I have been a full-time Youth Pastor for 10 years and one of the most challenging aspects of being a Minister to Students is watching Graduates walk away from their faith after they get out of High School. I recently asked over 100 students involved in my youth groups a couple of questions Here are some of their remarks.
What’s your faith look like today?
- My faith is real and central to my life—– My faith is looking pretty good today—– I don’t know what you could say happened to me.
- Well my faith is a little weaker than when you were around constantly. I certainly don’t pray everyday but I’m no atheist. Still believe just not as active I suppose—–God has been doing some work with me, and I am realizing more and more everyday how amazing he is, I’m still gonna be a youth pastor
- My faith is getting back on track——It’s not as strong as it was in high school but still going, I can not find a church that I like—–My faith continues to grow daily.
- My faith isn’t as great as it could/should be—–I am striving now, more than ever, to learn to defend my faith and grow in God—–My faith is as strong as ever Jody, if not more so.
How is your involvement in a local body of believers?
These responses were wide spread and somewhat alarming. It seemed clear that if the person is involved in their school’s BCM or a part of a collegiate ministry within their church their faith was growing more than those who were not involved in any age appropriate ministry.
I still attend church even though I’m at an extremely liberal college
- I still go to church almost every Sunday.
- I have always been very involved at whatever church I am at.
- I don’t go to church. When I come home, I usually go to church. I have recently thought about going to some churches , but haven’t actually gone yet.
- I have fell off and stopped going to any church completely…(not lost faith but just lost connection).
What makes your relationship with God stronger? Also what could have made it stronger?
- When I read His word and begin to use it in my daily life.
- I have no idea
- Finding a good church
- Being surrounded by others who are like-minded
What role did your parents play in your Christianity?
The #1 influence in someone’s life is their parents! However I did notice while reading many different responses that just because your parents brought you up in church does not always mean that the person still goes to church. I also found that there are very good godly people who have parents that did not set a great example and influence their kid for the things of God.
Favorite youth group memory?
These answers were mission trips, Disciple Now, camps, all-nighters, ski-trips…
To parents of teenagers:
Walk in the faith with your kid. Talk to them about problems they face, help them understand what it means to be a “follower of Christ.” Set the example in life, word and deed–they are watching your every move. The truth is your teenager is only at church a few hours a week and at home most other hours spend TIME with them. Talk about God’s Word, it’s okay if you do not understand all of it–seek out someone who can help you. Most of all love your kid for who they are–God designed them and views them as HIS masterpiece! If we want to reclaim this generation, the church and the home must partner together like never before! Let me know if I can help.
To recent Graduates:
I have realized through these questions that each of us are responsible for our own actions. Your parents were not perfect in raising you and you were not a perfect child. You make the decision to live out your faith and only YOU. God wants you to come back to Him if you have strayed away. Some of you wrote that the church has hypocrites so you choose not to go. Let me tell you all of us at one time or another have been a hypocrite, this is why we base our standards on GOD not MAN! I encourage you to get back in a Bible Believing Church and get involved! A Christian without a church is like a baseball player without a team. God loves YOU and He is real, and He is always there for you reach out to HIM and He will come running! I love all of you guys and hope you choose to stay with Jesus Christ–Let me assure you He will always stay with YOU!!!
Thanks for doing this. Very thoughtful and helpful. Blessings on your work with students!
Derek
By: Derek Melleby on February 26, 2009
at 10:17 am
I hold onto Pro. 22:6 all the time because I am that verse in living color. I was born going to church and can never remember not being a regular attender at Sunday morning service until after I left my parents home at the age of eighteen. Though i was in regular church attendance most Sunday’s, don’t let me leave you with the impression that I was there due to my own choice. As long as I was living under my parents roof, I was required to get up and go to church with my mother. Dad went every once in awhile except for a few of my teen years when he was a regular attendee, until the big fallout between he and the pastor. He taught me well by his behavior, that you could be a “Christian” and didn’t have to go to church all the time. The bottom line is my mother was faithful to God and took us to church every week and we learned well the tenets of the faith. I could quote scripture and knew that I knew evrything was cool between me and God. At least I thought I knew.
So, I leave home, spend four years in the Marines and lived like a heathen for those four years and several years after my enlistment. To say nothing about the hedonistic lifestyle I lived, “under-cover”, while still in high school and living at home. Though I exercised my free choice by participating routinely in ungodly behavior, God was faithful to his Word and kept pestering me to make better choices. Many a night went by that I would fall asleep after a good night of partying with this little small argument going on in my head that this was not the way I was “supposed” to be living.
Fast forward a couple years to about 1987, I’ve been married a couple years and God really begins to draw me to redirect and make new choices. Though I have been living a fairly godless life for roughly fifteen years, all of the training that I recieved during my youth still lived inside my head. I could talk “Bible talk” about as well as anybody around, at least compared to all the other “heathens” I was spending my leisure time with.
So, I head out to church one morning, by myself and Denise suggested I go visit “that Baptist church” up by the interstate. I found that they really were ‘The Friendly Place’ just like their slogan said and we ended up starting to attend regularly. Over the next year I really started to mature and seek to know God more. There was no magical 180 degree change in my behavior and I still played on both sides of the fence for a number of years after that time. But like I said, God is faithful and he continued to persue me and over time he became more and more relevant to my daily existence.
When you play with fire for as long as I did you get very good at not being burned, you just dance around the warmth. So, I say all that to bring you back to my opening about the relavance of Proverbs 22:6 to my life. My mom saw to it that all her children received regualr training about the Christian faith, and God has been faithful to her, and all of her children, minus my youngest brother are in regular attendance at church each week.
By: Dale on February 26, 2009
at 1:48 pm