in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim."
(Ecclesiastes 12:1-3)
A person maybe asking themselves," What is a Church Drop Out?" And,"Why are the Church Drop Outs mainly teens?"These are two very wonderful questions. After reading this article, taking from a Youth Pastor's perspective,it's important for students to get involved in their local church. And not just for the social benefit of it, but to grow in they are in Christ. " I have heard a statistic as high of 80% of students are leaving the church within 2 years after they graduate high school." -Josh Evans Josh Evans is a student pastor in North Carolina and brings up three valid reasons why high school graduates leave the church, and they are:
1.)Students aren't involved in the church.
A.)When students are involved in their local church, serving the church teaches responsibility ,helps students grow relationships in the congregation, and helps students grow spiritually.
"11 deliver me;
rescue me from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
rescue me from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;"
(Psalm 144:11-13)
2.)Parents aren't as much involved in the youth.
A.)When Parents get involved in their youth, they tend to understand their youth a little bit better and realize that teenagers are not all bad.
3.)Pastors are not as specific in what they mean.
The third reason really grabbed my attention. It seems to me that when Youth Pastors tell students to do what's right, be bold, be courageous, etc. Students want to do all those things, it really all boils down to the basic word, How. How can we be bold? How can we do what's right? How can we be courageous? Young people grasp the fact that we should do all these things, but we need to know how.Then the youth will grow and lead the generations to come.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
(2 Timothy 4:11-13)
http://www.churchleaders.com/youth/youth-leaders-blogs/158764-josh_evans_3_reasons_students_are_leaving_the_church_after_graduation.html
