This document summarizes research on the Christological understanding of high school students in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The research found low levels of understanding about the nature and identity of Jesus. Only 44% of students believed Jesus is God, and many were unsure or believed he was not God. Over half did not know if Jesus was fully human. There was confusion about whether Jesus sinned. The research suggests students have less exposure to talking about Jesus, even within their families and churches. This "Jesus gap" indicates a need for more focus on Jesus in Christian formation.

1. The Jesus Gap
Jen Bradbury
ymjen.com
@ymjen

2. “I presented a gospel
to Christian Bible
college students and
left out Jesus.
Nobody noticed.”
- Don Miller, “Searching for
God Knows What”

3. Relevant Research
●
NSYR
–
Moralistic
Therapeutic
Deism
–
“De facto
dominant
religion”
●
●
Sticky Faith
35% of students
“gave an answer that
didn't mention Jesus”

4. Research Question:
What's the nature of the Christological
understanding of high school students in the
ELCA?

5. Where were participants from?

6. Is Jesus God?
12%
Jesus is God
Jesus is not
God
Don't know
44%
44%

7. Was Jesus fully human?
15%
54%
31%
Jesus was
fully human
Jesus wasn't
fully human
Don't know

8. Who is Jesus?
30
26
25
23
20
17
15
12
10
5
0
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es
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9. Who is Jesus?

10. ●
●
2010
th
th
877 7 - 12 grade
participants from
24 states and
various
denominations
●
Reach Workcamps

11. Is Jesus God?
34% - Affirmed Jesus
is God
25% - Jesus might be
God, but he might not
be.
30% - Don't know
11% - Jesus is not
God

12. Kenda Creasy Dean
“Conversational Christianity requires
Jesus-talk, not just God-talk... Jesus is
simply not an optional category for
Christians.”
–
Almost Christian

13. Even language not understood
impacts Christology
73% of the language used by students to
answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” was
creedal in origin

“Son of God”


Apostles': I believe... “in Jesus Christ, his only
Son”

Nicene: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the
only Son of God”

14. Was Jesus perfect?
9%
Jesus was
perfect
Jesus was
not perfect
I don't know
if Jesus was
perfect
34%
57%

15. Did Jesus sin?
15%
Jesus
sinned
Jesus didn't
sin
Don't know
49%
36%

16. Did Jesus sin?
“All who sin fall short of the glory of God. If you
sin, you can't get into heaven. It would make
no sense for Jesus to have sinned and even
get into heaven, let alone be the sacrifice for
all of us.” - Redeemer Student

17. Did Jesus sin?
“Jesus sinned because he was a human being
like the rest of us. Even the best people in the
world sin.” - Trinity Student

18. Did Jesus sin?
“Jesus was God's son after all. He was human.
It's really hard to know. You'd think he would
be perfect. But humans – it's impossible to be
perfect.” - Faith Student

19. Did Jesus sin?
39% of students
strongly or somewhat
agreed “Jesus was a
great, great man, but
he was not 100%
perfect so he may
have sinned”

20. Who is Jesus?
35
29
30
25
21
20
Percentage of Students
20
15
10
10
5
0
Pe
G
ct
rfe
od
Im
rf
pe
G
ct
e
od
rf
Pe
um
th
ec
an
Im
pe
ct
fe
r
h
um
an

21. WDJD, not WWJD

22. Therefore, since we have a great high
priest who has ascended into heaven,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly
to the faith we profess. For we do not
have a high priest who is unable to
empathize with our weaknesses but we
have one who has been tempted in
every way just as we are, yet did not sin.
- Hebrews 4:14-15

23. God vs. Resurrection
50
45
43
43
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Jesus is not God & rose
Jesus is God & rose

“God was in
Jesus. He was like
a puppet for God
that was supposed
to come down to
earth and show
everyone what he
could do.” - Faith
student

24. Is it possible to be a Christian and
not believe in Jesus?
28%
30%
Yes
No
Don't Know
42%

25. Other religions?
1 out of 3 students
affirmed Jesus,
Mohammad, Buddha
and other great
religious leaders all
have equal standing
in leading people to
heaven

26. Other religions?
“The overarching value
of supposed tolerance
for other religions has
trumped the value of
truth, making it natural
for Christian students to
deny their own beliefs
when they may be
perceived (rightly or
wrongly) as intolerant.”

27. The Christology of the ELCA

Representative view of atonement

Jesus does not replace us. Christ suffered for us,
but he did not suffer instead of us. We still have to
suffer. Christ died for us, but he did not die instead
of us; we still have to die. He is not our substitute in
the sense that he replaces us. He is qualified by his
life, death, and resurrection to be our
representative. He has the right credentials to be
the ambassador of the human race before God.
(Who is Jesus? Disputed Questions and Answers, 106).

28. Who are students talking about
Jesus with?
5
4.5
Jesus Talk Score
4
3.5
With Youth Ministries
With Friends
With Family
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
1
2
3
4
5
Christology Score
6
7
8

29. A final question
If you were to ask your students these 7 basic
Christology questions, what do you think you'd
find?

30. The Jesus Gap
Jen Bradbury
ymjen.com
@ymjen