Students are some of the most passionate, compassionate, and hopeful people in our churches. At the same time, they’re part of the most anxious, risk-averse, and disillusioned generation. Why is that? There are many pieces to this particular puzzle: could pornograpy be one of them?
Students have grown up in a world utterly transformed by porn. The current cohort are some of the first adults to have never known a world without internet porn. Next year we’re going to start seeing the first undergrads who were born the same year PornHub was launched.
It is almost impossible to find students who haven’t been impacted by this. By the time they reach university, 90% of boys and 60% of girls will have been exposed to online porn, with roughly every other student actively seeking it out at least once a month. Porn has been a key influence on their relationships, mental health, and, crucially, faith. If we struggle to see the impact porn has on their lives, that is not because it’s too small but because it’s so far reaching.
It is tempting to hope that our churches are immune from this change. In reality, there is little distinction between the habits of practising Christian and non-Christians. If anything, the church can sometimes aggravate rather than heal the damage porn causes. This may be why only 7% of Gen Z say they would feel comfortable asking a pastor or spiritual advisor for support.
What makes this so heartbreaking is that we know you want to offer the anxious generation hope, freedom, and recovery in the Lord Jesus but the metaphorical camel’s back is already creaking as it is. Capacity not care is in short supply.
So, we want to help you to see a clear and simple (if not easy!) path forward, that takes pressure off rather than adding even more. We want to help your students understand the harm porn is causing, and find freedom from its damaging impact.
The best place to start is right here! In this app you’ll find a bunch of resources which can set you off in the right direction, including new 1:1 guidance specifically for student workers (attached).
We would also love to help you run a session for your students, which can feel like quite a daunting prospect. As you look to begin a conversation about porn, we can provide an informed, experienced and hopeful voice right from the start. To set the ball rolling, here are two potential titles: “An Honest Conversation About Porn and Freedom”, or “Breaking the Silence: how can we start tackling porn?”
Finally, we also want to chat with you: to learn from your experience and see how we can best support your ministry. Sam, who’s heading up our student engagement, would love to hear from you: sam@visibleministries.com.
Before we sign off, may you hear the Lord’s words of encouragement for you from 1 Cor 15:58: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”
