http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church

Reason #5 – They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
“Younger Americans have been shaped by a culture that esteems open-mindedness, tolerance and acceptance. Today’s youth and young adults also are the most eclectic generation in American history in terms of race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, technological tools and sources of authority. Most young adults want to find areas of common ground with each other, sometimes even if that means glossing over real differences. Three out of ten young Christians (29%) said “churches are afraid of the beliefs of other faiths” and an identical proportion felt they are “forced to choose between my faith and my friends.” One-fifth of young adults with a Christian background said “church is like a country club, only for insiders” (22%).” Read more…

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http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church

Reason #4 – Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
“With unfettered access to digital pornography and immersed in a culture that values hyper-sexuality over wholeness, teen and twentysometing Christians are struggling with how to live meaningful lives in terms of sex and sexuality. One of the significant tensions for many young believers is how to live up to the church’s expectations of chastity and sexual purity in this culture, especially as the age of first marriage is now commonly delayed to the late twenties. Research indicates that most young Christians are as sexually active as their non-Christian peers, even though they are more conservative in their attitudes about sexuality. One-sixth of young Christians (17%) said they “have made mistakes and feel judged in church because of them.” The issue of sexuality is particularly salient among 18- to 29-year-old Catholics, among whom two out of five (40%) said the church’s “teachings on sexuality and birth control are out of date.”” Read more…

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Reason #3 that young Christians leave the church.  http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church

Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
“One of the reasons young adults feel disconnected from church or from faith is the tension they feel between Christianity and science. The most common of the perceptions in this arena is “Christians are too confident they know all the answers” (35%). Three out of ten young adults with a Christian background feel that “churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in” (29%). Another one-quarter embrace the perception that “Christianity is anti-science” (25%). And nearly the same proportion (23%) said they have “been turned off by the creation-versus-evolution debate.” Furthermore, the research shows that many science-minded young Christians are struggling to find ways of staying faithful to their beliefs and to their professional calling in science-related industries.”

Really?? Or is the true reason isnt’ that we are antagonistic but that we as Church don’t explain things well or we avoid challenging topics all together? Read more…

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On to Reason #2 that young Christians leave the church according to the study we have been following.  http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church

Reason #2 – Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow. “A second reason that young people depart church as young adults is that something is lacking in their experience of church. One-third said “church is boring” (31%). One-quarter of these young adults said that “faith is not relevant to my career or interests” (24%) or that “the Bible is not taught clearly or often enough” (23%). Sadly, one-fifth of these young adults who attended a church as a teenager said that “God seems missing from my experience of church” (20%).” Read more…

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In a blog dated December 14^th I referred to a study that looks
at 6 reasons young people leave church. http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church . Do you think their conclusions are applicable to the Anglican Church? Here is Reason #1 and my thoughts.

Reason #1 – Churches seem overprotective.
“A few of the defining characteristics of today’s teens and young adults are their unprecedented access to ideas and worldviews as well as their prodigious consumption of popular culture. As Christians, they express the desire for their faith in Christ to connect to the world they live in. However, much of their experience of Christianity feels stifling, fear-based and risk-averse. Read more…

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The house is still quiet. The kids are getting older so they start to sleep in a little, which I must say is a little better than the 4a.m. start in previous years! There is time to wish you a Merry Christmas. May we have time to reflect about the true meaning of Christmas while we enjoy the presents, chaos and fun. Blessings to you and loved ones on this day.

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There is an interesting study out from the Barna Group discussing why young people leave church. http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church . The research lists six significant reasons why nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%)  disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15. I’m not looking to analyze The Barna Group’s research. I realize there are many other opinions that exist on this topic but thought it would be a good starting point for discussion. Do the themes have merit? Do you find truth in them as a youth leader or as youth growing up in the church? Can we use them to understand the current generation of youth? Are the reasons to broad to be able to facilitate any concrete change? My goal is to look at each of these reasons on their own in my next few blogs in the hopes of starting some discussion on the site and in my own parish. More understanding of where youth might be coming from never hurts and spreading the knowledge around throughout the congregation is even better! We can’t discuss what we don’t understand so if there is some validity to the reasons in the study then the conversation with our youth workers, youth and parishes is a good one to have.

Reason #1 – Churches seem overprotective.

Reason #2 – Teens’ and twenty somethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.

Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.

Reason #4 – Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.

Reason #5 – They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.

Reason #6 – The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.

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As I mused over what to write for this blog, I was surprised by the many Facebook notes about campaigns that have been highlighted over the last weeks amid all the Christmas media. There have been some pretty heavy days leading up to the festive Christmas season. November 19^th was pink day to stop bullying in our schools, December 1^st was World AIDS Day (Red Ribbon Day) bringing awareness to AIDS/HIV and November 25-Dec 6^th is the White Ribbon campaign to end violence against women. There are so many good and worthwhile causes that are highlighted in our immediate world and many of these campaigns cast youth in the midst of them. We are blessed that we as a youth leaders and youth can teach, support and empower so many of these causes through our Christian faith.

We meet in our youth programs and find we have peers that are living with these issues throughout their lives both openly and in secret. There those who are bullied because of differences, those who have illnesses both seen and unseen, those girls and boys who are battered socially, emotionally and physically.  Pretty serious stuff in what most people see as fun and busy season.  If you are a youth leader you have the ability and gift to talk, coach, support and give comfort. If you are a youth member you can also support and care for those who struggle. Never underestimate the power of simply lending a caring ear or shoulder to those who are hurting especially in a time where we are inundated with happy Christmas themes. Sometimes we forget that this season  is not special for everyone.

Youth programs are not here just to be Christian social groups or nights of hanging out. Don’t get me wrong, those are important too and a fun night of carolling is a great time out but we live in a world that is not perfect and we find many in our own communities who are hurt and are seeking safe havens.  We are called as Christians to be aware and be active in supporting those struggling. Be a safe haven this Christmas season. Offer welcome, support, genuine care and in doing so show love to those youth(or your friends) for whom life is sometimes overwhelming.

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Laura, one of our staff members, is a professional counsellor, a parish youth leader, a parent of teens, an Anglican, a clergy kid and a member of a rural congregation.  She will be blogging about ideas, issues and things that cross her path in those multiple roles.  Feel free to add your comments, questions and thoughts.

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