Spiritual State of the World's Children : Malaysia

A recent survey by OneHope-Asia Pacific and NECF Malaysia titled strangely Spiritual State of the World's Children : Malaysia when it is actually "A Qualitative Study - English Speaking Youth Report" which deals mainly with youths. The survey reveals some interesting facts about the youth and youth pastors in Malaysia and worth the reading. I am fascinated by the weaknesses identified by the study:

Weaknesses & Threats: Relative to Church and Youth Ministry

• Youth today seem to make poor and hasty decisions due to lack of spiritual and parental guidance

• Malaysian youth struggle with self-identity and look to their peers for affirmation and guidance when problems arise

• Youth are so engrossed with the Internet and the virtual world, that they are having problems with interpersonal relationships

• Youth are not interested with the current methods the church is using to reach out to them and they view the church as boring and irrelevant

• Malaysian youth view the education system as weak and rigid which creates tension and frustration among students

• Malaysian youth are often misunderstood by the older generation and this contributes to the growing gap between the two

• The lack of fatherhood and mentors as role models are deterrents to finding new and emerging young leaders

• The amount of time youth spend on tuition and extracurricular activities makes it difficult for the church to be involved in meaningful discipleship-making

• Discipleship is seen as the responsibility of the church, when in fact parents should be more involved in the spiritual growth of their children

• Church leaders recognize that the church is weak in responding to the challenges that exist among Malaysian youth

• Church leaders acknowledge that the societal shift towards materialism will present potential future problems within the church

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Do you agree? Young people, what are your views?


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