Radical View … a special section
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Rachel King is determined to save sex until she's married. But unlike some of her classmates at Cookeville (TN) High School, Rachel has a group of friends who support her decision. And many of Rachel's friends have made the same commitment to abstinence.
"There's a lot of pressure to have sex," says Rachel, "so it makes a big difference to have friends who respect my decision. I know that they believe in saving sex for marriage too, so we can talk about it and help each other stick with our commitment."
It's not easy to resist the pressure to have sex before you're married. That's why so many students are encouraging their youth groups and Christian clubs to unite in their commitment to abstinence. Together, the groups can pray for each other, talk about the pressures they face, and keep one another accountable.
Rachel's youth group at First Baptist Church of Cookeville is one of those groups. Back in 1993, youth minister Bill Stone learned about the "True Love Waits" movement at a youth leaders' convention. Since then, members of the group have found ways to spread the message of abstinence far beyond the walls of their youth room.
After spending several months discussing the physical, emotional and spiritual pluses of saving sex for marriage, more than 60 of the group's members signed "True Love Waits" commitment cards. They also organized an evening worship service where group members spoke to the congregation, sharing their own reasons for choosing abstinence.
But the group's biggest opportunity for spreading the "True Love Waits" message came in 1995. One of the church's missionaries asked for some group members to talk about abstinence with the people he worked with in Brazil. So three high school seniors, along with their youth pastor and a few other young adults, headed to the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Once there, the group spoke at churches, schools and youth organizations, talking about God's perfect plan for sex.
Back home, the First Baptist youth group has joined with other youth groups in the city to speak up about abstinence at Cookeville High, one of the largest high schools in Tennessee. Last Valentine's Day, the groups got together to celebrate "True Love Waits Goes Campus." They hung a 30-foot banner in the school's commons area, set up a booth, and encouraged their fellow students to sign "True Love Waits" commitment cards. At the end of the day, 364 cards hung from the banner. Not bad for a school of 2,000 students.
If you want to know more about spreading the message of "True Love Waits" at your school, call 1-800-LUV-WAIT.
Copyright © 1997 by the author or Christianity Today/Campus Life magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200.
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