Thursday Thinking - On Youth Leaving Church

Pete Enns recently blogged about the 2011 Barna Report on "Six Reasons Young People Leave Church." The Barna report is interesting enough on its own, but Enns' comments and highlights are helpful. If you're finding this via Facebook and would like to comment, I'd appreciate it if you would make your comments on the Altered Faces blog. Thanks.


On young people leaving their faith behind (and doing something about it) Posted by PeteEnns on August 11, 2016

The 2011 Barna survey on American Christianity published “Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church.” And here they are.

I read through them and I think to myself, “Yup. Yup. Uh huh. That one, too. And that one.” These ring utterly true to me from my experience, including being a Christian college professor.
I continue to think that parents, churches, and schools need to be aware of these trends and consider ways to address them with less fear of what might happen if they do and more fear of what IS happening if they don’t.

As one first year student said in class a few years back, “I feel my church did not prepare me for life outside of the church. They were more interested in protecting me from wrong conclusions and making sure I was a ‘good Christian’ than getting me ready for living in the world.”

I hear that a lot, and these young people are being done a disservice with predictable consequences.

CLICK HERE FOR ENNS' COMPLETE POST AND THE SIX REASONS