Why are millennials leaving the church?

Statistics show that 70% of youth stop attending church when they graduate from high school, and only half of those come back. The older generation wants to know why the youth go off the college and most never come back? Why the 20's age group is dead? Why the kids who grew up in church live just like those who didn't grow up in church? Well I have think I have some answers!!!

1. The main reason why many millennials never come back is because they grew up in the church but they didn't grow up in Christ. Just because someone grew up in church doesn't mean that they have been born again! Church attendance doesn't mean that we're saved! Many youth go to church because their parents make them or just to socialize with their friends but they never knew Christ for themselves. Many youth have never been converted and are self deceived due to a false proclamation of faith that they made when they were younger. Their youth Pastor and parents have also convinced them that they are saved because of some act they performed. They don't understand the true gospel because they've never been taught it. They may have got baptized, raised their hand and repeated a prayer but there was never any work of regeneration, true repentance and faith. Also, we think that the youth in church are saved because their parents are saved, but God has no grandchildren! Our faith cannot save anyone else, each person must live for Christ and carry their own cross.

2. The gospel isn't being preached to the youth. Many youth pastors seem to think that since they are young, they have to entertain the youth to keep their attention. WRONG! If the church plans to get the youth, it can't be with entertainment. The world is WAY more entertaining than the church, they need the gospel! Many are hearing an unbalanced message of love,grace,and mercy but no talk of wrath,judgement,holiness,or hell. We don't need any sugarcoating or watering down, but the pure unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. Many youth were at the club, or engaging in sinful activities Saturday night  but come to church the next morning feeling good. They are coming to church week after week not hearing the gospel, so they're not being convicted and see no need to change and draw unto repentance. Many youth in church have no biblical foundation or knowledge, they just know a few scriptures and the main bible stories. 

3. Many youth who grew up in church have seen hypocrites around them all of their life, and they don't want no part in it. Our generation is REAL, we're either in or out and we don't have time to play church. Many youth see their parents or people in church acting one way in church but acting totally different outside of church. Many have been turned off from church and Christianity because of the false misrepresentation and hypocrisy that they have seen round them.

4. We don't talk about REAL stuff in most churches. We act as if sex, porn, masturbation, abortion,homosexuality,and drugs is taboo when most of the youth are engaging in these activities. If they haven't been tempted with it yet, they will soon be tempted as the enter college. We tell them that these things are wrong but we don't tell them why. As the church we are not called to be POLITICALLY correct but BIBLICALLY correct. We no longer promote purity before marriage in most churches either, and we aren't transparent with our lives before Christ. Satan is bold and going HARD pushing his agenda on our youth when the church is being SILENT on these issues. As long as we continue to sweep these issues under the rug and don't address them, satan will continue to take our youth out.

@thatdarndave

5.  Many in our youth are living double lives, and they just get tired of pretending. In their life at church, they know the right behaviors and speak "Christianese" to pass as good kids. In their other life they follow worldly pursuits and live a life of sin in secret, away from parents and church leaders. Many pretend to be "good" on Facebook because they know that most adults from church are friends with them on there, but on their other social networks accounts they are freely able to be themselves. But, they come to a certain point where they get tired of pretending!  

6. The world is more enticing. Many of our youth have not been equipped for the real world. We send them off to college unarmed, and they are not prepared for what's to come. In college temptation and sin is rampant and they fall in love with the things of the world. They are no longer under their parent's supervision and they are able to do the sinful things that their heart desire without having to answer to anyone. 

7. Many churches in America are raising up successful, educated kids with no godliness. They esteem success in the world's eyes over Godly success.So the parents and people in church are satisfied as long as their kids are in college, making good grades, have a good career and visit church sporadically. Many of the youth who grew up in church are "successful" in the world's eyes but not in God's eyes. They have the degrees and career but they are still in the world and aren't living for God. Many are praised in the church for their accomplishments, so they think that they are in right standing. We have traded in teaching repentance, holiness, purity, and modesty for teaching success.Our job in the church isn't to preach success and be motivational speakers, we are to equip our youth to be men and women of God, to go in this world and preach the gospel ,bear fruit, and impact the Kingdom of God,

8.Parents in the church are not teaching their children at home about Christ. It's not a lifestyle, they don't see mommy and daddy living the Christian life apart from Sundays. Church is only one day out of the week, we should be teaching our kids about Christ daily. Sadly, many parents are more concerned with worldly pursuits and their children extra curricular activities than they are about them learning about the things of God. They're not  learning to be someone's future husband/wife, how to pray, the fruits of the spirit.etc If parents have raised their children to be great doctors, businessman,athletes, and musicians but haven't trained them to honor and obey God, they have failed. 

