This is nowhere more apparent than at our Beach Outreach which takes place every year at the Jersey Shore in early June.  However, this was beyond the comprehension of the reporter who wrote about this year’s Beach Outreach in Britain’s newspaper of record, The Guardian.  Portraying chastity to be a frigid lifestyle for neurotic, sexually averse, Christian squares, she presumptuously concluded from her single day of shadowing our team that we had failed in our mission to make converts for chastity. Except her hit piece came preloaded with a repulsive definition of chastity that did not remotely resemble the one we were sharing on the beaches and boardwalks. Happily, her lies and half-truths did not escape the comments section unscathed.  She was soundly “ratioed” in the comments, as the cool kids say.  One top commenter on the article remarked that he had no idea any one was talking about authentic love and chastity at the beach, and he was so happy to learn that we were out there.  His comment had hundreds of likes.  And there were thousands from all over the world making similar comments.  So, to The Guardian we have nothing to say but this: Thanks for the publicity.

For Generation Life, Beach Outreach really is the cherry on top of a successful school year.  We look forward to it every year, the camaraderie, the conversations, and of course the beach.  It really serves to illustrate, in a beautiful way, what Generation Life is all about, the hope inherent in our message to young people about chastity and pro-life. Out on the beach, we get to talk to young people from all walks of life and have wildly different conversations.  We talk to a boyfriend and girlfriend.  We find ourselves affirming a healthy relationship and give them the language of chastity to help them understand what it is that makes their relationship healthy. Sometimes, you find that honest guy who has a one-night stand planned for that evening.  As you talk to him about true love, you can watch his conflicting desires for base pleasure and sexual integrity play out in his face. And regardless of how the conversation turns out, each person gets that “I’m worth waiting for” sticker.  Because, no matter what, that’s the baseline truth.

Next year, Beach Outreach is going to be especially exciting, because it is the official relaunch of the Generation Life missionary program.  In recent years, our administrative staff has also served as our speaking team. The organization has been blessed with some pretty incredible team members who have been able to make this work.  However, our reach has not been what it could be.  With the return of the missionary program, we will have a dedicated team of missionary presenters to be able to take the message of life and love into every classroom that will have us in Philadelphia and beyond.