Think getting together for prayer and Bible study isn’t important? And are you thinking that our young people are not interested in this? They are—and they need a sense of Gospel-centered community to make this happen. Did you know that…
More than two-thirds of churchgoing young adults drop out between the ages of 18 and 22!
Why do they dropout? Here are the top ten reasons church dropouts Stopped attending church[1]
1. Simply wanted a break from church.
2. Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical.
3. Moved to college and stopped attending church.
4. Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
5. Moved too far away from church to continue attending.
6. Became too busy though still wanted to attend.
7. Didn’t feel connected to the people in my church.
8. Disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social issues.
9. Chose to spend more time with friends outside church.
10. Was only going to church to please others.
What is most important to the people in the church? Without question, the sense of community in community groups/small groups. Check out these statistics!
- Those who are coming to worship and Sunday School/small groups, after five years: 83% stick around. And they must be side-by-side, either SS-to-worship, or worship-to-Sunday School.
- From 1990-2004, the United States population expanded by more than 18 percent.[2] Yet the percentage of people attending church declined about 3 percent.
- Eight out of 10 are open if you invite them to come to church.
Do you have a small group setting where you can dig deeper into the Word and help one another to deeper maturity and greater accountability? You must take advantage of that opportunity.
[1]Thom S. Rainer and Sam Rainer III, Essential Church?: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2008), 3-4.
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