7 minute read
The great departure
Mel Lacy presents a sobering assessment of why young people are leaving our churches at a rapid rate.
'Haemorrhaging’ is the evocative word often used to describe the rapid departure of young people from the Western church. Statistical research shows the reality in black and white. Year after year, the decline is documented, needlessly really, as we tangibly feel the absence when we gather weekly for corporate worship. Parents mourn the empty seats, the body is incomplete, achingly lacking. Many have valiantly attempted to stem the flow, hoping that activities and outings, and friendship and fun (with a bit of Jesus shoehorned in), would be enough to cauterise the bleed. These things are not bad, of course, but neither have they proved sufficient to hold, or more importantly, robustly disciple a generation growing up in a confusing, chaotic and contradictory world. And so, the flow goes on with young people vainly seeking hope, satisfaction and joy in an idol-filled world rather than truly finding life in all its fullness in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
In case you think it is all doom and gloom, be reassured that wonderfully there are some thrilling reports of congregations that have bucked the trend. These congregations have produced young people who have confessed Christ, are maturing disciples and are committed to glorifying God through their lives and witness. The common denominator shown throughout this growing part of Christ’s church is a commitment to proclaim the Word of God boldly and confidently to each rising generation, to nurture in them a love for, and commitment to, the local church and to intentionally disciple them through rich relationships. These churches are the exception, however, rather than the norm.
Remarkably, the modern ministry methodology that has proven insufficient to either retain or disciple young people thus far remains the modus operandi for most local churches. Show the kids a good time, offer them a safe place to hang out, attract them with the things of the world and somehow hope that they will catch Jesus. If there’s any hope for Generation Alpha and Generation Z (and there is), we need to radically review our practice, learning from where there is growth among young people in the Western church and most importantly heed the commands of Scripture: to teach and tell the coming generations the glorious deeds of the Lord.
The competing worldviews of the Western world constantly seek to orientate the hearts and minds of our young people, vying for attention and commitment through social media, peers and even education. It is therefore understandable how a weekly meeting with a five- or ten-minute gospel presentation is not cutting it in a world in which young people are forcibly bombarded 24/7 with ideologies and agendas. Who is helping them to make sense of all that they are encountering? Who is taking the time to show them how a biblical worldview responds to the pertinent ethical issues of the day or how Scripture can give a full and beautiful orientation and explanation when it comes to matters of image and identity? We must not underestimate the force with which the indoctrination comes from the world; it is engulfing them with tsunami-like force. The mantras of this age malignantly teach ‘be true to yourself’ and ‘live your truth’, facilitating a pick n mix approach to life and faith commitments, seen so evidently in young people today. Truth has become relative and subjective, and therefore a battle to commend, communicate and convince our young people of the absolute truth of Scripture is on.
There is a phenomenon that is being documented in the evangelical church that observes a trend among young people of becoming ‘almost Christian’. These are not the kids on the periphery, or the flakey ones that only turn up occasionally – these are the young people who are always there, at the Bible study and the youth fellowship, on the Sunday school rota and in the praise band. These are the young people who convincingly look like they are walking the walk and talking the talk. And yet, what is revealed when they transition into adulthood is that they’ve only ever been veneered in biblical Christianity. Their core remains confused, with many convinced by the secular doctrines of this world. This is a warning to us to be wary of Christian determinism – the idea that if we put the right stuff into our young people then shiny, fine Christians will pop out, as they emerge from the cocoon of kids’ and youth ministry after 18 years. Of course, the content of our instruction and discipleship matters hugely – we have a speaking God who has commanded us to in turn proclaim his Word by teaching, training and telling the next generation. Youth ministry, however, demands great attention to context too.
Work with young people is costly and sacrificial. It demands the development of significant relationships that facilitate deep discipleship, both among the young people and between the young people and their leaders. This takes time, patience and great dedication, but it is the context in which disciples are best rooted and built up in order to grow to maturity in Christ. Gen Z is described as the ‘Lost Generation 2.0’, a generation that has declared itself to be disorientated, unstable and lonely. More than ever our young people are crying out for authentic stabilising relationships and surely we should want them to find those relationships among their church family? Not simply with their peers, but among the beautiful, diverse and intergenerational body of believers, locally drawn together under the headship of Christ.
The youth group only lasts for a season, the church is built for eternity. It is no wonder young people walk away from the church when they reach adulthood if they’ve only ever been taught to love and relate to a homogenous group of their peers. We need the rising generations to know the church as their tribe, where they are known, loved, nurtured and welcomed. An ecclesiological context matters in the discipleship of young people and so does a familial context. For too long we’ve sought to evangelise and disciple young people in isolation from their families. Effective discipleship in the 21st century will only result from a dynamic and supportive partnership between the family, local church and any youth discipleship programme run by the local church.
Content matters, context matters and finally conviction matters in the discipleship of young people. So many youth workers lack conviction when it comes to the belief that we have what the young people need. Instead, time, money and energy are spent chasing results using other means. We must have a deep conviction in the sufficiency of the ordinary means of grace that God has graciously given to all, in order to disciple believers into maturity in Christ. Remember, there is hard evidence (lest we need it) to show that congregations running an ordinary means of grace ministry among young people are seeing great spiritual success.
Mel Lacy is the executive director of Growing Young Disciples (GYD). For more information on GYD go to growingyoungdisciples.co.uk
