There was a very interesting "King of the Hill" episode where Bobby joins a Youth group. Hank persuades him away from a contemporary artist to go to a Christian artist. Though the Christian artist looks and acts a lot like the non-Christian artist. Bobby warms up to the new Artist and ultimately becomes just like him. Hank drags him away and Bobby says i thought you want me to be more Christian? Hank takes a box off the shelf and shows him articles of Bobby's past fads. Hank says i just don't want your faith to be a fad like these things were.

I've seen stats like these for 25 years, it's nothing new. But the solution--does it not have more to do with better emphasis on integrating into the community than a program sold by Group or Lifeway? How much of the problem stems from the parents' example, as the article states? Is this in fact a case of the church doing its job poorly or parents modeling poorly?

"It seems spiritual formation, not just spiritual entertainment may be what young people are seeking from a church." Amen.

I don't find this to be a bad thing, but a good one. I have made the same observations in talking with young people. It is a good thing because these kids aren't going to buy into Church-lite. True, many will do some soul-searching and perhaps drift from God for a time. But, I what the report doesn't tell us is how many of these young adults are finding relevant ways to live out their faith outside of traditional churches. There are many of them. Our mission has more and more volunteers--even overseas mission volunteers--who are coming from outside of organized religion--and are they ever impassioned about what they are doing!

If the typical institutional church fails in one thing with these kids, it is in the fact that they don't challenge them. Fear of scaring them away keeps them from being honest with them pertaining to what true discipleship entails, when, in reality, I believe that such challenges would compel the majority of these young adults to live sold-out lives for Jesus.

I mean seriously, how do pizza parties and sack races change the world? How are they relevant to someone who is entering adulthood in an increasingly frightening world? Certainly there is a time for fun. But there is much more cause for celebration after your youth group has been out there on the edge being Jesus to desperate souls.

There is a better way.

i really don't believe this has anything to do with the church needing to "change the way it does ministry."

at the risk of using an extremely over-used term, i think it's just a logical result of being in a ... *gasp* ... postmodern society. the answers that generations before the current one accepted about where the bible came from, who wrote it, what its purpose is/was, whether or not the world was created in six days, how God could send 98% of the people who ever lived to a burning eternal hell...none of these are really legitimate - or believable - anymore. and if youth or twenty-somethings today have to accept all of that along with the message that there is a God and He is interested in them...well, i can understand why they'd look elsewhere.

to me, though, it's not all bad - it allows us to ask questions that churches - at least Baptist churches here in the South - have generally not been willing to face. but i'll tell you: it's hard to find a church that IS willing to discuss things and say that the answers given for two millenia are no longer valid in light of what we know today of the universe, of the ancient world, of cultures and peoples, etc. i've been looking. the pickings are slim.

and until we change that landscape, evangelical drop-outs will continue.

mike rucker
http://escroll.blogspot.com

It's precisely this consumer oriented, inauthentic language that repels twentysomethings from church. In this information age where we are bombarded and overloaded by marketers and advertisers, the last thing the church should be is a 3-5-7 step gimmick for three easy payments of 19.95.

Young people are not looking to "BUY" into the church. They understand the church is not a "product." They are looking for a people who will actually live something called the way of Jesus.

"It seems the teen years are like a free trial on a product. By 18, when it's their choice whether to buy in to church life, many don't feel engaged and welcome," says the associate director Scott McConnell.

While I am now close to 40, I vividly remember those teen years, especially the time spent in church. One of the things that would help in teen retention is making biblical & spiritual teachings relevant. For example, how can a teen really feel the solace of faith in a stressful, faithless school environment? My faith has supported me through all the difficult times in my life as well as enriched the good times. We need to connect those dots for our young people in ways that will make them feel part of an integrated whole as well feeling valued as individuals.

What I do not think is being explored here is the link between going to college and dropping out of church. So many children today go to a university and for the first time really find their faith challenged. When they can not answer the questions the philosophy teacher, the political science teacher or whomever ask, they fold.

The answer is not more church programs, the answer is teaching them WHY the faith they have has stood the test of time and WHO Jesus is and HOW to stand for the faith that they have.

"This is sobering news that the church needs to change the way it does ministry," says Ed Stetzer who directed the study.

