creativemechanic Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 414 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 1,273 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 518 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/22/2014 Status: Offline Share Posted May 6, 2018 Have any of you notices this occurring at your church? o churches in general? If so why do you think it happens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 9 Topic Count: 15 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 422 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 319 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/13/2005 Status: Offline Share Posted May 6, 2018 The last step about 'participation in various activities' may not apply to many young people. Are people in their early 20s not being 'fed' any more at church? What activities exist at most churches that young, independent people wish to attend? Most churches seem to have Sunday service, bible study, and a few tiny, 'inner circle' groups that meet occasionally. They offer very little to young people. I've heard of one church in our area where most of the members are in their 20s. It's downtown in a busy area and they have lots of group activities unlike most. Effectively, that church has become a community center for their members, a place to hang out with fellow Christians and do things together. That church is unique, though, and the only one out of dozens 'traditional' churches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighbor Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 18 Topic Count: 952 Topics Per Day: 0.35 Content Count: 13,569 Content Per Day: 5.03 Reputation: 9,049 Days Won: 6 Joined: 12/04/2016 Status: Online Birthday: 03/03/1885 Share Posted May 6, 2018 57 minutes ago, creativemechanic said: Have any of you notices this occurring at your church? o churches in general? If so why do you think it happens? No, no, and no I haven't. Instead I see hundreds of people, individuals from before birth to death being of the local body of Christ. The ne born are brought before the church for dedication, where the church body takes on the commitment to love and to protect and support the child and it's parents. The child is raised up with church support through early care, school and graduate association, activities till marriage,and then as married individuals or single adults on into their 80's and even a few in their 90's, often one having become married to another then they bring their own newborn child for dedication by the church body to their support too. And so it goes kind of a circle that repeats round and round. Kids of the church body that I once knew as students running around underfoot are now deacons, deaconesses, and elders, as well as missionaries, and lay members, all volunteering in many kinds of associations that share of our Lord Jesus in the community and throughout the entire world. It is such a joy to have been called by the Holy spirit into the body of Christ Jesus and led to attend, be a member of and support Jesus' local church body. Praise God for His kindness and mercy to us! 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hidden In Him Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 12 Topic Count: 19 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 449 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 423 Days Won: 1 Joined: 07/21/2017 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/16/1964 Share Posted May 6, 2018 1 hour ago, creativemechanic said: Have any of you notices this occurring at your church? Or churches in general? If so why do you think it happens? Without wanting to attack the church, yes. I have seen this happen a LOT in the last 20 years, even as a youth pastor for some time. Many differ on what they think the reason is, but my personal opinion is that it is because we do not raise up children in the way they should go, which is in the FEAR of the Lord (Psalm 34:11). We do not teach them about Hell from an early age, and I believe this is why as they get old enough to be on their own, they DO depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Granted, I think it takes more than simply teaching them the fear of God; I think it also involves teaching them all the blessings that come with serving God, both in this life and the next. But as scripture says, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and that is where we must begin with them, or they will continue to be seduced away from the faith, as I have personally witnessed more times than I care to talk about. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrior12 Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 54 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,428 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,516 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/05/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted May 6, 2018 Simply put, if a man or woman is not born again, then the church cannot do not a thing for that person. You can exhort, teach and warn all you want. Ye must be born again and then something happens that makes that person yearn to want and serve the Lord. You cannot serve two masters. The institutes of higher learning has been teaching a theory as the truth and together with the explosion of social media, peer pressure and fear of the future, young people are yielding to satan plots and ploys. We must be reminded though of the prodigal son. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post LadyKay Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Royal Member Followers: 12 Topic Count: 385 Topics Per Day: 0.10 Content Count: 7,692 Content Per Day: 1.93 Reputation: 4,809 Days Won: 3 Joined: 05/28/2013 Status: Offline Popular Post Share Posted May 6, 2018 It happen to me. But I never forgot the teachings. Then I came back. So here I am today. There you have it. A confession about my imperfect self. Still through it all. God was there. Waiting for me. Putting things in place in my life to guide me back. Then he welcomed me with his open arms. Now here I am. Maybe others were even praying for me. I do not know. So then I ask. Should we simply forget the ones who have lost their way? 2 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart2Soul Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 9 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 186 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 166 Days Won: 2 Joined: 04/13/2011 Status: Offline Share Posted May 6, 2018 That model you present is so very generic....it cannot apply to each individual or each church.....there are many reasons why one who starts out strong in the faith end up walking away.....what I see happening is a generational transition of our young people being divided in what they are taught in schools, society, and politics....this generation is so determined to believe in acceptance of everyone... and since the church preaches unacceptance it has lost it's appeal to them.....however there are those who are rising up strong in their faith even defying the social norms of their generation and suffering persecution and these are the ones that the Holy Spirit is empowering to rise up mighty in the Power of the Spirit to bring change....it is a spiritual battle that is beyond what I ever faced in my younger days.....I pray for them continually....there is so much worldly temptation to just go with what is popular. The church needs to start evolving and begin to see the needs of the youth....to start addressing the pressures they face daily from peers and teachers and leaders of society...from social media and the influences it has upon them.....the youth of today have so much more doors that Satan can attack than I ever faced in my days....but the youth of today are the church of tomorrow..... I agree with what @warrior12 said....our teaching institutions are given too much freedom to teach their biased beliefs to our children and it needs to stop. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart2Soul Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 9 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 186 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 166 Days Won: 2 Joined: 04/13/2011 Status: Offline Share Posted May 6, 2018 Just now, Yowm said: What happens, I believe, is the Church moddly coddles the youth. They ask what music and styles are they into and then mimicks the world to attract the youth. They need some good 'ol fashion preaching from Scripture. Then the youth will see there is a difference, a heaven and a hell, truth and relativism, immorality and righteousness, God's love and the world's games etc. Evolve? No, get back to God's Word. Evolve as far as equipping them with how to deal with social media, peer pressure, teachers and their biases....and of course backing it with scripture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hidden In Him Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 12 Topic Count: 19 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 449 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 423 Days Won: 1 Joined: 07/21/2017 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/16/1964 Share Posted May 6, 2018 4 minutes ago, Yowm said: What happens, I believe, is the Church Molly-coddles the youth. They ask what music and styles are they into and then mimicks the world to attract the youth. They need some good 'ol fashion preaching from Scripture. Then the youth will see there is a difference, a heaven and a hell, truth and relativism, immorality and righteousness, God's love and the world's games etc. I agree here. They appear to make very little difference between themselves and the world, and in mimicking the world they present to kids things which the world can do better. But now the problem for me is also that they need to present a form of Christianity that is more real; I believe the gifts of the Spirit with genuine supernatural manifestations are what kids today need to witness and experience. If not, it just comes off as a lot of theory, and kids don't buy into that sort of thing. Just my opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart2Soul Posted May 6, 2018 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 9 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 186 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 166 Days Won: 2 Joined: 04/13/2011 Status: Offline Share Posted May 6, 2018 3 minutes ago, Yowm said: Scripture itself is what equips and perhaps back it up with examples of social media etc. They are youth....scripture and wise counsel is what helps....if you just give them scripture do you also give them the application of it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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