75%% of Teens Exposed to Porn by 13: Why the Church Can No Longer Stay Silent

Why Churches Must Stop Ignoring the Sexualisation of Children and Fight Back Now

Lisa Nolland, head of the Marriage, Sex and Culture Group (MSC), has issued a stark warning to evangelical church leaders: the silence on comprehensive sex education (CSE) and the erosion of biblical sexual ethics among Christian youth is "culpable."

Writing in Christian Today, Nolland laid out alarming statistics that reveal the scale of the crisis. According to Fight the New Drug, most children are now exposed to pornography by age 13, with 75% of males and 70% of females ages 13 to 17 having viewed explicit content online.

Culture Reframed data shows one in three children encounter hardcore pornography by age 12. Meanwhile, the NSPCC reports that child on child sexual abuse accounts for around a third of all child sexual abuse cases in the UK.

Nolland pointed to external CSE providers including Twinkl, Jigsaw, Sex Education Forum, and Brook, accusing them of embedding LGBTQ+ ideology and the "tacit eroticisation of same sex friendship" throughout school curricula.

Whoever captures the kids controls the future.

She cited lesbian activist Patricia Warren with that quote, warning that the battle for the hearts and minds of the next generation is already well underway.

The Safe Schools Alliance reports that three quarters of British children have been exposed to some kind of critical social theory, including gender identity. The average age of sexual debut in Britain is now just 16 years old.

Nolland identified six reasons church leaders remain silent: lack of awareness about what young people actually believe and practice, overcrowded sermon schedules, a misguided belief that the Holy Spirit alone will convict, misuse of Philippians 4:8 to avoid "dirty" topics, fear of internal church conflict, and reputational concerns about being labelled repressive.

Church Leaders Urged to Adopt "Smart Sex" Education to Protect the Next Generation

In response, Nolland proposed a five step strategy for churches. First, conduct anonymous surveys to discover what young people actually believe and practice. Second, understand the CSE content being taught in schools.

Do your homework. Many of our young know the talking points by heart: do you realise this?

Third, address the psychological dynamics at play, particularly the progressive framing of inclusion and safety that appeals to young people's sense of justice. Fourth, expose the documented harms of CSE, including grooming vulnerability, STIs, unintended pregnancy, and reduced educational attainment.

Fifth, Nolland outlined a 14 point "Smart Sex" framework as a positive alternative, grounded in biology and evidence rather than the old "Just Say No" approach. The framework includes education about pornography's impact on developing brains, the bonding effects of sexual activity, the incomplete development of adolescent executive function, and the promotion of marriage as the appropriate context for sexual intimacy.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me be blunt. When the Church stays silent while the state pumps explicit material into the minds of twelve year olds, that is not neutrality. That is surrender. Our children are being groomed by a culture that celebrates every deviation from God's design while mocking anyone who dares say "wait." Pastors, youth leaders, parents: the time for comfortable silence is over. If we will not fight for our children's innocence, who will? The world has made its intentions clear. It is time the Church made ours equally clear.

Take Action

• Talk to your pastor about addressing biblical sexuality and the dangers of CSE in your church's youth ministry this month.
• Review what your children's school is teaching in RSE/CSE classes. Visit rsereview.org for parent resources and curriculum reviews.
• Support Christian Concern, which provides legal and educational pushback against harmful sex education curricula in British schools.
• Have honest, age appropriate conversations with your children about God's design for sex and relationships before the culture does it for you.
• Donate to organisations defending Christian youth worldwide at www.TheShepherdsShield.org and Open Doors UK.