WHY MILLENNIALS ARE LEAVING EVANGELICAL CHURCHES
The alarm has been sounded. Millennials are leaving evangelical churches. Some millennials have completely walked away
from the church. They plan never to return. Others have join the Roman Catholic
or the Greek Orthodox Churches.
During the past four decades evangelical
churches have worked hard to find the magic bullet to retain their young adults.
A lot of energy has gone into developing youth groups, Sunday school programs,
Christian schools, and homeschools.
I am not saying all these programs were a
waste of time, money, and energy. Young adults can testify how God has used
these efforts to change their lives. But in the end, none of these efforts have
kept the vast number millennials in evangelical churches.
It is important for us not to put all millennials
in the same box. There are a variety of reasons why millennials have left
evangelical churches. Let me share with you five reasons why millennials have
left evangelical churches. There may be other reasons, but let me focus of the
following five reasons.
First,
some millennials have rebelled against the Gospel.
There comes a time when every young adult
needs to make a choice. Is the Christian faith my religion, or is it just my
parent’s religion? In this case it is wrong to blame the parents or the church
for their rebellion. They decided on their own not to follow Jesus.
I sat a long time with Doug. He was raised
in a Christian home. He made one objection after another against Christianity.
But none of my answers satisfied him. I soon learned his objections were just a
smoke screen. He did not need more information. He rejected the Gospel because
he wanted to hold on to his immoral lifestyle. He was in rebellion against God.
Second,
some millennials have been deeply wounded.
Sally was deeply hurt by her church
experience. The leaders of her church accused her mother and other church
members of faking their illness. The leadership rejected her brother because his
hair was slightly long. The leaders also put down other young adults when there
was absolutely nothing wrong.
You might conclude this was just an
unusual situation. But this type situation happens more than we want to admit.
Some millennials have been deeply wounded by church bullies. No one cared to do
anything about the situation. The church was not a safe place for them. So they
left.
Third,
some millennials have not been trained.
Whether a young adult
enters the job market, goes to college or joins the military they are going to
raise questions about the faith. But if we focus on making disciples rather
than converts then we will welcome their questions. We will also do our best to
answer their questions. It’s not enough to say to them-“Just have faith.” We
need to help them find the right answer.
When I was a university student I had an
important question. “How do I know the Bible is God’s Word?” I am so glad there
were Christians in my life who could answer my question. It made a difference knowing
that I could trust the Bible.
Fourth,
some millennials are surprised by suffering.
A few years ago my son started a business.
A Christian lady said this to him. “If you walk correctly before the Lord then
your business will be a great success.” I know this Christian lady meant well.
But I also know Christians who experienced a business failure. It was not their
fault. And they were walking correctly with the Lord.
We sometimes give the wrong impression
that Jesus will give u a life of ease. But we need to make sure everyone in the
church has a proper theology of suffering. Without a theology of suffering a
person may be blown away by Satan’s fiery darts. We need to teach that God
calls us to suffering, and the Christian faith is worth dying for. (Phil. 1:29)
Fifth,
some millennials are surprised by hypocrisy.
It is a shock for a young adult to suddenly
discover there is hypocrisy in their church. When they were young their
understanding about their church was limited. Now that they are older they can
see the conflict in the church. The hypocrisy and self-righteousness in their
church may lead them to conclude- the church is no different from the world. So
why bother?
Most millennials are not looking for
perfection. But when they see church leaders come down hard on young adults,
but overlook the sin of older adults, they know something is wrong. And that’s not
the type of church they want to be part of.
Conclusion
How should we respond to the millennials
leaving evangelical churches? In some cases we need to ask for forgiveness. We also
need to better prepare teens and young adults for the future. And we need to
provide solid answers to their questions.
But I think the senior citizens in my
hometown church had it right. They met Monday through Friday from 10 am to noon
for prayer. They prayed fervently for the young adults. They refused to give up.
They continued to pray even for those who walked away from the faith.
They understood something important. It is
the preaching of the Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that regenerates a
person’s life. (Rom. 10:17) And that’s why prayer is so important. I know of a
mother who prayed for thirty years for the salvation of her daughter. God
answered her prayer. And now she is so glad that she never gave up. She kept
praying.
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