young people aren’t waffling around about their faith. They know what they believe, and they have conviction.

“You can’t force your beliefs down other people’s throats,” Bailey said. “We look for excuses not to reach out to people. But if people are wrong, you can’t beat around the bush, you have to tell them.”

White pointed out, however, that the small differences between different Christian religions aren’t worth arguing about.

“A lot of energy is put into arguing about little things that don’t matter,” she said. “It is the big picture of Christianity that matters.”

But when I asked them, “Do you think your generation is more tolerant of other religious views than previous generations?” they said, “Yes,” almost in unison.

“And that might not a good thing,” Bailey added. The others agreed.

These teens are conservative in their views, which is not surprising in a community that does not shy away from letting religion touch all areas of life, even the school day.

Woodruff, a Southwest Church of Christ youth, said that every Wednesday morning, his youth group starts the daywith a prayer breakfast — the boys at McDonalds, the girls at San Francisco Bread Company.

Both groups are actively involved in attracting new students to their youth groups — something the kids find very rewarding.

Leader Abbey Jackson said her youth try to bring new students into the program by simply saying, “Let me tell you about my relationship with Jesus and what he means to my life.”
Also, youth leaders have a welcome presence in the Jonesboro area schools. Jackson said they are not there to evangelize, but to be an ear for kids who need them.

Filippone noted that Jonesboro Public Schools superintendent Dr. Kim Wilbanks recently had a breakfast for Jonesboro youth pastors, and told them that they are wanted on campus.
“We have a wide open door in the Jonesboro schools,” Filippone said.

This level of support, along with the positive influence of a confluence of Christian family and friends, is crucial. It is easy to see the compass in these kids lives — it is Jesus.