This article is taking from “Rethinking Youth Ministry” and I have included my own thoughts and responses at the end.
Question of the Day: Should We Force Youth to Go to Church?
Should we force youth to go to church?
The professional pastor in me says “Yes, of course! How else will we ever have a chance to teach them about the gospel and Jesus and Church?” But the former teen in me says “Wait a minute. That’s not how it happened with you. Nobody made you go to church as a teen.”
It’s true. My parents dutifully took us to church as children. My brothers and I went through confirmation and then decided we hadn’t heard enough yet — we weren’t ready to join. Then a falling out with our youth ministers in middle school ended with my brothers and I dropping youth group and church altogether. For the next four years, my parents never made us go to church…and we didn’t, even though my dad was a retired pastor who continued to go every Sunday.
Then, a funny thing happened. In my senior year of high school, somewhere around early spring, some friends invited us to visit their Sunday night youth group meeting. My twin brother and I went, we liked it, and we kept attending. The group was preparing to go on a mission trip. We had not been around for the fundraising and planning but the youth pastor said “It doesn’t matter. You are welcome to join us.” So we went on the trip — which turned out to be the experience that influenced me to go into teaching and eventually the ministry. I haven’t been out of the church since. While all my friends were dropping out of church during college (some never to re-engage), I was returning to the Church ready to get my hands dirty for Jesus. But my devotion was not a result of my parents pushing or forcing me to attend Sunday services or youth group meetings. Rather, I attribute my longevity in the Church to a personal decision I made on my own and without coercion at the age of eighteen to choose a life of faith.
Does this mean I’d like to see all the youth in my church drop out and wait a few years before deciding whether or not to come back? Well, no, but it does make me wonder: We expect teens to wait until they are older to make lots of important decisions. Why not do the same with the decision to commit to a life of faith?
Rob’s Part:
It’s funny how I can relate to this article in more than one way! See, for me, I was raised as a church’s custodian, so I was literally at church what felt like 8 days a week! But on top of that I was also brought to church every Sunday morning and evening and every Wednesday evening. I was at church for almost every funeral and wedding service. I was at church before and way after Vacation Bible ever started or ended! As a teenager, I was still at church despite my social and sports life because my parents were trying to instill in me the importance of God, His word and church over other things in life. I have to admit that I didn’t always like their decisions and at times resented those decisions. It wasn’t until the beginning of my Senior year of High School that I began to understand some of the decisions I was making on a daily basis and I knew I had two choices… Live my life and continue sinning against God or completely surrender my life to God’s leading. It actually didn’t happen instantly but I chose to live my life for the glory of God and in my second year of college I completely surrendered to God’s leading and call on my life into full-time ministry!
Here’s my point… I know there are way too many over published books about how students “leave the faith” after high school and do not come back to the church until their late twenties or early thirties (most of those books are on my shelf in my office!). And in every book they challenge church leaders and pastors how to prevent this from happening, but the truth is, WE can’t prevent anything from happening! We are not called to save a person, we are not called to live someone’s spiritual life for them, but we are called to do our best to equip them and instill the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives and commit to pray for them daily! And here’s the thing, that’s hard for me to do because I am a “fix it” type person and I forget that God is the one who is in complete control and knows all things. I love what the author said in his article, “Rather, I attribute my longevity in the Church to a personal decision I made on my own and without coercion at the age of eighteen to choose a life of faith.
Does this mean I’d like to see all the youth in my church drop out and wait a few years before deciding whether or not to come back? Well, no, but it does make me wonder: We expect teens to wait until they are older to make lots of important decisions. Why not do the same with the decision to commit to a life of faith?“
What about you? Are you seeking out a student or young adult in your church and carrying their cross with them, encouraging them to stay in God’s word, praying with them as opposed to “praying for them”? Let me challenge you to begin helping the students/young adults in your church or life to commit to a life of faith right now! See, I believe that if a person believes they are cared for by more than their pastor or youth pastor, that will have the biggest affect on their lives spiritually and physically! I want to strive to live out Titus chapter 2 for those students or young adults in my life, what about you?
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