April 28, 1999

Alienated youth can be reached, expert says
___NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Alienated youth like those in the "Trench Coat Mafia" at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., can be reached for Christ, said Richard Ross.
___"Knowing a student doesn't really fit anywhere does reveal the touch point for the church," said Ross, a youth ministry specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
___"High school students today value relationships above everything," Ross said. "The hurting ones may initially ignore our buildings, ceremonies and doctrine, but most will respond to someone who genuinely cares.
___"Too many Baptist churches are happy to see a new student visiting, as long as he is white, wears Tommy Hilfiger and was once state Bible drill champion," Ross said. "They are less than thrilled when the new ones smoke on the parking lot, have fishing tackle in their faces and clap loudly ... in worship.
___"Almost weekly I am with youth ministers who know how to reach those students, but they get their hands slapped by leaders when they do so.
___"A church youth group must provide a uniquely Christian subculture, and we must not allow new students to wreck that. We need more parents and other adults to volunteer to provide gentle but firm structure around all students. With that structure in place, we need to aggressively seek out and bring in students who have been damaged by life.
___"If we don't, we can expect tragedies among students to continue," Ross said.
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