Actually, I think this is sobering news that we need to be about making disciples--actual, real-live, living-the-life because they have bowed to the will of God, disciples. Instead, we teach them to "invite Jesus into their heart,"leaving it at that. But nothing about their life changes.

Mark another saved soul in the rooster.

My church had an excellent youth group, and then we graduated to a "college/career/singles" group that had no leadership or resources. Essentially, once we graduated high school, we were on our own until we got married.

There were two specific problems:
1) This particular congregation spent so much time, energy, and money on children and youth, but next to nothing on the people who were transitioning to adult life--exactly when direction, encouragement, and support are most needed.

2) Like many evangelical congregations, mine had a slightly anti-intellectual milieu, predicated on fear instead of love. "College is going to challenge your faith, but don't let go. Stay strong and don't be deceived." Too many churches, in response to tough questions and challenged faced by post-high-schoolers, parade out unsatisfactory trite answers. College students find their burning questions dismissed as either "a phase" or "lacking simple faith." Even non-college students are essentially told, implicitly, to just buck up and rely on God for comfort and support during what is a scary and lonely transition.

Churches need to strive to meet ALL the needs of high school graduates: help them find friends, stay grounded if their away from home, teach them life skills they need, engage touch questions without fear or condemnation, honor their contributions to congregational life as equally valid as any adult member.

This topic hits home with me for two reasons. -First, I'm in the demographic that this study is talking about. I grew up in the church. I went to Sunday School, AWANAS, youth group, all that the church offered, and I as I look back on these programs I believe that they all played a part in my spiritual growth. I felt God's call into ministry when I was in high school, and in spite of all of this I came to a place in my life where I felt like I needed a break from church.
-Secondly, I'm pastoring a group of people who fit in this demographic. It seems that no matter what the church setting was like where the people grew up, they all felt the need for a break.

My two cents- I think that this is largely a result of passing through childhood and into adulthood. For me it felt as if I was still being seen as a child. The transition is very awkward. "High school is over so come to the main church service and listen up." I think this is the reason why many college age kids still feel at home with the youth group.

ok, now I'm rambling. I think churches need to address the psycological shift from child to adult and make changes based on those needs.

Maybe I am alone in this observation but this all seems rather narcissic to me. Most of theses comments have a "me first" , "look how bad the church is treating us" attitudes, a negative criticism, ungratefulness, and pretty weak discussion in general. Most churches faithfully struggle to reach all generations with the resources available. Any teen in the US has no-not one- excuse for not being able to find a church that goes out of its way to teach, train, and encourage. There are hundreds of them in each major town and city. Personally, this is no big crisis-has always happened and will continue to happen. Following Jesus is a choice-and some choose not to.

The article stated that many young adults found churches (or church members) judgemental or hypocritical. I know that as a young adult I have wrestled with my faith many times over the past year. My brother abandoned his about a year ago. My church family has been awesome. I am grateful that they have supported me through question, after question, after question. I can see how some churches might not put up with so much...People have gone out of their way to let me know that I belong and am accepted.

I wonder if a deeper problem, though, is a lack of connectedness, a lack of community. We can't help the confused young adults in our congregations if we don't know who they are. I wonder if, to many young people, those hypocritical Christians are their own families--they show up at church every Sunday, polished and smiling, but Dad beats Mom, and Mom's an alcoholic...It's okay to complain about your family in the cafeteria at school, but church is the place to be nice...um...I mean, forgiving.

Interesting post and interesting comments. When I think about the issue of why we tend to lose youth after they graduate high school, I do see lack of maturity as the issue. We are effectively taking the advice of the writer of Proverbs -- "Train a child in the way he/she should go ... and when he/she is old he will not disappoint."

My experience with youth groups is that they have a tendency to be "watered down" when it comes to actually teaching/training children. It's a struggle to figure out how to incorporate some element of teaching. It's easier to do as the original post suggests -- focus more on doing "fun" activities and eating pizza. There's probably a host of reasons why we do this. There may be fear that if we push the "study part" too much, kids won't want to come. It may also be that the adults aren't themselves mature so they don't feel competent to teach the kids so doing fun activities together is just easier.

