With the busyness of the season and the ever present 24-hour news cycle, it was easy to overlook some of the more important press conference observations made recently by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. But his remarks need to be emphasized.

In response to a media question about the cold-blooded, cowardly murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson and the “out-pouring of support” for the shooter, Mayor Adams clearly differentiates between legitimate social and political activism to address a grievance and murder. He goes on to explain:

“[The shooter’s] manifesto clearly is showing some signs of hating. Our children are being radicalized. I said this over and over again. Everybody’s like, you know, what are you talking about, Eric? You know, our children are being radicalized to hate America, to hate the country that put them where they are.

This person had all that one wants to have, but he hated everything, to the point of shooting someone. And we better deal with the radicalization of our young people. …we better start acknowledging and focusing on that.”

This is not the first time Mayor Adams has made these kinds of admissions. I don’t know how we missed it, but Mayor Adams has talked about the radicalization of our young people before. Responding to the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University on May 1, 2024, he admitted:

“There is a movement to radicalize young people… This is a global problem that young people are being influenced by those who are professionals at radicalizing our children.”

He goes on to say,

“we must push back on all attempts to radicalize our young people.”

This is astonishing! The Democrat Mayor of our nation’s largest city has publicly called out the existence of a movement aimed at radicalizing young people, describing it as a “global problem.”

His statement—made in the context of anti-Israel protests occurring on college campuses—highlighted that external actors or  “professionals” were radicalizing students. He emphasized that this issue is part of a broader, international phenomenon where young individuals are being influenced to adopt certain radical views or engage in activities that disrupt public order.

His honesty is refreshing. We hope and pray that more and more people will understand how our children are being intentionally indoctrinated with a radical worldview.

Of course, government schools focus heavily on social engineering, humanistic training, sexual immorality, revisionist history, and other godless subjects. Meanwhile, proficiency scores in English, Math, and Science remain pitifully low.

Right here in Illinois, a shocking number of kids hear messages about choosing their gender or embracing an LGBTQ lifestyle … and our state lawmakers have mandated “comprehensive sex ed” for kids as young as kindergarten age.

Mayor Adams is right. There is a movement to radicalize young people. That is why I am so glad Pastor Ceasar LeFlore is heading up IFI’s effort to rescue our children and lead a movement to get them into good Christian schools, micro-schools, and homeschool co-ops.

Ceasar understands the priority to disciple our children in the faith. He understands the importance of a biblical worldview.

This includes teaching our children how to respond to the day’s hot topics. We need to be intentional in teaching them a comprehensive biblical worldview. Would so many young people suffer from anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide or mass murder if they understood God’s purpose for their lives? (Ephesians 2:10).

Teaching our kids that our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever is absolutely foundational. We must also prioritize teaching them about the wonder of God’s creation and the purpose of His institutions of marriage and family.

We must warn them about Satan’s snares of sexual immorality, drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling addictions, and the truth about abortion here in our Babylonian culture. (1Peter 5:8)

But praise God! We live in a state and a nation where we have amazing individual and religious liberties. We also have many good educational choices that enable parents, grandparents, and church leaders to pass on the Christian faith to their children by teaching them biblical truth and to train them up in the instruction of the Lord.

Let us pray for our immediate and extended family members, for our church family and our community, that they too would clearly see the situation Mayor Adams has identified. . This situation is as bad, if not worse, than he articulated.

Let us pray that parents, grandparents, and church leaders will take proactive steps to rescue our children from those seeking to radicalize them, even if it means sacrifice on our part. Our children are well worth it!

Another important way to help is by making a generous year-end gift to IFI’s work and ministry today. This season is critical for ministries like IFI. Did you know that most non-profits receive nearly half of their annual budget from end-of-year giving?

Last week we announced our year-end matching challenge. Every dollar donated this month will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $133,000.

As the year comes to a close, we ask you to prayerfully consider making a special gift to help Illinois Family Institute finish strong.

Thank you in advance for your support.
May our Lord richly bless you and your family in 2025!