These are just a few of the comments that are representative of the whole. Again and again, the common denominator of what attracted a millennial to a particular church was seeing biblical truth and faith being lived out in their spiritual community and specifically, seeing God’s love active and alive within the people in their church.
I know that many of you are praying wholeheartedly as you wait and hope for a young woman to return to the faith. Perhaps she’s your daughter, or a niece; a friend or former classmate. I hope you’ll feel freed and encouraged by this truth: it’s not up to us. We’re not going to win them with convincing arguments or good books or cajoling. But God, through the Holy Spirit, will win them with his love, in his timing.
Nearly every young woman that I have interviewed had a Season of Decision.
Every one of the interviewees was raised in the faith. While they were growing up, most of them accepted their parents’ faith by default. Many of these women professed faith in Christ during those years, but I discovered that nearly all of them…
During the interview process I am discovering that for many of the young women who left the faith, their experience growing up in the church never focused on a relationship with God. Despite the fact that many of the churches were Bible-believing and teaching churches, there was a disconnect.
During the interviews I’m discovering that those who were encouraged, not just allowed, to think critically about their faith during their teenage years were more likely to stay in the faith. The key here, I think, is the word encouraged. Many of those who claim a vital relationship with God were, at some point, challenged by an adult to ask hard questions about God and faith. For example:
The interview process is in full swing at WeConnect, and we are gathering some great information and discovering some surprising trends. Perhaps you, like me, assumed that many of those who jettisoned their faith and left the church did so because they were unhappy/angry with the church or with people in the church. Our interviews are showing that