Students rally to show support of Christianity
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Some are not afraid to stand up and support a Christian lifestyle and about 50 of those students gathered at Court Square on Friday to give this community a voice in the nationwide BattleCry for a Generation rally.
In the face of statistics that show youngsters are exposed to an onslaught of negative influences, the rally?s goal was to say it?s acceptable to embrace Jesus instead of a beer. Similar rallies took place Friday at hundreds of U.S. cities.
?It?s important to get out and spread the word,? said Justin Morton, a junior at Warren County High School. ?The goal is to get everybody to be a Christian. Maybe next time we do this we?ll have an even bigger turnout.?
Students held up signs that said ?Honk if you love Jesus? then let out loud cheers when passing motorists honked. They also borrowed a popular sports cheer by chanting, ?We love Jesus, yes we do, we love Jesus, how about you??
?When you just want to express yourself and stand up for what you believe it, it?s an amazing feeling,? said WCHS sophomore Callie Griffith.
According to statistics furnished by BattleCry for a Generation, 90 percent of all 8-16-year-olds have seen online pornography. One in four children are unwillingly exposed to images of naked people or people having sex, the organization says.
One-third of young women become pregnant at least once before the age of 20 and approximately 4 million teens contract sexually transmitted diseases each year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
On the drug and alcohol front, 70 percent of high school seniors report drinking alcohol in the last year and 45 percent report using marijuana at least one.
BattleCry also points to violence and lack of high moral standards as problems facing today?s teens.
?Think about the difference that can be made if one person reaches out and makes an effort to help just one of their friends,? said Kenny McNatt, associate pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church.