Teens in Dead Churches

Step into the sanctuary of an average American Church some Sunday and tell me what you don’t see. More importantly, tell me who you don’t see. In a lot of churches you don’t see 18 to 25 year olds. That was the case at my first ministry job. I was in college, so a part time youth pastor gig was right up my alley. I was going to set the teens on fire for God, plan the best events, and win the whole city for Jesus. The problem was, I was in a dead church, and when our teens turned 18, they were gone.

Remember that passage in the Bible about how God doesn’t like lukewarm people, and how he will spit you out of his mouth if you are neither hot nor cold? Well, turns out that passage in Revelation isn’t written to individuals; it’s written to a church. To a group of people. Is it possible for God to remove his Holy Spirit blessing from a church? And what happens if he does? Is that how we end up with dead churches?

Let me flip this around. Why is it that all the great spiritual awakenings start with young people – often on college campuses? Is it not because the age of these young people, and even their spiritual age, is so ripe for revival and so pumped with spiritual adrenaline that they cannot help but “act out” spiritually. Is it not because the passion of these young people cannot and will not be contained by the four walls of the church?

As a Christian Youth Speaker, I get to speak at churches that harness the energy of teens and shoot them off as missionaries into their own everyday mission fields of life, school, and home. It’s a thing of beauty. And that’s the beauty of death – that it only leads to new life. We shouldn’t morn the exit of teens as they walk out of dead churches. We should celebrate the new life that is about to spring forth.

As a Christian Speaker for Youth Events I am constantly reminded of the potential of teens having a positive, godly impact on the world. The only thing with more potential than a youth on fire for God is a group of youth on fire for God. It’s scary.