Starting over fresh

“Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.” --Aristotle

The biggest question in the church today is, where are all the young people?

You have probably read the statistics about the nationwide decline in church attendance, especially the dramatic plunge in the young adult category.

The trend has been developing for years.  Now, however, church leaders have come to the realization that the young people are gone and the baby boom generation has begun to die off.  

The outlook for church attendance 20 years from now is especially grim.  Many congregations are circling the drain.

As a result virtually every Christian community is trying to figure out how to reignite faith and congregational participation among the 20-somethings who as children sat in the pews next to their  parents.

Typically this leads to implementation of new programs, the addition of specialized staff or adoption of a particular worship style aimed at drawing a certain group of people through the doors.

It rarely works.  

If Aristotle was right (and he was wrong about a lot of things) the church isn't doing a very good job of building the faith of its children.

More correctly, parents aren't doing a very good job of building the faith of their children.

Moses told the Israelites not to neglect educating their children in the commandments of God.

"You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 11:19

Likewise, King Solomon gave this astute advice.

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

Martin Luther, in the opening words of his Small Catechism section on the Ten Commandments, admonished, 

"As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household."

It is clear where the responsibility lies. 

There are all kinds of reasons why parents of the last 50 years have failed to adequately bring up our children believing and trusting in Jesus and desiring to serve him.  We must repent, seek His forgiveness and follow his guidance. 

We often lay the blame on over-active schedules, particularly organized youth sports.  

Guess what?

An annual household survey conducted by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association confirms that organized sports participation among our youth is also falling. Among kids 13 to 17 years old the rate fell from 42.7% in 2008 to 39.3% in 2015. There was a similar decline for ages 6 to 12.

Here is another item to chew on.

Only 3% of adults who play sports currently did not play when they were young, according to a 2015 study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard University.

The old axiom is true: it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Whether it is faith or football, if an activity or association isn't learned and appreciated when a person is young it is highly unlikely to be important in their adult life. 

Here is what must be done.

Churches must expend greater energy, focus more intently and spend more dollars supporting, encouraging and training parents to teach their children about Jesus.

Unfortunately, many Christian parents today are unable to cogently express what they believe or why they believe it regarding Jesus and their relationship with him.  

And parents must face this fact.  You have been called by God to this position of responsibility to prepare your children for eternity.  There is no job of greater importance than this.
   
Your church is here to help.