Eight million twenty-somethings have left the church and I want to know why. Two prominent Christian researchers, David Kinnaman and George Barna offer some suggestions in Kinnamen’s recent book, You Lost Me.
Over the course of this past year, I have been on a meaningful and difficult faith journey. Diving into scripture and prayer, I have listened to influential male and female voices speaking on various faith topics, I have studied the characteristics of this generation of twenty somethings, and dialoged with many about it. I’m a deep thinker, a type A, a non-idler… my faith, if nothing else in life, must be my own.
Why are so many Millennials leaving the church?
Any good researcher knows that remaining objective is the first key to unbiased research. I confess that my deep-rooted faith may bias me to some degree. Despite that, I want to use a new blog series to delve into discussion about why our churches are losing the next generation that would have sustained them. I’ll be posting weekly in a new blog series called: Our Emptying Church
You should keep up with this series if any of the following apply to you:
1) You are a church leader, campus minister, or lay minister who is interested in the future of the church.
2) You are a twenty-something who has left the church or is thinking about leaving it for any multitude of reasons.
3) You have been hurt by the church and you aren’t sure that you want anything to do with this Jesus fellow.
4) You love the church and want to see it persist and thrive in the coming century.
5) You work with twenty-somethings and wonder why it’s so hard to get any commitment out of us.
6) You are a parent of a twenty-something and you don’t understand their frustration or apathy toward the organized church.
I’ll be discussing characteristics of my generation of twenty-somethings and I’ll be offering some insight about how to walk alongside us. I’ll be examining some hot topics that have probably come up in your conversations lately. I’ll also be bringing up David Kinnaman’s research.
I am making a commitment to be honest and vulnerable in this series. You may be offended, you may be encouraged, you may be frustrated, and you may be enlightened.
But my distinct hope is that you’ll stick with me, dialogue, and emerge with a greater understanding of something you didn’t understand before. I ask you to keep an open mind and to consider other’s opinions with patience, wisdom, and kindness. I pray that I will learn as much from you as you learn for me. Deep in my bones, I am excited about the future of the church.
Hear me very clearly, the future of the church will take ALL of us trying to understand each other.
I invite you on this journey with me. May we have traveling mercies along the way.
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
