From churchleaders.com
Why do kids turn away from the faith? What causes them to say, do and believe the exact opposite of what they embraced earlier? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are factors that it can be traced back to. Let’s take a look at five of them.
False Profession of Faith
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged. (1 John 2:18-19)
One reason kids turn away from the faith when they grow up is because they were never true believers. God doesn‘t have any grandchildren. He only has children. A child must own their faith. It can‘t be something they do just to please their parents. If they are riding on the coat tails of dad and mom‘s faith, when they are on their own, the child‘s lack of faith will soon become apparent.
Lack of Understanding
One of the keys to seeing kids make a true profession of faith is taking time to help them clearly understand the decision they are making. Far too many kids have gone forward in a service, been announced to the church and baptized without a clear understanding of what they were doing.
Hypocrisy
Kids have the ability to spot hypocrisy. When they see their parent‘s life at home does not match their parent‘s life at church, it has a negative impact on their faith. And when they see hypocrisy in the life of church leaders, it also has a negative impact on their faith.
The Pull of the World
For most kids, fame will not come calling, but for the few who do experience this, it can put their faith to the test big-time. As we just mentioned, the pressure to compromise for success, can cause kids like to trade in their purity ring for popularity, wealth and notoriety. Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Notice He didn‘t say it‘s impossible, He just said it‘s hard. It takes a very deep faith to survive fame. Ideally, the fame can be used to spread the Gospel and make an impact for Christ, but that‘s hard to sustain when you‘re in a culture that demands the opposite if you want to stay on top.
Shallow Knowledge of the Bible
Then there is a shallow knowledge of the Bible. You could almost say it’s “Biblical illiteracy.” A recent study found that only 45% of people who regularly attend church read their Bible more than once a week. Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible. And what we don‘t read…we don‘t know. And we are not effectively teaching kids the Bible.
Biblical illiteracy usually doesn’t show up until kids get into high school and college. It is then their shallow knowledge of the Bible is exposed by peers and teachers. Without answers to the hard questions that are asked, their faith can be destroyed.
