I imagine you are familiar with the following “CH_ _CH. What is missing from this word? UR” Another answer that could be given today is that the “twenty somethings” are missing. Statistics and a look at many congregations, even in the reformed community, show this to be the case. Many who were churched in their youth have decided they do not need the organized church. Others plan to return when they have children.

Ken Ham and Britt Beemer have recently published a book entitled already gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it. The books grows out of a survey of one thousand people, now in their twenties, all of whom grew up in the church but no longer attend. There are a number of reasons those surveyed gave for leaving the church. Among the reasons given are the service was boring, legalism and hypocrisy among the leadership. (p. 168) The authors stress the need to maintain the authority of scripture not only in the pulpit but also in Sunday School classes. They believe that legitimate questions regarding scripture, particularly the first three chapters of Genesis are left unanswered by unprepared teachers. Ham is the president and founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum, both of which defend the creation and flood accounts in Genesis as being literal. I believe that his organizations are overly mentioned in the book but this does not negate the importance of working through the very readable interpretation of the survey that the pages of this book provide. Also the title is overstated. Thankfully not all of our youth are gone nor can the blanket statement be made that all readers will lose their churched children. We can be thankful for the work God is doing in twenty year olds that are actively involved in a local church. They predict that 60% of current youth will vacate the church in their twenties (p. 141).

The authors address parents, pastors and other church leaders as they seek to provide solutions to this very real problem. Their thoughts provided me with a jumping off point to think through some solutions also.

A key is the parents.  How do you view the local church? Are you in a local church that takes God’s word seriously? Does the church’s commitment to God’s word take primacy in your attendance choice rather than "fun” youth programs or some other reasons? How we answer these questions can be indicators as to how our children view the church and its purpose.

Parents should maintain good communication links with their children. Do you know what your children are being taught in Sunday School? Do they have questions that are not being answered? Are you taking the time to answer the questions, even doing some research if necessary?

Our children may need help in processing a sermon and its application to their life. Again parents can help them think through applications. Sunday lunch can be a good place for such a conversation to occur. The sermon should be fresh on everyone’s mind. The entire family is usually together for this meal and the thinking of each one around the table can be useful in sharpening one another.

Church leaders should put thought into each part of the worship service. Hymns should be chosen to complement the sermon text and topic. Other scripture selections should also be related to the text. An “Introduction to Worship” is an important inclusion in the service prior to the Call to Worship. This segment can be used to inform the congregation as to general reasons for the inclusion of different elements in the service. From time to time it also provides a good opportunity to explain what words like “invocation” and “Benediction” mean and the reason for their location in the Order of Worship. If church leaders do not see fit to, in some way, provide an explanation, parents need to go through an explanation with the children.

If you are a parent how do you talk about the church and the services themselves? Maybe there is no conversation about them and your attendance at them can be viewed as unimportant. Perhaps your comments are full of complaints and thus church comes across in a negative light.

Parental preparation for the Lord’s Day and church attendance is important. Parents have the responsibility to see that they and their children schedule adequate rest for Saturday night. Prior to worship, time should be given to meditating on God’s character, the joy of the Gospel and the privilege of corporate worship. We should pray for God to bless our families and others in attendance. We can also pray that possible hindrances to our worship be removed and that we concentrate as we sing hymns, hear prayers uplifted and the word proclaimed. Parents need to schedule their arrival at church to allow time to be seated (and have bathroom breaks) prior to the beginning of worship

Ultimately our dependence is on the Lord. Only He can work a love for a local church and church attendance into the mindset of our children. We need to pray for God to give our covenant children such a love. Where needed, we can repent of our own failures as parents to convey the importance of corporate worship. We can pray for pastors, Sunday School teachers and others who are teaching us and our children. Prayer requests can include that God will give insight and relevant application of texts and topics under preparation to be preached and taught. Church leaders need to develop good communication lines with covenant youth. This can open the doors to fruitful discussion regarding scriptural authority, the reason for the local church’s method of worship and the relevance of recent sermons to the lives of the youth.

An explanation of and regular administration of the Lord’s Supper constantly sets before the youth the marvelous grace of God and the importance of the church, in God’s sight, as God gave the responsibility for the administration of the sacraments to church officers within the church context.

Perhaps you can think of other ways to convey to twenty year olds and future twenty year olds the importance of the local church. Scripture is clear as to the importance of local churches in God’s plan. Let us hope for a great influx of this age group into the church, for the utilization of their gifts within the body of Christ for the building up and advancement of God’s kingdom.

©2010 Byron Snapp, Hampton,Virginia