Proof The Bible Is True

“Good article and some interesting reader comments after the article.”  Admin

They’re falling away from the Church in droves, but what actually keeps youth grounded in their faith and committed to regular church fellowship?

A Closer LookOne high school pastor recognizes the modern-day dilemma Christian parents find themselves in when they desperately ask him with tear-filled eyes, “What do we do about our kids?”

“[T]hey weren’t talking about 16-year-olds drinking and partying,” The Gospel Coalition Contributor Jon Nielson shared. “Each had a story to tell about a ‘good Christian’ child, raised in their home and in our church, who had walked away from the faith during the college years.”

And these youth weren’t just showing up to church once a week — they were involved.

“These children had come through our church’s youth program, gone on short-term mission trips, and served in several different ministries during their teenage years,” Nielson pointed out. “Now they didn’t want anything to do with it anymore.”

Nielson insists that parent-implemented temporary patches and retroactive attempts to bring young college adults back into the fold are futile.

“[T]hese mothers’ ideas for our church to send college students ‘care packages’ during their freshman year to help them feel connected to the church didn’t strike me as a solution with quite enough depth,” Nielson added.

But is there a real call for alarm? Statistics presented by Nielson indicate “yes,” pointing to some of the latest major research since the turn of the century highlighting the percentage of youth leaving the Church.

Read More  3 factors keeping youth in church through adulthood.