Pollster and author George Barna says those counting on youth pastors to instill a biblical worldview in their kids have already missed the boat.
"A person's worldview starts developing at 15 to 18 months of age and is typically fully developed by the age of 13," he explains. "That means those first 13 years of life are really where we determine who's this person going to be for their duration on the planet."
Additionally, most Christian youth pastors do not personally have a biblical worldview.
"When we find that seven out of every eight children's pastors really don't believe the things that Jesus believed, we know that the programs that they're going to put together probably aren't the programs that are going to develop biblically solid children," Barna reasons.
A worldview is the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual lens through which a person views all of life. The lack of a moral worldview, much less a biblical one, is why the nation has so many problems.
"The real crisis in America today is a worldview crisis, because every decision that every person makes every day of their life is based on their worldview," the pollster explains.
With that in mind, moms and dads cannot start too early.
"What we do with children is hugely important, not just for that individual child who grows up to be an adult, but for the culture itself," Barna concludes.