But the problem is, in taking this approach to our youth groups, I'm afraid we never help (challenge?) the kids to grow spiritually so that when they are old enough to choose for themselves, they elect to continue to attend church (somewhere) and put forth effort to pursue spiritual growth. It's as if they don't see the value in making discipleship a priority -- and so is it any wonder they drift away from church involvement?

I think we might be reaping what we sew -- or rather not reaping what we have not sewed. We've not invested time and effort to train the youth, and so we shouldn't be surprised that they aren't choosing to be part of our churches.

as a twenty-something who grew up with high school youth group and is now smack in the middle of living the transition between "sudent" and "adult", i take exception with the admonishment that my demographic feeling a disconnection with the church is mere narcissism. the fact of the matter is that few churches have a suitable ministry to college students. since finishing high school in 2001, i have lived in 5 of canada's 12 provinces, studied in 3 of those, and have yet to encounter a church-based college ministry that isn't run like the fluffy, discussion-free high school groups. my most rewarding college experience was when a group of students formed a group at the school. under the guidance of inter-varsity christian fellowship, we were responsible for instigating and leading our own Bible studies, worship, prayer meetings, outreach, etc. it was stregnthening, rewarding, and we had great ministry to the college. yet in the churches, there is a hesitation to let students take involvement in these things, when this is exactly the time of life when we need to be trained to take that kind of responsibility for our walk.

believe in narcissism and navel-gazing all you want, but the fact of the matter is that churches at large are not treating college students with the respect they, as adults, deserve.

I agree with Nate and Doodle. I think the problem is community. Most churches do this pretty well for high schoolers, but little or nothing is offered for twenty somethings. Observing this in our church, they feel pretty disconnected until they establish families of their own.

I thought it was interesting that only 18% said that they disagreed with their church on social/political issues. Many articles here at Ur would suggest these issues as the primary reason.

I do suspect that part of the reason young people leave is that they have had their intelligence insulted for so long by youth pastors who behave in a silly manner that they become disgusted. I certainly didn't care for most youth group games and antics from grown men when I was young. Of course, I didn't articulate that at the time because I wanted to fit in. The Bible doesn't need to be 'dumbed down' for kids. Give them some credit. To see what I mean, download this video on prayer from a mega church youth website: http://www.elev8world.com/

Petra, I thought your comment was awesome. I think a lot of teens and young adults are "ugly ducklings"--suddenly asking questions or exploring issues they never have before--but what they do with those questions is ultimately their choice.

How much of this problem is a result of the lack of true biblical conversion in the first place? Mainstream evangelicalism long ago lost its theological moorings and we have people without number who have a view of salvation and Christianity that is little more than Jesus-as-life-enhancement. Christ's call to "repent and believe the Gospel" has been replaced with "find your best life now!" Who needs church for that? There are legion self-improvement gurus, books, DVD's, cable shows that will do the same thing. When church ignores the true call of the Gospel, to die to ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Christ, we get false converts who are really just along for the ride, to sooth their consciences or maybe improve some aspect of their social lives. This is the core of the problem, I believe. The siren song of the world and all its pleasures has kept many enthralled instead of on the path to the Celestial City. The Evangelical church has become just a side show at Vanity Fair. Its little wonder young people are moving on.

If you look at this you see religion again on the defense. I see this as evidence of churches not willing to change methods of ministry ahead of emerging life style changes. We tend to merge method with message to much. In turn we, churches, lag behind in changing the way we do things. Churches should be trend setters not constantly playing catch up some 10-20 years behind the times. By the way, I am 50 years old and still feel that change is life - not changes in the message of Christ but methods in how we present the message.

It seems as if the church for the most part has adopted western culture's practice of totally separating youth from other generations. In many churches, in fact, the teenagers are the farthest away possible from where adults meet. We entertain them and over-program them. Their relationships are different; their music is different; and their only role models are the adult youth workers (who also tend to be separated from othe adults) - then when the kids graduate from high school we kick them out of youth group and make them go to "big church". It's no wonder our kids are leaving the church.

I am a huge youth ministry fan - for tons of very positive reasons. But, it's time for the church to do something proactive about this. We must build growing intergenerational relationships through intentional mentoring and we must help our youth develop a loyalty and ownership in THEIR churches by significant ministry and involvement alongside other generations.

