“You Lost Me” - The Young American Church
Introduction: How has the Church lost the youth in the West? Why do we see so many teens and young 20s fleeing the Church? Let's explore that problem as we watch our culture stray further every day.
Introduction of the Panel:
So what is happening with the youth in the West? Let's look at some numbers:
What Children Currently Believe
Noting that a person's worldview is typically formed before they reach the age of 13, Barna provided data from a Cultural Research Center national survey of adolescents conducted for the Raising Spiritual Champions book. That survey revealed that of the seven cornerstone beliefs, a majority of adolescents believes only one of those points of view.
• 69% - God exists and is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect Creator and ruler of the universe
• 36% - As a sinner, the only solution to the consequences of sin is to acknowledge your sins, ask
God to forgive you through Jesus Christ, and rely on Him to save you from those consequences
• 35% - Sin is real, and significant; we are all sinners, by choice
2
• 27% - Your most important reason for living is to do what God wants
• 25% - You trust the Bible because it is completely true and personally relevant to your life
• 21% - The Bible provides a complete and reliable understanding of right and wrong
• 17% - Success is consistently doing what the Bible teaches
In terms of developing a solid foundation for a biblical worldview, just 3% embrace all seven of those
perspectives. That does not bode well for adolescents building a stable foundation that will lead to a
robust and biblical worldview.
Adolescents clearly are exposed to many different points of view related to the subject matter of the
cornerstones. The Cultural Research Center study revealed that most of today's adolescents (58%)
believe just two or fewer of the seven cornerstones.
Cornerstones Embraced Percentage of adolescents
So no wonder we see exits from the church like this:
So is it Youth Pastors? Are they to blame? You might make that argument if you take this information in vacuum:
https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AWVI2022_Release05_Digital.pdf
However, let's zoom out a bit and look closer at the Church as a whole:
https://www.barna.com/research/changing-state-of-the-church/
It's almost like there's a cancer of unbelief in the Church at large. Do you REALLY believe that God is real? If you did, what would you do about listening to Him, seeking council of Him? Would you not have a desire for a stronger relationship with those who call Him Lord?
Chair of Theology:
What does the Bible say about generational knowledge of God? Joshua 4:9, Judges 2:10-19
Judges 21:25, 2 Chronicles 33:1-6. How long does it take to lose such respect for God?
Chair of Philosophy:
If this world is not our home, how should we go about preparing our children for the next world? How should WE live in this world?
Chair of Culture:
The world has had its way with the Church instead of the Church promoting God to the World. What is the process by which we can see Godly change in our Culture?
Chair of Politics:
What have we seen happen to our freedom of worship and the sovereignty of the parent in the political sphere without God in the Culture? Voting is important, but how can we correct this problem at its root?
Chair of Economics:
Where one's treasure is, so is their heart. If we are to be wise stewards of our time and treasure, what would that look like on this Earth and how would that translate into a lifestyle?
Outro
Final Question: Favorite Youth Group Game