Going to church

February 27, 2022 by Magan Dolan

Todd Becker said “70% of young people who attend church during high school will stop attending church within four years after graduation.” I’m actually shocked it’s not higher because parents and the secular world seem to pull the younger generations away from church. The younger generation is being taught: God doesn’t belong in school, God doesn’t take priority over sports, God won’t get you as far sports or other non-church related functions. When kids are taken to church some parents use it as a day care so they can have a break from their kids, schoolwork, or other activities. It’s not pure motivation to teach their children how important it is to have a personal relationship with Christ. It’s important for parents to teach their children about what He did and continues to do for us on a regular basis.

For some attending church is a checklist; all I have to do is get through confirmation and I’m golden and that’s the end of the race. Now, it’s onto the next big thing in the high school or college.

Influential adults, political leaders, and others are trying to pull God out as much as possible; making Him as seem as small as possible and powerless as possible.

We believers need to take a stand, become offended, get out of the pew going forth into the streets, schools, and voters stands and let our voices be heard. I urge you to show the world how important and valuable our God is. Tell the world how important a strong relationship with Him is.

The more we standby and not take action the more we are showing our children and political parties just how little God matters. We are the body of Christ and it’s time the body of Christ takes a stand and not only stand but lives, moves, and breathes as one.

Todd Becker said, “70% of young people who attend church during high school will stop attending church within four years after graduation.”

I personally promise you that you if you encourage your kids to devote themselves in more Christ events than secular events you will never regret it. That sports scholarship can be taken away in a blink of an eye by a sports injury, on the other hand, a personal relationship with Christ is a lot harder to be taken away. “No one can snatch him out of My grasp; I will leave the 99 to find the one. I the Lord am a jealous Lord.”

If you want my God’s to honest opinion, I think parents should leave it up to their child, at least once they’re at a good age to kind of decide on their own. Hopefully as a parent, you’re setting a good enough example that the kids want to follow in your footsteps. Anyone that’s forced to go to something they don’t like or don’t want to go to is most likely going to stop as soon as they have a choice.

Many just go off to college and are finally free to think for themselves and figure out who they want to be. Just like most things in life, not everything is for everyone. “We all got to figure out exactly what we want in life and sometimes church just isn’t for certain people.” ~ Travis Alloway

“If the young person does not have his/her spiritual foundation, their parent’s foundation will not carry them through. It has to be a personal relationship.” ~ Paul Julian

“Don’t you think it might be because they’ve never truly cultivated a true relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Also, everything in this world tells us over and over again that the world is number one not our Savior.” ~ Scott Ford

“I can see that as true. That time of life is difficult to navigate in the best of circumstances, but in today’s society young people are being pressed upon to accept “societal norms” as right and “religious rhetoric” as evil.” ~ Renea Lux

I can see that being true. I think it depends on the type of church they are attending. Is it a legalistic type of church or is a church that teaches a relationship with Jesus through sound biblical teaching?
“I know for me church growing up was just check box that I got it completed on Sundays and then on Wednesdays as well.” ~ Chris Meyer

“I never truly knew what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus. And that in order for me to go to heaven I needed to admit I was a sinner and accept Jesus into my life as Lord and savior. It was not going to church every Sunday or putting money in the offering plate or taking communion, it was the relationship that all long and search for.” ~ Chris Meyer

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

I read a study a few years ago that found the biggest reason our youth fall away from the church is because we make church a place for our young people to have their social needs met and when they go off to school the college provides that. The study also found that children who are taught we go to church to serve and praise God stayed in church.

“For one reason or another they don’t personally embrace faith in Jesus. I think that is at the core. There are many secondary reasons. They embrace ritual for a season, they embrace relationships or community, but when they lose that specific community as they move it is easy to leave a faith they didn’t possess. They sought to please parents or other adults but reached a point of no longer needing to etc. just thoughts and speculation from watching it happen over the years.”

This entry was originally posted in Uncategorized on February 27, 2022 by Magan Dolan