| dc.description.abstract | Christian churches are struggling to keep teenagers in church and connected to Jesus
Christ. In churches around the country, some seventy percent (70%) of young Christians will
either be inactive church members or fall away from the faith entirely before graduating from
high school or college. Churches have tried solving this problem by using teen groups, Bible
studies and rallies for high schoolers, and social events at church. But these traditional methods
of ministering to teens have not stopped the bleeding. In fact, these forms of teen ministry may
actually be contributing to the problem.
A different model for teen ministry is needed. Rather than taking teens out of their homes
to minister to them, why not make the home a place where faith is nurtured? Instead of relying
on pastors and youth leaders to turn teenagers into mature Christian adults, why not equip and
empower parents, whom God wants to be the primary educators of children, to fulfill that high
calling at home? In other words, the way to keep teenagers in church is to change the paradigm
for teen ministry from a model that is church-based and home-supported to a model that is home-based
and church-supported. | en_US |
