We are seeing a downward trend when it comes to families attending church.
Even before Covid hit, many churches were not reaching or keeping young families.
The Millennials are now the young parents in your community. 40% of Millennials say they are religiously unaffiliated according to research from the Pew Center.
Millennials are now almost as likely to say they have no religion as they are to say they are Christians.
Obviously this affects their children - Gen Z and Gen Alpha. If parents aren't attending church, neither are their children. There might be a few exceptions to this such as children going to church with their grandparents, but that is few and far between when you consider the big picture.
The church is losing its young people because the parents never taught their children that it was important. - Carl Trueman
The Bible gives us insight for what happens when parents don't raise their children to follow Jesus.
"After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them." Judges 2
The first generation - served and loved the true God.
The next generation - did not know God or His work for Israel. They forsook God and turned to other gods.
From this we glean that parents and the church must teach their children about God and His saving work, so the next generation will know God as well. We are only one generation away from our children not knowing the God of the Bible.
Church must be a priority for families. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:33 to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."
If we are going to see the next generation follow Jesus, then attending church must be a top priority for families.
It is important for families to attend church because of Hebrews 10:25.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
We know that parents are the primary disciple makers for their children. But I also believe that God will send someone at church to come alongside parents and reinforce what the children are being taught at home. It might be a student pastor. It might be a children's ministry director. It might be a faithful volunteer. It might be a godly deacon or elder in the church. If families don't attend church regularly, they will miss the influence of the other person that God sent for this purpose.
Families who drop out of church are taking a step in the wrong direction. At church, families can find support, encouragement and help in raising their children to love and follow Jesus.
As leaders, we must come alongside families and encourage them to be faithful to attend church. Think of ways you can challenge families to put God and His church as the top priority.
Our prayer is that families will be drawn to God's house and will echo the words that were spoken by Joshua many generations ago.
"But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.”God wants to use you and your team to see families come to His house. Even the families that dropped out because of Covid and have yet to return.
Families need the encouragement that comes from hearing the Word of God taught.
Families need their children to learn about a great, big God that loves them.
Families need wisdom as they raise their children and teens to follow Jesus.
Families need to pray for others and to be prayed for at church.
Families need the support of other believers when they are going through challenging times.
Families need to be part of a God-sized vision and mission of a local church.
Families need to raise their voice to worship Jesus with fellow believers.
It's important for families to be in church. And it's not about what we want from them. It's about what we want for them. When a family gets planted in a local church they can experience spiritual growth through the ministry of that church.
Don't give up on the families who have not returned yet. Don't give up on the families in your community and in your city that don't attend church. Pray for them. Lovingly invite them to come to church with you.
It's the best thing that could ever happen for them as a family.
