Over the past several years, I have noticed an alarming trend. Lots of my friends don’t go to church. Now perhaps I should preface that statement with a little bit of history so you get the full impact of that statement.I am a “twentysomething” and have been involved with the organized church my entire life. I attended private church school for the first 5 years of school, where I made many friends that attended high school with and I keep in contact with to this day. For High School, I spent 4 years enrolled in private, church-affiliated, High School. The vast majority of those that i associated with were from strong religious backgrounds with strong church ties. So one would think, that with a background so rooted in church culture, that most would maintain an affiliation today. Sadly, that is not the case. And its not just me that is noticing.
“Overall, more than four out of five teens say they have attended a church for a period of at least two months during their teenage years (81%). “
- Barna.org
That number sounds great, but here comes the trouble.
“…twentysomethings continue to be the most spiritually independent and resistant age group in America. Most of them pull away from participation and engagement in Christian churches, particularly during the “college years.” The research shows that, compared to older adults, twentysomethings have significantly lower levels of church attendance, time spent alone studying and reading the Bible, volunteering to help churches, donations to churches, Sunday school and small group involvement, and use of Christian media (including television, radio and magazines). ”
- Barna.org
Not just a few, the majority.
Barna found that 19% of twentysomethings were unchurched as teens and still unconnected, 20% Churched as teens and spiritually active at the age of 29, and 61% were Churched as teens and disengaged in their twenties. That is alarming. That means that 6 out of 8 teens in your youth group or in your church pews will not be there in in their twenties. What can this mean for the future of our churches?
Now many seem to write this off as normal part of the cycle of growth. They say that the these “wayward souls” often return after they have children. While this has historically been true, that trend is changing.
“ …. just one-third of twentysomethings who are parents regularly take their children to church, compared with two-fifths of parents in their thirties and half of parents who are 40-years-old or more.”
- Barna.org
Ultimately, (please correct me if im wrong) if i do my math right, that means at current rates, nearly 50% of the teens on our pews will leave the church and not return….
Read Part 2