There’s a lot of blogging going on about the New York Times’ recent article concerning the mass exodus of teenagers from evangelical churches. I’ve heard all this for a while now, so it’s not really a ground-breaking story or anything. I wouldn’t even bother to mention it here except for this quote given in the context of disputing the statistic that “4% of teens will be bible-believing in the next generation.” Quote:

Mr. Luce responded: “If the 4 percent is true, or even the 5 percent, it’s an indictment of youth ministry. So certainly they’re going to want different data.”

Why do youth ministries take so much blame for this statistic? C’mon, [tag]Run Luce[/tag]! Yes, some youth ministries can stand to be re-evaluated and changed, but it can’t be entirely our fault. There is a lot more to this than just ineffective youth groups.

I think it involves the following:

1. If students aren’t returning to [tag]church[/tag], then maybe the church needs to rethink what they’re doing and how they “do church.” What is it about the church that students don’t want to be a part of?

2. Students need to see genuine godliness lived out by parents at home and in the lives of their youth workers. The truth is, many parents in our churches wouldn’t even meet the standard of spiritual maturity that I require for volunteers who are in this role model position.

3. Students need to have a solid understanding of bibliology and why then can trust [tag]scripture[/tag]. The Bible needs to be a reliable source as the foundation of everything they do and how they live their lives, not just a book of stories. Churches are filled with biblically illiterate people and it shows.

[tags]parenting[/tags]

Posted on October 11, 2006