What is happening to our youth in the church today? Or, we might ask, “Where are the youth in the church today?” Several recent studies have been addressing various aspects of these questions, but perhaps the overall problem is, “where is the Christian Church headed today?” The Hartford Institute for Religion Research drew some conclusions about the younger age of those who attend Megachurches, but pointed to the fact that most give little support to the church’s ministries. At the same time younger adults are more drawn to the large-scale, professional, high tech contemporary worship and the variety of activities they offer. Another study by the Pew Research Center highlighted the major differences in points of view of younger people and older people today. Claiming that the generation gap is now the largest since the 1960s, their survey showed disagreements over lifestyle, views on family, relationships and the importance of religion among other things. No big surprise there if one simply gauges the cultural trends of the day. And then there is an article in the Wall Street Journal last month titled “Why Sunday Schools Are Closing,” which describes the diminishing impact a movement little more than 200 years old is now having on the Church’s youngest.
Against these publically reported findings, comes another even more important study in the book “Already Gone – Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it” by Ken Ham & Britt Beemer with Todd Hilliard. Analyzing a survey of 1000 young people in their 20s who had attended church nearly every Sunday in their youth, but no longer or only on holidays continued to attend, Ken discovered some extremely insightful comparisons. One amazing find was that those who earlier had attended both Sunday School and church were more likely than those with only church attendance to have greater doubts about the truth and authority of Holy Scripture. They were also more likely to accept premarital sex, gay marriage and abortion and less likely to view the church with favor. What a contrast to an expected outcome for youth raised with regular attendance in Sunday School.
One might conclude from these results that a reduction in Sunday School participation can only lead to improvement, but if they are going to leave the church anyway that seems to be a fatalistic approach. No, Ken Ham is rather encouraging and I would urge you to read the whole book which may be obtained from www.answersingenesis.org, a great source for many materials that support the authenticity and authority of God’s Holy Word. But the root of the problem in Ken’s analysis is the lack of authoritative and competent teaching which leads to doubts about the Bible as an accurate, dependable and historically valid record of God’s creation and ultimate loving and fulfilled plan for the redemption of Fallen Man through the person and merits of Jesus Christ. By teaching “Bible Truths” instead of “Bible Stories,” and substantiating the facts as presented in God’s inerrant Word, even in age appropriate ways, it is Ken Ham’s and my belief that we may see the trend reversed. And regardless, we will at least be more faithful in the commission of our task. It begins with Genesis, for if we can’t defend God’s first revelation about Himself how can we insist on the whole truth of Scripture without “undermining every single thing that we say.” (p.90)
Yes, we preach Christ Crucified, about trusting Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting, but we also defend the Word, live by the Word and stand on the Word without compromise. Does this come through to our children in Sunday School and in Church so that they are prepared when they face the doubters and naysayers in their maturing years? The Bible is not a collection of stories, often equated to myth, but is a factual accounting of God’s revealed knowledge to guide us on the path of life—to the Life.