1. Rose Hill Student Ministry

2. NEVER GRADUATE Matthew 28:18-20

3. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18- 20

4. Polycarp 2 nd century elder from Smyrna Lived from 69-155 AD Regarded as an “Apostolic Father” Did not worship Caesar and thus was martyred by being bound and burned at the stake, and finally stabbed to death. An eyewitness account of his death is recorded for us in “The Martyrdom of Polycarp”

5. The Martyrdom of Polycarp “…they tried to persuade him, saying, “Why, what harm is there in saying, ‘Caesar is Lord,’ and offering incense (and other words to this affect) and thereby saving yourself?” (8:2) “…the proconsul tried to persuade him to recant, saying, “Have respect for your age…Swear by the genius of Caesar; repent; say, ‘Away with the athiests!...Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile Christ…” (9:2-3) “So the proconsul said: “I have wild beasts; I will throw you to them unless you change your mind…I will have you consumed by fire, since you despise the wild beasts, unless you change your mind…” (11:1-2)

6. The Martyrdom of Polycarp Polycarp’s most famous statement: “For 86 years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” (9:3) What helped Polycarp “never graduate?” He was mentored by the apostle John!

7. - Intergenerational relationships are key to faith transference -The dropout problem of 18-29 year olds is a disciple- making problem -6 major disconnections, or negative perceptions, that have caused mosaics to tell the church “you lost me.”

8. 1) Overprotective Perception: the church is seen as a creativity killer where risk taking and being involved in culture are anathema Turn: Discernment- We cast out fear by discerning our times and embracing risks of cultural engagement

9. 2) Shallow Perception: the most common perception is that the church is boring, irrelevant, sidelined from the real issues people face...the Christianity they received does not give them a sense of calling Turn: Apprenticeship- We leave shallow faith behind by apprenticing young people in the fine art of following Jesus

10. 3) Anti-science Perception: many have come to the conclusion that faith and science are incompatible Turn: Stewardship- We respond to today's scientific culture bystewarding young people's gifts and intellect

11. 4) Repressive Perception: they perceive the church to be repressive due to religious rules on sex and is out of step with the times Turn: Relational- We live by a relational sexual ethic that rejectstraditionalist and individualist narratives of sex

12. 5) Exclusive Perception: Christianity's claims to exclusivity are a hard sell...Christians have an insider outsider mentality that is always ready to bar the door to those who don't meet their standards Turn: Embrace- We demonstrate the exclusive nature of Christ byrekindling our empathy for the "other"

13. 6) Doubtless Perception: the church is not a place that allows them to express doubts Turn: Doing- We faithfully work through our doubts by doing acts of service with and for others

14. The solution to the dropout problem…Intergenerational Relationships 1) The church needs to reconsider how we make disciples 2) We need to rediscover Christian calling and vocation 3) We need to reprioritize wisdom over information as we seek to know God

15. We need to be the kind of disciples that make disciples Disciples of Jesus Never Graduate