Desperate to find a way to attract their wandering children, worried parents demand the church to change in some way to attract and retain their young people. This move, church-blaming, creates an unhappy environment of disgruntlement and embarrassment along with the pressure to offer a consumer-driven Christianity.

This essay comes from the heart of a pastor as a passionate plea to parents out of our shared concern for our covenant children. Some of the biggest challenges in ministry come from inside the church, particularly for parents between the ages of 45–60. There is one issue that has produced the struggle: their young people are leaving the church. Many parents have watched for years the same old story happen over and over. As soon as a young person returns from college, that child shows little to no interest in attending church. This is a source of frustration and even grief for Christian parents. I share that concern.

Challenges come to the church from inside as well as outside.

In response, parents are sometimes tempted to blame the church for the way their children now view the church. Desperate to find a way to attract their wandering children, worried parents demand the church to change in some way to attract and retain their young people. This move, church-blaming, creates an unhappy environment of disgruntlement and embarrassment along with the pressure to offer a consumer-driven Christianity. Worried parents, however, sometime give little thought to how they themselves may have contributed to the problem.

Here are five ways a pastor is committed to your children.

Here are five ways I commit to fight for the youth of our church. With God helping me,

• I will love your young people enough to preach the whole counsel of God to them. I am committed to God’s word and I will tell them the whole truth.

• I will call your young people to repentance and faith. This won’t be easy. Some who have yet to profess their faith will not like to be told they are wrong. The law will hurt. Some may get angry at the stances I am called to take. It may at times seem like we’re losing the battle, but I’m committed to this fight for your young people.

Read More