For more than thirty years I have been reaching students on high school campuses. It is pure pleasure spending time with teenagers, relating to them in their fast-paced, ever-changing world.

The high school and junior high campuses of our nation and the world are what I call the marketplace of youth culture. For teenagers, it is where the exchange of ideas, the forming of values, and the shaping of lives take place. Once a student hits junior and senior high school, the influence of the home often diminishes, replaced by the powerful influence of peers. The teen culture is reshaping students so dramatically that parents often find they now have a stranger in their home. For a rapidly growing number of teenagers worldwide, this on-campus culture is where life makes up its mind. Lives are being shaped every day at our neighborhood schools.

But more than a cultural center, junior and senior high schools serve as magnets in a community, gathering people together as no other institution in our society. Think about it. Where are most teenagers on any given Monday through Friday, August to June? The answer: the local school. And it is the last time this entire age group is going to be together in one location. After high school they scatter throughout society, making it much more difficult to reach them personally. As 13-to-18-year-olds, they are at an age of responsiveness to the gospel, and they are gaining maturity to make life-long commitments to Jesus Christ. Think of the number of teenagers who would be reached if there were a relevant witness for Christ at every school worldwide. Think of the impact as these teens enter into society, already committed to Jesus Christ. And think of the parents who would be touched as well, for one cannot reach kids without influencing the family.

Reach the campus, and you will reach the world. There is not a more strategic ministry in all of society. It is a ministry that takes a sizable commitment: on-site workers who love teenagers and have a passion to communicate truth; technology to reach teenagers using every form of media; and above all, an army of investors who pray and partner with local and national ministries to accomplish the task. Kids are like wet cement, just waiting for someone to leave a lasting impression. We have the opportunity to leave that lasting impression for Christ.