Young adults dropping out of church in large numbers…
Large numbers of young adults who frequently attended Protestant worship services in high school are dropping out of church.
Two-thirds of young people say they stopped regularly going to church for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22, a new LifeWay Research survey shows. That means the church had a chance to share its message and the value of attending with this group, but it didn't stick, said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. "That's a lot of folks saying, 'No, that's not for me' or 'It's not for me right now' at that young age," McConnell said. LifeWay Research released its student dropout survey on Tuesday. The Nashville-based entity interviewed 2,002 U.S. adults ages 23 to 30 who attended a Protestant church two times or more a month for at least a year in high school. The interviews were conducted from Sept. 15 to Oct. 13, 2017. LifeWay Research is a ministry of LifeWay Christian Resources, which is the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The high dropout did not surprise Pastor Chris Brooks, who leads the Kairos congregation at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn. The majority of those who attend Kairos' Tuesday night service are between the ages of 22 and 29. "There is a substantial amount of people in this age demographic who for whatever reason decided that the church is no longer integral to building their faith or their faith is no longer integral to them," Brooks said. He loves young adults. They are selfish, but also still trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do, Brooks said. It leads to lively and challenging discussions at church, which he welcomes. "It's identity and purpose, which are common themes throughout the Bible," Brooks said. "And, they're becoming aware of do they like the God that they were given growing up?"
