In the summer of 2010, I was asked to preach at a church on the following topic: “What Is the Role of Teens in Your Church?” In preparing for the sermon, I ended up reading more than 35 books and hundreds of articles and studies.
During my 35-year career, I have devoted my life to youth ministry, education and youth empowerment. I have written numerous books for and about teenagers. As a father of two adult sons and a grandfather of an 8-year-old, and having been involved in youth ministry for more than 20 years, my life’s mission has been devoted to helping improve the lives of young people.
I love youth. I love the way they think. I love their energy, passion and innocence. They feel there are no limits to their lives, that everything is possible; and I love that. They are exactly the way Jesus wants them to be, for with God nothing is impossible (
The 40-70-90 Teen Exodus
As I did my research, I began writing because of my desire to share with others something I call the 40-70-90 Teen Exodus:
• 40 percent of eighth-grade students leave the church. They are leaving before or just as they become teenagers. This alone should necessitate a state of emergency in the church.
• 70 percent of female teens leave the church upon high school graduation.
• 90 percent of teenage males leave upon high school graduation.
How will the church function with only elders and young children? How will the church survive such a massive exodus of our best and brightest young people? What a crisis we are experiencing!
Is America following Britain in church attendance? Only 6 percent of Brits currently attend church. As a result, since 1969, more than 1,500 churches have closed in Britain. Can you imagine: A country that was founded on Christian principles not only has lost its military and economic power, but church attendance is practically nonexistent?
I’m concerned that America may be following in Britain’s footsteps. Since 1962, prayer and the Bible have been taken out of schools, and look at what has happened since then. School violence has increased, and academic performance has decreased. Our children must walk through metal detectors to get to class.
If children and teens are our future, and schools have lost their way, how will they be prepared to take over society?
While many say the church is no longer relevant in our lives, I say the church is more relevant and needed than ever before. The church must once again become the place where young people receive the spiritual preparation to make a positive impact in the world.
I have preached in hundreds of churches where especially on Youth Sunday or Family Sunday the pastor mentions how proud he is of the youth because they represent the future of the church.
Senior pastors and elders, do you see teens as your present or your future? How you truly feel about the teenagers in your church determines the attention youth ministry is given. If you feel teens are the future, they probably receive a smaller portion of the budget and space and probably visit the sanctuary once a month or on special occasions. If you feel teens are your present, they probably receive the same amount as your adults and are in your sanctuary every Sunday, participating at the same level as adults.
Causes of the Exodus
One of the leading causes of the 40-70-90 Teen Exodus is that too many churches are living in the future when it comes to dealing with teens. Too little attention is devoted to empowering them, and they do not feel important. They feel the skating party or once-a-year participation in the main worship service are afterthoughts. They are spectators in church versus genuinely participating members.
As a result, they can’t wait until worship service is over so they can go home or hang out with their friends. Teens will not stay in your church long if they are only spectators. If teenagers do not see themselves in your present plan, they will not be available for your future.
Senior pastors and elders, is age segregation a fact of life in your church? Historically, racial segregation has existed in the church. Dr. King once said the most segregated hour in America is 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Can you imagine African Americans being denied entrance to churches? They had to worship Him in the balcony or basement while Whites were on the first floor. This provoked African Americans to create the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
Gender segregation is also a problem in the church. Even in this present day, less than 3 percent of senior pastors are female—despite the fact the church is two-thirds female! There is also a dearth of female youth pastors.
Preachers love to quote Paul’s command in
Unfortunately, the same divisions and discriminatory practices that occur in the greater society also occur in churches across America. This is ironic, given that we’re supposed to be one body—not many bodies—of Christ. This discriminatory practice, if not resolved, will lead to the same decline in church membership that has occurred in Britain: age segregation.
Addressing Age Segregation
Does age segregation exist in your church? Are teens respected? Are they empowered? Do they feel important in your church? Have you ever asked the teens in your church how they feel about their church experience? The following are three simple questions you can ask them right away:
1. Do you feel important in this church?
2. Do you feel respected by the elders of this church?
3. Do you feel that your talents and skills are being fully developed and utilized in this church?
Youth ministry is church ministry. The two are interwoven. In visiting hundreds of churches in America through the years, I have observed that a tremendous distinction exists between youth ministry and senior ministry, youth church and senior church. There should be no division in the church.
I don’t believe the problem is with youth pastors. Most of them are doing great work. I commend youth pastors and their ministries for the tremendous work they are doing. This book is not an indictment of them. When I mentioned the flight of young people from the church, I was not criticizing the work being done by youth ministries.
However, that is not to say youth pastors and youth ministries cannot be improved, as experts such as Wayne Rice, Mark DeVries, Alvin Reid, Jim Burns and Kenda Creasy Dean have recommended.
New Youth Wineskins
Jesus says in
To resolve this problem, we must begin at the top—with the senior pastor and the senior church. It’s regrettable, but in too many churches the senior pastor, leaders and elders represent the old wineskins Jesus was talking about.
I’m not referring to age here but a status-quo type of thinking that excludes teenagers from being fully mainstreamed into all activities of the adult congregation. This failure is systemic, not personal. Unfortunately some senior pastors and church leaders are in denial. To them I say, if you have decided before reading the information presented in the next few chapters that you are not going to change, I pray that you give this book to another church member who is more open and willing to change.
If senior pastors and church leaders refuse to deal with the 40-70-90 Teen Exodus, this book will be ineffective, and the problem will persist. If senior pastors refuse to take responsibility and instead blame the youth pastor, the problem will persist.
A congregation cannot grow beyond its senior pastor. If the senior pastor does not believe in the power of prayer, there is a very good chance that members won’t either. If the senior pastor does not believe in the power of words, that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (
If the senior pastor does not tithe, there’s a good chance the members will not tithe. If the senior pastor does not believe in speaking in his or her heavenly language (speaking in tongues,
If the senior pastor does not believe in prosperity, there’s a good chance the members won’t either. Unfortunately, the prosperity gospel has suffered a backlash in recent years; but throughout the Bible, God promises us that we will prosper.
The future of the church lies in the hands of senior pastors. Therefore, if we are going to address the alarming statistics, we need senior pastors to acknowledge we have a problem and that the problem lies in their office—not the office of the youth pastor.
Let me share with you one study I read in my research:
“A study was done documenting the long-term impact of dividing the church into age specific groups. The researchers discovered that people who grew up in church, attending worship and not Sunday School, were much more likely to be involved in church as adults than were those young people who had attended only Sunday School without attending worship. The results of this study clearly called into question our myopic focus on creating a successful youth ministry. If this conclusion is transferable to Christians, there is no such thing as successful youth ministry that isolate teenagers from the community of faith.”
The main reason 40 percent of middle school students, 70 percent of female teens, and 90 percent of male teens leave the church is because they have been isolated in youth ministries and have not been made a part of the larger church.
Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu is an author who was educated at Morgan State, Illinois State and Union Graduate School. His work has been featured in Ebony and Essence magazines, and he has been a guest on BET Oprah. He is also a frequent guest on the Michael Baisden Show. Article is adapted with permission from What Is the Role of Teens in Your Church?, Copyright © 2011 by Jawanza Kunjufu and African-American Images Press (AfricanAmericanImages.com).
