Why youth are leaving the Church and how to bring them back
David Overholt is the founding pastor of Church on the Rock, one of the largest and longest running youth-targeted churches in North America. Overholt was a key voice in a roundtable discussion with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) that looked at why youth are leaving the Church and how we can bring them back.
I had a chance to sit down with David Overholt when I was a student journalist at Tyndale University College & Seminary to discuss the findings in the EFC’s final report, Hemorrhaging Faith.
Editor: How long have you been in ministry?
Overholt: I’ve been in ministry for about 35 years. For the past 17 years, I’ve been a pastor at Church on the Rock in Hamilton, Ontario. We grew out of a youth group of six small Baptist churches that became too large. The church has all ages, but we have a very young audience and have been trying to figure out how to do church for the next generation.
Editor: What were the results of Hemorrhaging Faith?
Overholt: The opening statistic of the report says that 70 per cent of youth who grew up in the Church will eventually leave the Church by the time they’re 30 years old. We need to do something about this.
Editor: Who are these youth, and why are they leaving the Church?
Overholt: We identified four kinds of youth---engagers, fence-sitters, wanderers and rejecters.
Engagers
They’re the ones who love the local church; they’re the ones that are involved, and they are living and growing in the Church. Of the youth leaving the Church, 23 per cent are engagers.
Fence-sitters
They represent about 36 per cent of youth leaving the Church. They call themselves Christians, but don’t think they need to go to church and no longer think that church leaders are answering their questions. In the study, they said that it would be hypocritical for them to attend church, as they assume that the Church is a place for the perfect. Fence-sitters don’t feel they can struggle through who they are and what they believe and still attend church.
Wanderers
They represent about 26 per cent of youth leaving the Church before age 30. The wanderers will say, "I’m no longer a Christian, but I’m not against Christians; you believe what you believe, I’ll believe what I want to believe; we’re all good." In fact, they like the Church, and think our church, youth and university student programs are good, but "they’re not for me because I’m no longer a Christian."
Rejecters
They represent 15 per cent of youth. Rejecters do not call themselves Christians, and they are angry at Christians or at God. They’re angry because a parent or friend had passed away, or because of a church split or because a youth pastor had left. They feel cheated. In these situations, they ask God: "Why did you do this?" And so they’re no longer Christians.
Editor: What are some ways you have found that can bring youth back to the Church?
There are four ways we found through the Hemorrhaging Faith study:
1) Does faith make sense in the family?
Young people need a family that has an alive faith, not just one that goes to church. Youth need a family that can model concern, prayer, a devotional walk and compassion for the poor. There are many testimonies of youth who have stories such as: "I came downstairs, saw my mom on her knees praying for me, and I knew it was real." It’s about a family that models their faith openly to their kids. And that changes everything.
2) Does faith make sense in the Church?
When a young person attends a church, they will ask: "Is there an excitement about faith here? Are there changed lives around me? Is there anticipation about coming out to church? Is there an opportunity for me to use my gifts at church, or do I have to wait until I’m 30 years old"---which seems like a death sentence to a teenager ---"to be able to actually be involved? Am I allowed to be on stage? Can I actually contribute in a significant way in my local church?"
You can have people of all ages show concern and care for youth. There are testimonies of 80-year-old folks praying with teenagers, and that was significant because it showed them that the Church is alive.
3) Does faith work for me personally?
This might be through a camp experience, an answer to prayer, an insight from the Bible or a fantastic experience while serving the poor. Each one of these things is key for them to be able to say: "Faith has worked in me." It’s interesting, the rejecters and the wanderers were asked: "Do you have any prayers that were answered?" They couldn’t look back at an answer to prayer, whereas the engagers could list off a whole bunch of answers to prayer and experiences of God. They could say, "I was tapped on the shoulder by the Holy Spirit to go and pray with somebody. I prayed with them, and it was the most amazing thing in my life. I knew it was real."
4) Does the Bible make sense?
Young people are not asking for fluffy teaching; they’re asking: "Can you help me understand the reason why? I’m 16 years old, the averages say I’m not going to get married until I’m 30, I have hormones rushing through my body and you really don’t want me to have sex until I’m married. You’ve got to explain that one; you can’t just say to me, 'Don’t.'"
Youth need thoughtful teaching and to have some kind of dialogue. I know in my church, people can send me a text message with their questions and at the end of the sermon I answer them. Sometimes we’ll have what we call "Sermon on the Spot," where we drop the sermon and answer people’s questions. In youth groups or meetings for university students, we have panels where people answer questions. There can be give and take.
This interview first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2014 edition of Tyndale Magazine and is published here with the permission of Tyndale University College & Seminary.
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