I was reading Essential Church by Thom and Sam Rainer (father and son). Both men do extensive research on the church today. The overall theme of this book is to reveal the research done on why we lose so many young adults to the church between the ages of 18 and 22. Many of them dropping out long before that. Obvisously, the book speaks to leaders of churches as to what churches can do, but as a Dad as well as a Pastor I was struck by chapter 4 (A New Spin on Hypocrisy). The big idea of the chapter is that no matter what the church does, it stands little chance of holding on to this generation during these years if there has been a disconnect between what the parents say they believe about church and God and what they live. Most of us would guess church attendance by the parents would directly impact the church attendance of their children as they leave home. To some degree they found this to be true. However, if the parents attend church and speak positively about the church, but do not live out their faith and talk about their faith in the home, we lose astounding percentages of these kids when they become young adults. It's not just church attendance, but it is a life that demonstrates that church makes a difference in the lives of the parents.
Watch this video and be reminded ...
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2 comments:
Mark,
Perhaps many teens drop out because they have simply been "dropping in" for all those years, never really 'connected' to the King of kings. Thanks for this reminder-in print and video-of the critical role Dads (and Moms) play in a child's spiritual life. It's not the church's responsibility to train up children in the way they should go, but to encourage and equip parents, especially Dads, to be the leaders in the home God intends for us to be and to model a Christ-honoring lifestyle publicly and privately.
We appreciate you. Glad I finally made it to your blog. I'll be back often.
Thanks Dwayne.
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