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In Pursuit of Purity

IPHC Girls' Ministries encourages the local church to join forces with parents, the youth group, and Royal Rangers to combat the issues of purity head on! In his second letter to the church at Thessolonica, Paul's admonition still sends a strong message to today's youth: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (I Tim. 4:12 NIV).

Today's culture sends a completely different message to our youth. Our youth are encouraged to do what feels good. They are bombarded with messages and programming that stand in stark contrast to what Paul says God expects from us.

When you use the word purity today, you almost immediately associate the word "sexual" with it. However, keeping yourself pure encompasses so much more. One of the definitions of purity is that there is nothing present to weaken or dilute. That means we have turned our thoughts, words, and deeds completely over to God. Man does not magically achieve purity. If it were a given, Paul would not have felt compelled to write those instructions to the church.

Teaching purity begins with teaching children how to keep their words and actions pure. Learning how to be kind, how to speak words of encouragement, and how to think clean thoughts are some of the basic building blocks of purity. As you build upon this principles of right vs wrong, purity becomes a way of thinking and a tool to measure the consequences of big decisions that will later be thrown their way.

By middle school, however, we must heighten the level of training to include the issue of sexual purity. The church must step up and be part of that process. The report by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found that 18-19 percent of teens age 14 or younger have had sex and that only 30 percent of parents of sexually active 14-year-olds believe their child had engaged in sex.

Those 14 year old girls are more than likely the 9th graders in your Girls Only club. So, as you can see, addressing the topic in Friends Club is essential. Work with the parents of those girls as well as other leaders to find ways to help. Using the month of February to promote specific programs such as True Love Waits is a good plan. However, remember that once is a year is simply no longer enough to counteract the daily onslaught of the world's pollution. Use some of the tools listed in the right column for small group discussion with daughters and mothers.

If you question whether or not the church should provide this type of training, consider some of the stats from the recent report by the National Campain to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: