[from christianendeavor.com]

CE founder Francis Clark believed in young people

For years he agonized over the church's inability to interest them in the cause of Christ and sought a way to keep them in the church. Clark faced huge hurdles. Teens (called children in Clark's day) weren't considered serious enough to make the same commitment to Christ as adults. A misguided belief about how to nurture children made the experience of church wholly unpleasant for young people. Church and Christian commitment happily ended after Sunday dinner!

But on February 2, 1881, Clark made a bold move and took the cause directly to them. Modifying the 'temperance pledge' -- a commitment NOT to do things -- he crafted a pledge which listed all the things the young Christian would DO to apply Christianity.

It was two pages long.

The 57 young people of the Williston Congregational Church of Portland, Maine were stunned by the level of commitment Clark asked of them. This meant a REAL sacrifice of time and energy. They would ACTUALLY have to LIVE the Christian life.

They weren't sure they could do it-neither was Clark's own wife Harriet.

But with encouragement from the Sunday school teacher, William Pennel, every single person signed.

The results were astonishing. The young people took ownership of their Christianity. They led Bible studies, professed their faith publicly, and applied Christianity to every area of their lives. Their churches grew, the ranks of mission organizations swelled, and their cause circled the globe.

These empowered young leaders would not accept the diminishing returns of former generations. Instead, they surged forward to the leading edge of societal development, becoming the masters of new communication technologies and new philosophies for nurturing young people.

The early Endeavorers REVERSED the common teachings of the church on young people and launched what is now called 'youth ministry.' Now, nearly every youth ministry organization today can be linked to Christian Endeavor either in history, method, or both.

At the 25th anniversary of Christian Endeavor, there were 67,000 societies worldwide, 4,000,000 members, and the first Christian youth movement was in full swing. By the time of Clark's death, Christian Endeavor had already trained millions who went on to lead the cause of Christ in the church, in politics, business, and philanthropy.

Clark recruited young people, challenged them to lead the cause of Christ, and changed his world.