There’s a “black hole” in churches across America. That’s overstating it, but if you’re a churchgoer, you’ll know what I mean.
“Millennials” are missing.
Millennials (also known as Mosaics) are those born from 1984 to 2002. They are, in large part, the children of the Baby Boomers—those born during the “Baby Boom” that followed World War 2 (1946-1964). They make up the 20- and 30-somethings of 2024 America (some turning 40 this year).
How many in this generation attend your congregation? How many were born in your congregation? What percentage of that original number has grown up to be faithful to Jesus Christ?
If your congregation is like many, the answer isn’t a happy one.
In research performed in 2011 by the Barna Group, it was discovered that the first half of the Millennial generation (those in their twenties at the time) were the least religiously active of any generation in America. 59% of Millennials with a “Christian background” reported that they had, at least at some point, “dropped out of attending church, after going regularly.”1
In the decade since that research, the next half of the generation that has come of age seems to have followed suit.
What’s going on?
I was interested to learn the six main reasons that Millennials give for “dropping out.”2 They are revealing, and instructive. Here they are:
Churches seem restrictive and overprotective.
Christianity as practiced is too shallow.
Churches seem antagonistic to science.
Churches are judgmental and rigid about sexuality.
The exclusivity of Christianity is a turnoff.
Churches are unfriendly to those who doubt.
Satan has been at work. In many ways.
How do individuals “raised in the church” end up adopting a worldview so opposed to biblical Christianity?
Is there any truth to any of the above (concerning those issues not related to biblical doctrine)?
What must 21st century American Christians, particularly parents and church leaders, do going forward to keep this from happening in upcoming generations?
Thoughts?
ENDNOTES
David Kinnaman, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church…And Rethinking Faith (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011), p. 23
George Barna and David Kinnaman, Churchless: Understanding Today’s Unchurched and How to Connect with Them (Tyndale Momentum, 2014), p. 97-102
I think about the generation right after Joshua and the elders passed. The new generation didn’t follow God. In my humble opinion, we need to do a better job teaching apologetics so our kids know how to defend their faith as they go out into the world, especially as they enter higher education institutions.
I agree with Aaron’s comment that our young people need to be taught apologetics in order to be effective. My kids attend a Christian school and their grasp of the Christian worldview — and how it relates to the rest of society — is impressive. Christianity provides solid answers to many of these “problems” that non-church goers are citing. The question of science and religion, for instance, is based upon a massive campaign of misinformation and biased research. Modern science, in fact, owes a massive debt to Christianity as the early scientists (like Kepler for instance) were believers. We must educate today’s believers in these truths.