Thursday, May 21, 2009

Thoughts on Big Church and kids leaving the church




I have heard of a statistic that notes how a large majority of kids are leaving the faith as they get beyond high school and move on to collegiate life.

I think of church life sometimes and have to wonder:
So much of our church is segregated times.

The grade schoolers are in one section, the junior high in another, the high schoolers in still another area.

There have been times when I am in big church and I think, I wish my high schooler was in here. Or my grade schoolers.

A couple of weeks ago, our pastor was giving an important talk and we kept our grade schoolers with us for the first church service instead of sending them to their fifth grade Sunday School class. I love their teacher Mr. Tate and I like a lot of the things they do in the class, but I also like my children with me to hear the service. With us.

And when it came to the second service, which I was staying for as well, I had told my high school son, who attends the high school service during the second hour, that I wanted him in “big church” with me, but he had said he wanted to go to his own high school class. I had thought about going to his youth leader and saying I think the high schoolers need to be in “big church” this week, but then I did not do it.

Soon,I found out that the high school class was canceled so the teens could be in with the “big church” as the youth leader also saw it as an important service. I was so happy that my son would be hearing the things going on in big church.

Maybe if we would incorporate the high schoolers and other students into the “big church” more often, they would not leave church as they move into college. Because they will have already found a place in big church while still in high school and earlier.

We do a combined service every few months which sort of does this. I hope we do more of these. Bringing everyone together. Into one body. One church. Big church.

2 comments:

pongboy said...

I concure! There is enough segregation in our secular world today. We ought not to have it in our churches too. Whatever happen to "one body in Christ?"

It has become common practice for teens to leave their parents' church or fall out of church entirely after they're 18. And segregation does not help!

Cornelia Seigneur - Finding the Adventure in Motherhood and Life said...

I agree and I have seen many churches not have high school Sunday morning services and just a mid week service for kids to connect, which is nice as well- teens need to be hearing all the amazing things happening in church, in "big" church - but we worry too much about entertaining kids- instead of having the service about God and worshipping Him

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