At this very moment, I'm discussing something with my friend Tim, and I figure I'll post a bit about it here. We're discussing how the younger generation doesn't view church as something important.
At the church that I go to, there are a few people my age. We see a lot of the people our age that bring in their babies to be baptized, and then we don't see them in church again. Then there's a few others that bring in their kids. But there are very few childless couples our age at church. Tim was telling me how he's pretty much the only person his age at his church, that it's mostly older people. So why is it that people (say, age 15-30) don't feel like they need to go to church, or to even have faith, for that matter?
I have a lot of friends at work that are about my age, and many of them claim atheism. Very few seem to care about God or religion of any sort. It's really hard to relate to people that think that way. I have friends that say "Oh, I have ______ going on in my life, and I just don't understand why". How can you explain to an atheist that maybe God is working in their life right now? One of my friends at work, also named Tim, is a big time partier. He rarely goes to bed before 2am, he's constantly drinking his nights away, and he sleeps around with more girls than I can count. He doesn't understand why I wanted to get married and why I want to have children. He thinks I'm nuts. And then, when I tell him that I want to homeschool my kids, he tells me that they will end up sheltered and socially inept. He nearly seems offended when I tell him I can't stay out late on Saturday night because I have church Sunday morning.
This seems to be a recurring theme when I'm talking to people my own age. They don't share my beliefs, and many of my friends think I'm a little nuts when they find out that I'm a Christian. Why is it so hard for today's young adults to accept Christianity? Is it the whole "seeing is believing" concept? Or is that people my age don't want to take responsibility for their poorly-chosen actions? Sometimes, I think that maybe the reason young adults don't want to accept Jesus as the Truth is because they don't want to give up their sinful ways. So many of my friends are too busy partying and sleeping around and thinking that it's fun. Accepting Jesus means giving all that up. What they don't realize is how much they gain! When you're 25 years old and "living the good life", you don't think about eternity. You don't think about what will happen when you die. I think that's a big part of the problem with today's young adults. They don't think about the future. It's the same way that many of us won't be prepared for retirement when we turn 65. Many of us aren't going to be prepared for what we will face when we die. So many people that are young now are going to be caught by surprise when they are face to face with Jesus upon their deaths.
I've been putting a lot of thought into what needs to happen for young people to accept Christianity. I'm just not sure what will convince people that Jesus is the Truth. How have you effectively witnessed to young people? Is there a good way to do so? Share! :)
Comments (7)
I'm working on that myself. The Bible say that if we lift Him up, all men will be drawn to Him. We can learn a lot through what it does NOT say. It doesn't say they will be drawn if we we coerce, cram Him down the throats, argue, appeal to the mental faculties, entertain them, certainly not by telling them they are sinners... I can't say exactly what we should do, but not that!
We should be "lifting Him up". Now we have to figure out how to do that. I'm confident that step one is to walk in Love. I'm sure there are MANY other steps, but we can't really afford to move on until we figure out how to do step one. That's definitely been our biggest problem. If we read from the Bible what He says the works of love are, do what He says a Christian should do, instead of what we think a Christian should do, we'll be at least on the right road.
i've found that young people are comfortable with where they're at in life and don't see a need for Jesus. believing in Jesus would require them to let go of some of their destructive lifestyles and some just aren't ready for that yet.
That's something I'd love a lot of help with as well. I hear a myriad of things from younger people, from the many who flat-out don't believe in any god or any afterlife, or anything that can't be seen or touched. There are also many who just feel they'll "settle up" with God when they get older, that they have a lot of living to do first. And there are those who just don't feel that there's only one path to Heaven, or that God would send anyone to Hell, not realizing that people send themselves there, and that when God sent His Son to make the ultimate sacrifice, He went to very great lengths to give us a way out.
:D I just asked basically the same thing. It really makes me sad. I think there are many things playing in on why our age group isn't interrested in God, and I think one of the big reasons is Hollywood. But...sometimes I think maybe the best way to show God is by just living God. Maybe at some point those people will see God in us and the peace He gives us and want that.
I've come to find that in my experiences, the most effective way to witness is through your LIFESTYLE. You can say all that you want, but people aren't going to hear a word you say if your life isn't showing anything Christian-like. In my city, MANY claim to be Christian, but these are often the ones who are smoking, drinking, going clubbing EVERY weekend and then going to church on Sunday, treating it like a social event. Very few people's lifestyles actually match up with their walks with God! I find it disturbing. Now I am by no means perfect, nor do I want to judge, but I wouldn't ask them for prayer if they are worse off than me! Like others say, many are comfortable with their lifestyles, and don't feel that they need God. I don't see how, but *shrugs* I just pray for them.
[Linked here from revelife]
I think the primary way to reach young people (myself included) is to appeal to ideals. We're still at that age when we secretly believe we can change the world and think in terms of great things and great standards. We are (by and large) still idealists, dreamers, thinkers, lovers. We believe in true love, saving the world, justice and equality, change and redemption. These are sentiments that appeal to secular people as well, and so it might be good to dig into conversations from a perspective that doesn't belittle their current lifestyle but amplifies and fulfills their hopes for the future. I think the first step towards God is discontentment with the world.
i am a 15 y/o homeschooled christian girl and i recently had some experience with other kids my age who either don't care if God exists or strongly believe He doesn't. all 8 of them knew both me and another girl were strong believers and didn't bother us with why we believed He existed. as we got to know each other better throughout the year i heard a change in the way they talked about God. some of them, who strongly believed He didn't exist just a month before, hinted that they might even think He does exist. the other girl and i did nothing more than tell them we believed and gave our imput in a few discussions about God. we didn't push them to believe. we merely expressed our belief and some of them had a change of heart. i'm not sure if any of them completely change because i recently lost contact with most of them fo the summer but soe of them even talked about going to church. i don't know if i can tell you a right or a wrong way to witness to young adults but my advice is don't tell them you have to believe or go to hell, though it's true, teens aren't easily scared by things like that. and if their hearts are hardened then it won't do any good. don't try to scare them into believeing try something else. i hope this helps. there is hope for the youth of today. they just need an open door.
god bless
amber