I too found many members to be judgemental because I was living in sin and guilt so I avoided them all. The biggest problem I see now are droves of Seasoned Saints who are dropping out.

Several issues which need to be addressed in Youth Ministry:

1. We always stick young guys to do youth. At 23, I look at these students and on the one hand, I love to work with and teach them, while on the other hand I have less wisdom to offer them than older Christians. My advice: start pairing young ones up with older ones. Read Proverbs a few times and I think it'll make sense.

2. We need to start at the family level. The church isn't there to babysit and take over for the parents. (Obviously, youth with parents who don't come are an exception; therefore see point #1).

3. We need to stop evaluating success entirely by the numbers. What's more depressing than all those people leaving is the relative lack of growth in the knowledge and grace of God that persists in the 'keepers.'

BTW, how come most conservatives (like me) can't get the same kind of positive repsonses that Ed Stetzer seems to get? Is it because he works with Acts 29 and is automatically 'in'? (Tongue planted firmly in cheek)

Hmmm

The problem is NOT making our youth groups better. The problem is how to get PARENTS to live their faith in front of their children. Deut. didn't admonish us to bring our children to church and abdicate our role as spiritual teachers. It tells us, as parents, to teach or to pass on our faith to our children.

Parents need to know how serious it is if they talk the talk but don't walk the walk.

"This may indicate that parents play a more crucial role in the spiritual development of their children than any church program."

and

"2. We need to start at the family level. The church isn't there to babysit and take over for the parents. (Obviously, youth with parents who don't come are an exception; therefore see point #1)."

This is spot on. It is parents -- not programs -- that shape a child's spiritual life with any lasting results. Churches need to equip, help and encourage parents and families, instead of simply ram-rodding the programs where parents go one direction and their kids/teens go another.

What can be done to aid in the retention of this age which is the church of today and not just tomorrow. Do we need more "722" and "Foyer" meetings (monthly worship experiences for college age on the north and south side of Atlanta)? The need appears to be the commitment of parents and older adults within the church to take these gappers under their wing and show the way. I use the term "gappers" because, within our church Bible study, we have a group called the "GAP" class (Getting Adults Prepared). It is specifically for this age group. They fall in the gap between youth and the experience of becoming adults (a most terrifying time in their lives). Who will stand in the gap with them. I only wish I could say that our GAP is entirely successful. It is only to the point for those who have been commited to come previously. Maybe, we will not lose them to the statistics.

The problem seems to be not the lack good programs but the lack of family bonds. Why do young people have no one to help them through the transition to adulthood? Shouldn't their family be there for them?
And as to why young adults would leave church: have they seen "christianity" working for their parents or have they just seen religion? It seems that if parents fail to live their beliefs their kids pick that up, why are we suprised when applies to religion? It seems the answer to keeping more young people in the church is get their parents to really live their faith.

I didn't read all of the comments, so if this is a repeat, please forgive me. But I think the problem is that there are so many churches out there that are not spirit filled. They are not born again believers. These kids are not getting fed the word. They are hearing scripture expounded on, but they aren't getting it in context and they aren't being told the necessity of salvation. Unless the "churches" start to repent and get fired up with the true word of God, the results are not going to change. You go to any on fire, bible believing born again church and you won't find those same results ~ I'm sure of it!!

Quite the contrary. I've the seen the on fire born again hyper emotional church turn some young folks away for good because it does not appeal to them. It does work for some who need that kind of excitement but not others. Some people including adults are looking for something deeper and more involved than the shouting, guilt, and name calling that go along with the "on fire". Understanding God's love and grace for them is more contemplative and serious, less shallow.

Steve, I am not talking about a pentacostal holy roller church falling on the floor doing crazy stuff. To be spirit filled only happens when you repent and you decide you want Christ to be in control of your life. The joy and knowledge of how much he loves you is what makes you on fire. On fire enough to not be afraid to share what you know and what he's done in your life. On fire enough to be thirsty for His word and to want to know all you can about Him. Yes, God is loving and His grace is bountiful, but He is also righteous and we will all one day stand before Him and account for our lives. It was Jesus who spoke many times about heaven and hell in the gospels. He wouldn't have done so if it were not true. Therefore, you can't always preach just on love because then people don't know their need to repent. Jesus is the one who said you must be born again. He's also the one that said He is the way and the truth and the life and no man can go to the Father unless they go through Him. I can tell right away by your comment that you must have had a bad experience and I'm sorry to hear that. But I believe that if kids are taught the truth and have good Godly examples they will make their way.