The reason why I wrote this blog because this was me! I grew up in church, repeated the prayer, but my heart was far from God and I went off to college and did what my sinful heart craved. I never knew Christ for myself, I was a false convert who grew up in church! This is so many youth that I've seen and grew up in church with. We can't think that they will be okay and come back in their 30's. Many will never come back, and the ones who do will come back to church but they may never truly come to Christ. By the grace of God, He saved me!( Read my testimony https://brittmjay.blogspot.com/2012/11/redeemed.html) Carnal means, worldly antics, and entertainment will never save the youth. If we want to get this generation we are going to have to preach the full blast of the gospel to penetrate the hardness of their heart. We have to get back to the basics of biblical Christianity. There is still hope. We have to stop trying to raise "good successful kids" and raise Godly Kids.We need to stop being pleased with attendance at youth group and fun retreats.We can't be satisfied that they're just coming to church when they're not burning for God and living double lives.  We need to start getting on our knees and praying that the Holy Spirit will do miraculous saving work in the hearts of our young adults as the Word of God speaks to them. In short, we need to get back to a focus on TRUE conversion, of what it means to be TRULY regenerated. We need to preach, teach, and talk—all the while praying fervently for the miraculous work of regeneration to occur in the hearts and souls of our students by the power of the Holy Spirit! 

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Redeemed

My Testimony of how Christ saved me!  

Published on November 28, 2012 (6 months after conversion)

1 Timothy 1:15-16 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all long suffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

I was raised in the church and vividly remember talking about Jesus as a young girl. I repeated the "sinner's prayer" when I was 7 years old and was baptized. I made a profession of faith but nothing about me changed. I was sincere and repeated the prayer because I wanted to go to Heaven but I had no desire to know, honor, or obey God.  I was simply a false convert. Throughout my youth I continued to go to church and read my bible at times, but my heart was far from God. My future plans were to "live for Jesus" when I got much older but my current plans were to go off to college and get a taste of the world and all it had to offer!

                College Years (2007-2011)

I went off to college and did all the things my sinful heart desired. I attended Albany State University, a HBCU that was known for partying. I partied hard the first few years of my life and indulged in drunkenness, sexual sin  to fill my void with partying, drunkenness, and guys. I didn't know my worth  and allowed anything from guys. As a freshman, God was drawing me but I ignored Him. I went to bible study on campus but I lived like God didn't exist. I still thought I was a Christian because I repeated the "sinner's prayer" when I was younger, but my whole life contradicted what God's word said a true Christian was. I went to church when I was home, but my heart was so hardened I wasn't moved or phased by anything that was going on in church. I was living my own little double life. Pretending to be "mommy and daddy sweet angel" but behind their back doing the very things that I know they wouldn't condone. Now when you compared me to most girls my age, I was considered a "good girl" but compared to the word of God I was filthy and the little girl who grew up in church was on the way to hell! Sometimes we are so quick to compare ourselves to our friends and other people who call themselves "Christians" and think we are okay because they are doing the same things we are doing. But when we compare ourselves to the word of God we really see where we line up at! Our "little" sins is a BIG deal to God!

            

              The Awakening (2011-2012)

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)

I decided to move back home and take classes online until I graduated, and that was the best decision I made that year. I had to get away from that college lifestyle people were living. It's like once you get around a lot of sin you get desensitized to it, and the things you thought were abnormal have now become normal. God started drawing me like crazy and stripping things away from me. I was so broken, depressed, and empty. I ended the "situationship" that I was in and  made the vow in December 2011 that I would not have sex again until I was married.  I was tired of being hurt and misused by guys who didn't value me. I always knew that sex outside of marriage was a sin against God, but I ignored what God said because I loved my sin and pleasure more than I loved Him. The last time I went to the club I was actually sober (for the first time EVER lol). When you're intoxicated everything is exciting and fun, when you're sober you see everything clearly for what it was. On this day I saw clubbing exactly for what is was. I looked around with disgust realizing I didn't want to live my life like this is. I made up my mind in in April 2012 that I was done with clubbing and drinking.

                   Born Again (2012)

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

On May 27, 2012, the Lord graciously saved me.  For the first time in my life I met God's conviction for my sin..yet His love, grace, and mercy. I realized that I was a filthy sinner deserving of hell, and how undeserving I was of God's love and grace. Romans 5:8 came alive to me, "God demonstrates His love in this.  While I was yet a sinner Christ died for me!" On this day, I repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. The weight of sin was lifted off of me and I saw the beauty in what Christ did on the cross for me. I weeped with joy! I was so self-deceived in the past, thinking I was saved because I was raised in the church, baptized and said the "sinner's prayer." In actuality, I had only recited a prayer and had gotten wet. There had been no conviction of sin, no repentance, no saving faith, and no regeneration. I was a FALSE CONVERT and my life proved it. I was not stun' God, I didn't care what His word said about how I lived, I didn't fear Him, honor Him and I didn't live according to His standards. I realized it wasn't enough to go to church, go through the motions, and profess Christ with my mouth while I denied Him with my life.

New life in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

After Christ saved me, I had such a desperation and hunger to read His word and know Him. It's like the scales fell from my eyes and I begin to see clearly. I saw the state that the world is in, and how most people are lost and on the way to hell and don't even know it. I saw how deceitful sin was. I begun to hate the things of this world and love God and the things of God. I realized how vain the partying, drinking, pre-marital sex, and the overall pursuit of a life without God was. I wanted to please God with everything and I was willing to cut off anything and anyone to grow closer to Him. I didn't have any saved friends at the time, it was just me and God. The Lord begun to convict me about the godless music that I listened to and the shows I watched.  I begun to only feed my spirit with sermons, blogs, and Christian music. I also started listening to preachers like David Wilkerson and Paul washer who preaches the true unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. They really helped me to grow and understand so much about the gospel!

 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

                        

             I am Brittany Jay and my testimony continues...
                            

                 

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