Starke Reality: Question of the Week: Why are young people walking away from our churches?

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Question of the Week: Why are young people walking away from our churches?

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In this issue . . .

Q&A: Why are young people walking away from our churches?
Video On Demand: Only One Race, Part 3 (Sidebar)
Ken's Blog (Sidebar)
News to Note Quick Look
Answers ... with Ken Ham
After Eden
Network with Us!
Job Opportunities at Answers in Genesis (Sidebar)

Q: Why are young people walking away from our churches?

Ken Ham answers: During the past thirty years of traveling the world and speaking in churches, I have been deeply burdened by distraught parents pleading for advice on how to reach their children who were brought up in the church but no longer attend. "How can I reach them? How can we get them back to church?" I have been asked time and time again.
As I saw such patterns across America, Australia, Europe, and the United Kingdom, I was sure there must be a connection. Could it be that the lack of teaching apologetics in our churches, youth groups, Sunday schools, and Bible studies is a major reason why young people leave the church?
I talked with parents and noticed that an overwhelming number of them admitted they didn't know how to answer their children's questions—whether about dinosaurs, the age of the earth, or the origin of the Bible. I also found that most parents believe their children's Christianity won't come under attack until college.
So we contracted with Britt Beemer, from America's Research Group, to formulate questions and survey one thousand twenty-somethings (ages 20–29) who had gone to church regularly as children but no longer attend. They had to have come from a conservative church background so the results would reflect what's happening to children from Bible-believing churches.
The study found we are losing our kids in elementary, middle school, and high school rather than college. And overall, it's because of the lack of teaching apologetics. The younger generations are not being raised to be able to answer the skeptical questions of our time, and so they begin doubting from a very early age whether they can trust the Bible.

Continue reading to learn the details of this telling study—and what you can do about the problem.

News to Note Quick Look

Empty schools: Since the days of frontier America, churches and schools have had a tradition of sharing building space. After all, school's out on Sunday. Thousands of churches all over the country rent—that is, pay money for—space in public schools on Sundays. But now, in New York City, that will change. Read more.

"He that believeth on the Son . . .": A battle is raging in the world of Bible translation, and the issues are more complex than they at first appear. The questions involve fundamental issues of vocabulary and culture, linguistic accuracy and doctrinal purity, the integrity and availability of God's Word. Read more.

Also:

Answers ... with Ken Ham radio program

After Eden

Network with Us!


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