‘True Love Waits’ still nurtures abstinence until marriage

Jan 27, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—The “True Love Waits” abstinence-until-marriage movement has recorded numerous milestones since its launch by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The first True Love Waits national celebration took place in July 1994, when more than 210,000 covenant cards signed by teens were displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. More than 14 years later, an estimated 2.5 to 3 million youth have signed commitment cards pledging sexual purity until their wedding day, and that number continues to grow worldwide. Hundreds of thousands of commitment cards from youth throughout the world have been displayed at several events, including the 2004 Olympics in Athens. And more than 100 organizations have adopted the use of True Love Waits to promote sexual abstinence.

Despite the progress, much work remains to be done, True Love Waits cofounder Jimmy Hester said of the youth-based international campaign that utilizes biblical principles and positive peer pressure to encourage those who make a commitment to refrain from premarital sex and to challenge their peers to do the same.

Hester noted that the United States “still has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the industrialized world, resulting in severe economic and social costs, not to mention the personal pain early sexual activity places upon teenagers and their families.”

Each year over the life of True Love Waits, the ministry’s leadership has provided themes and direction for churches to help students live their lives in purity. For 2009, LifeWay has released a gender-appropriate flipbook, “Complete: A Life of Purity,” that can be used by youth leaders as a Bible study tool to engage students in conversation about the moral challenges they face.

Later this year, a new study, “Pure Parenting: Teaching Your Teen Why True Love Waits,” will be available for churches to use to support parents in their role as primary spiritual developers of their students.

True Love Waits also is expanding its reach in other parts of the world such as Africa, where honoring a commitment to remain abstinent until marriage is literally a matter of life and death. In Uganda, True Love Waits has been a catalyst for bringing people together around the abstinence message in schools, youth groups, communities and other places. In the years that followed TLW’s introduction in Uganda, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, which in parts of the country was above 30 percent, dropped to the current rate of 6.7 percent. Some leaders there say that this turnaround has literally saved a generation.

In February 2009, a LifeWay team will spend two weeks in the Philippines to work with the True Love Waits movement there and evaluate possible ways to expand in that country as well.

This spring, adult and student leaders and shapers in the sexual abstinence movement will consider the future direction of True Love Waits for coming generations. While the message of True Love Waits remains the same, youth leaders and parents are constantly challenged in the most effective ways to communicate with students and encourage them to maintain their commitment to abstinence until marriage.

“It is important for churches to realize that confronting sexual issues in today’s world requires more than a one-time event or emphasis,” Hester said. “Students need ongoing education and encouragement. ...”

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