The thing I keep hearing is how do we get these kids 'formed' to incorporate into 'our' worshipping communities. I see Youth and College ministry as one ministry that creates its own community. This type of ministry has to be tended to as if you are creating a new worshipping community or birthing a new service because we are!! My background has been in children's ministry. I found it very easy to grow a program that is formed around study. The challenge was that final transition from college to adulthood. I say forget it!! Treat this group as a dedicated group that will be together and let the ' adults' integrate. If this spawns a new community within the community fine. The key thing is community that is relavent.

All great points. I have seen the Lord work so much through my parents and my wife's parents... i have an example of what it means to live out the highs and lows of a real Christ-led life. Parents make all the difference.

But let's be clear: just because someone is still going to church doesn't mean they are living a Godly, Christ-centered life.

My wife and I had the privilege last year of leading a neighborhood bible study with adults in their 30's who were just starting to have their own kids. One constant frustration was the suburban, megachurchianity culture that permeates our life today. A lot of folks have good intentions... they want their kids to have a background but they aren't willing to examine their own lives and make real assessments of where they are with God. A lot of these same folks send their kids to solid, evangelical Christian schools. After growing up in this context, i see that faith without love and devotion perpetuates an entitlement culture of youth that think they are better than the outside world.

Net, a lot of these folks that go to church are perpetuating a dead culture of veneer Christianity that focuses on the outside (in Jesus's words, white washed walls whose inside's are dead).

I used to judge people that no longer go to church, now i love to discover what it is behind them that prevents them from attending. As i became to be really honest with myself, i began to see that i had more in common with the folk not attending than with the white washed walls.

Our children need true examples of folks living out a 'missional' life that is focused on Christ and His Kingdom. My parents were true servant leaders who, like Jesus, never used 'me' in their vocabulary and worked to give us a better life. I hope to follow and show that to my children.

Are we meeting God in church?

That's the most important question that needs to be asked here.

As an evangelical dropout myself, I found this article pretty interesting. Why did I leave? It's difficult to boil down, but I think there are a few main reasons:

1) First and foremost, a lack of anything resembling competent Biblical teaching from the pulpit. Usually one just hears something "series based"--amounting to a harping on the pastor's pet theologies. (Basically, this is the Bible in service of theology rather than the other way around). We never hear/talk about what the Bible is actually saying (taken in context) or think about how it has been read historically, or whether we can deepen our understanding, or understand the Bible in a new way. Same-ole-same-ole. It's basically boring. Ask anyone else who has dropped out and I'm guessing you'll hear much of the same.

If you find yourself flipping through your Bible during a sermon to umpteen different references, chances are your pastor is NOT teaching on a biblical text, he just doing theological prooftexting and moreover, likely reading out of context.

On the rare occassion one finds something biblically-based it's warmed-over notes from some class the preacher took in seminary. How many sermons can someone listen to on Romans, anyway? Don't these guys (mainly) realize there's a LOT more to the Bible?

2) Lack of any historical consciousness whatsoever. Christianity didn't begin with Calvin.

3) Emphasis on entertainment rather than substance. "Worship" seems to = "singing". (You don't find an official "Worship Leader" for other parts of the service afterall....)

4) Too much "me-ism", "family-ism" and consumerism. Not enough "Jesus-ism".

I think we might be missing it.
We create children ministries why? So that the Children can learn about God in thier own way so they dont disrupt every one else.
We create youth minisries why? So that the youth can learn about God in thier own way so they dont disrupt everyone else.
So what happens after high school or after college? We expect them to "join" us and not disrupt us. It just doesnt work! There are a couple of options

#1 -- change things up. Worship is not about what is pleasing to you. Those who are mature in Christ should be able to worship God in a variety of ways. Especially if they see others meeting God by different methods.

#2 -- as someone previously said, "create a community within a community." If it means having something seperate, then good. The more we can reach for Christ the better