Our churces should promote spaces where generations can coexist, interact, and build deep, lasting bonds with each other, strengthening a sense of belonging.
Photo: [link]Tapish[/link], Unsplash CC0.
While most churches actively strive to attract new believers to their communities through a variety of programmes and initiatives, a reality has haunted us for years that, for some reason, we have been unable to stop.
The figures on the high dropout rate of teenagers and young people who leave the church after regularly attending with their families throughout their childhood, continue to alarm us.
Some studies show that, in recent years, around 25–66% of teenagers and young adults stopped attending church, and 11–25% no longer identify as Christian.
This constant loss quietly consumes a great deal of the ministry's efforts, which focus on creating programmes that appeal to young people.
We cannot approach it as a secondary issue or as something normal that has been happening for generations; rather, it must be addressed with the urgency that our commitment to those in our community demands.
According to these studies, the causes are very diverse, ranging from faith or existential doubts in teenagers to expectations that clash with their experiences, or even negative experiences in churches which reveal an unexplainable hypocrisy.
However, if we analyse the problem at its root, we find that the real cause lies in the low level of spiritual development achieved by our teenagers.
Spiritual development is the process through which one deepens the understanding, relationship and experience with the transcendent or spiritual aspects of life.
This development focuses on the growth of values, beliefs and practices that connect the individual to a sense of purpose and belonging to a community, and to God.
An analysis of the course of typical spiritual development throughout the early years of life, reveals that it increases significantly and steadily throughout childhood, but peaks at pre-adolescence and then plummets after puberty (sometimes remaining stable, depending on the degree of development achieved) and then remains low for several years before advancing into young adulthood.
Lisa Miller, a researcher who has spent years working with and studying evangelical children and teenagers in the United States, states that spiritual development in childhood is essential for teenagers to commit to their personal faith, as it prepares them to build their identity and respond to the questions that arise during adolescence.
Pre-adolescence is a key moment for spiritual awakening; that is why it is so important to take full advantage of those early years and develop that spiritual aspect in our children, as it is a particularly favourable time.
Although it is easier to look away from an overwhelming reality that we do not know how to address, many churches — or perhaps just parents and individuals involved in children's and teenage ministry — try to take charge, wanting to keep their children connected to church practices.
Efforts are often focused on connecting children, especially teenagers, with other boys and girls their age, integrating them into a peer group with whom they get along and involving them in all kinds of activities with the children of other Christian families.
That is a good idea because we know how important peer relationships are in adolescence and how much it motivates them. However, this is often just a way to encourage them to keep coming back and attending, as long as others do so as well.
Perhaps this strategy helps us buy time until that long-awaited spiritual awakening happens. However, this technique often does not work, or is insufficient.
There are several factors that contribute to a child's spiritual development.
Although there is still very little research on the subject, there is one factor that several studies seem to find very important, with some even considering it more important than the family.
Several studies stress the importance of intergenerational relationships within the church for the continuity of faith.
Christian Smith and Patricia Snell (2009) showed that children who interact regularly with adults in the church have stronger spiritual development and remain involved longer.
Research by the Fuller Youth Institute (2016) found that 40% of teenagers with meaningful connections to adults remained involved in their faith communities after secondary school, and that having at least five trusted Christian adults significantly increases retention in the community.
Studies show that churches with intergenerational discipleship programmes strengthen the sense of belonging, increase spiritual growth and foster a deeper appreciation of faith.
More recent data from the Barna Group (2023) indicate that churches that promote these intergenerational connections have youth and adolescent retention rates up to 30% higher than those that do not.
This is where our churches come in. Many churches tend to separate their members into affinity groups to better address their differences.
This makes intergenerational relationships within the congregation much more difficult and, in some cases, almost impossible.
We teach children that they should spend time with other children, and we say the same to teenagers. Their parents and a few Sunday school teachers are hardly the only adults to whom they can look for guidance in their spiritual development.
This is a mistake that we often pay a high price for, out of ignorance.
In Ephesians 4:11-16, Paul speaks about how God has given the church different gifts to ‘build up the body of Christ’ until it reaches maturity in faith.
While he is addressing all believers, this mandate implies a collaboration in the teaching and spiritual care of each member, including children and teenagers. As a body, the church is called to cultivate the faith of its youngest members in an environment of mutual support and shared teaching.
The spiritual development of children and teenagers in our churches is not solely the responsibility of parents and Sunday school teachers.
Each and every member of the community is called to care for and watch over the spiritual development of future generations. Regardless of who you are or what ministry you have in the church, children and teenagers need you for their growth and commitment.
If a teenager in your church no longer feels part of it and decides to leave, you, as a member of the community, will also have failed.
This does not mean that we should abandon the age-group activities we have carried out over the years.
Those activities provide safe spaces for addressing specific issues and adapting to the needs of each group. However, they should not be our only response to children and teenagers.
Our activities should promote spaces where different generations can coexist, interact, and build deep, lasting bonds with each other, strengthening relationships and a sense of belonging, and, above all, the spiritual development of all members of the community.
The good news is that the rise in dropout rates does not have to continue. Our churches can develop such spaces that help reduce them.
Each of us can reach out to a teenager in our community, take a genuine interest in their life, be a voice of encouragement and an example of faith.
If we take on this responsibility collectively, we will see the new generations not only stay, but also grow with deep roots and a firm faith.
That is the future we can start building today.
Barna Group (2023). Two Key Insights to Help You Create Space for Intergenerational Ministry.
Hardy, S. A., & Taylor, E. M. (2024). Religious deconversion in adolescence and young adulthood: A literature review. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 46(2), 180-203.
Miller, Lisa. (2016). The spiritual child: The new science on parenting for health and lifelong thriving. Macmillan.
Powell, Kara, y Chap Clark (2011).Sticky faith: Everyday ideas to build lasting faith in your kids. Zondervan.
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