Teenagers and church- this is something I have always been interested in, hence the whole family ministry thing. Recently, my pastor did a sermon that addressed some scare statistics regarding this topic...
More than 1/2 of teens that claim Christianity actually practice it.
Of those that are Christians, lots have a "watered down" faith that looks at God as more of a psychiatrist.
Most teenagers can't talk coherently about their faith.
My question is this- WHY???
When I was in middle school and high school I never thought of NOT going to church unless there was an extreme circumstance. This is both good and bad though because we don't want our children to feel like they HAVE to be at church, but rather they should WANT to be at church. I always looked forward to spending my Sunday's at church and lived for the retreats. Was I the odd one out or have things drastically changed?
Unfortunately I think it is the later. I remember all of the kids rushing to call the one missing person so Sunday School would be complete, or competing to see what church could bring more youth to a retreat. Now it is like pulling teeth to get them to show up for food on Sunday morning, but why?
We are fighting video games, the internet, and even worse... the "cool factor". You can include the games and internet in discussion... I do all the time, but what about that "cool factor"?
It used to be completely ok to wear a cross necklace or WWJD bracelet but dress codes are limiting to one piece of jewelry... so they choose the silly bands. We loved talking about youth group and comparing what we did every week. After working in public schools for internships and now student teaching, I rarely see or hear anything regarding faith, and when I do it is kept very quiet and is usually from a parent. Even my Sunday School students admit that they rarely talk about their beliefs at school.
Is it the church chasing them away or is it society? I think it is both. Society is changing but the church isn't with it. The church is so afraid of changing that we are losing our future as the teenagers run in the other direction. But how do we keep them? I have offered breakfast, facebook, treats, video games, movies... but I have realized it isn't about what we give them, but what we let them give the church.
Teenagers are excited, full of energy and ideas- ideas that could really give the church as a whole, a new face. Too many times we dismiss these ideas because the teenagers are "too young" or "don't understand". However if we take time to LISTEN to them rather than talk AT them, we would learn differently. There are new ideas floating around teenagers today and they might surprise us.
As humans we have a need to be needed. NEWSFLASH: Teenagers are humans as well. So ask them what they would like to do. Don't just have the act as elders because you need youth representatives, but let them know that their opinions are valued. If they feel needed, chances are they will come back, and may even bring a friend to see what are doing, leading to a chain reaction of teenage involvement and EXCITEMENT!
Listen... don't just talk.
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