The New Mission Field

WARNING: This blog post contains a graphic photo.

What comes to mind when you think of missions? Digging a well in Haiti? Preaching the gospel to indigenous tribes in Africa? Those are good causes worthy of our support. There is a new mission field and it's closer than you might think. According to the Barna Group and Impact 360 Institute, only 4% of Generation Z in the U.S. has a Biblical Worldview. Generation Z are those born between 1997 and 2012. The Millennials, those who were born between 1981 and 1996, and are parents to many in Gen Z, are not fairing any better. Only 6% in that generation has a Biblical Worldview. You might be thinking that the older generations in America are still clinging to their Bibles. Well, the news on that front is not good either. Only 7% of Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, and 10% of Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, have a Biblical Worldview. The disintegration of Biblical Christianity in America means we’re now a mission field.

Our Biblical foundation's disintegration has resulted in an enormous rise in depression and anxiety among our American teenagers. According to Social Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Haidt, "The number of teenage girls out of 100,000 in this country who were admitted to a hospital every year because they cut themselves or otherwise harmed themselves, that number was pretty stable until around 2010, 2011, and then it begins going way up. It's up 62 percent for older teen girls. It's up 189 percent for the preteen girls. That's nearly triple. Even more horrifying, we see the same pattern with suicide. The older teen girls, 15 to 19 years old, they're up 70 percent, compared to the first decade of this century. The preteen girls, who have very low rates to begin with, they are up 151 percent. And that pattern points to social media. Gen Z, the kids born after 1996 or so, those kids are the first generation in history that got on social media in middle school." (Source: Documentary The Social Dilemma [Netflix])

This is not a stock photo. This picture was given to me by his mother.

For more than 15 years, Brad Huddleston Ministries has been reaching into this world of digital addiction with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Only God can turn this around with His Gospel. Will you consider supporting us as we continue ministering in this new and complicated mission field? Thank you for considering us with your giving.

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How Many Women Watch Porn?

If you’re still under the impression that porn addiction is primarily a “men's issue,” think again. Anecdotally, Beth and I had females sharing their struggles with porn with us beginning several years ago. It’s continued gaining momentum to this day.

Approximately three years ago I produced a lengthy video series on the topic of pornography titled “Porneia: A Global Tragedy,” in which I cited a statistics from 2013 showing that 55% of women watch pornographic videos on their own. The survey went on to reveal that 96% have watched porn with a partner and say that it improves sex.¹

The so‐called ‘blesser‐blessee phenomenon’ has become a common occurrence among young people in South Africa. Frequent reports about young women finding themselves in sexual relationships with older male partners in exchange for monetary incentives abound. This new form of the longstanding ‘sugar daddy’ relationship infiltrated different platforms including social media, with websites such as BlesserInc., Blesserfinder and Blesserfinder Mzansi, specifically targeting those individuals with the desire to be a blesser or blessee.

The ‘blesser‐blessee’ phenomenon can be described as a form of transactional sex, which has a number of similarities with prostitution, as it involves non‐marital sexual relationships, often with multiple partners, in exchange for financial or in‐kind incentives. However, transactional sex also differs from prostitution, since participants are known as ‘boyfriends’ and ‘girlfriends’ and not ‘prostitutes’ and ‘clients’, and the exchange of gifts for sex is part of a broader set of obligations that might not involve a predetermined payment (Hunter, 2002).²

What is at the heart of this tragic trend? You guessed it; pornography. Those who participated in the focus group discussions agreed that online pornography fuels the blesser-blessee phenomenon.

It was discovered that the majority of the young people we surveyed had been exposed to pornography at a young age, and during the focus groups, it was estimated that 80 - 100% of young males and 60 - 100% of young females view pornographic material. ³ Here in the US, the dramatic rise in female usage of pornography hasn’t gone unnoticed. ProvenMen is a ministry that I also collaborate with, and they are dedicated to offering help to men who struggle with porn addiction. ProvenMen has now opened another “branch” of their ministry called ProvenWomen.

I recently interviewed Marshall Shank, the Director of Outreach for ProvenMen. In the following video podcast, we discuss these issues regarding pornography usage by both men and women within the Church. Most importantly, we talked about what to do about it. Please feel free to watch and share.

^1. www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2507752/Over-half-women-regularly-watch-porn-daring-40-admit-making-own.html

^2. Blesser_Blessee_Research_Report 11_May_2018_FINAL_EDITED.PDF

^3. Ibid.

Grace Christian School - March 27, 2019

Staunton, Virginia (USA) I so appreciate your prayers regarding my time with the students at Grace Christian School (Staunton, Virginia) this morning. The Lord moved and Principal Brian Fitzgerald told me to "keep going" despite my time being up. I had some incredible conversations with very mature students after the session. Beth and I walked away very encouraged.