Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers

I believe we are losing our youth and that it is not the fault of anyone but the father of each child affected. Fathers are not taking the responsibility of their God-given and God-mandated leadership role. Until we get the men of this world doing what the men of this world are supposed to do, we will continue down the slippery slope of losing our youth to the post-modern society that we have today.
A revival needs to take place and it starts in the family with Dads.

Thanks for the pointer to the article. I'm very doubtful about the "4 percent remaining" figure. But, I have no doubt that there are trends, indicating that evangelical churches will not hold their youth - even though they are the most youth-oriented of all Christian movements. It's to be hoped that we can learn something from these trends.

Could it be that the evangelical exaggerations designed to appeal to youth, such as attacking doctrine as "dead orthodoxy", saying that we have nothing to do with "religion" (only relationship), or "church" (Jesus is in my heart), are the very reasons that they abandon their beliefs and their churches as grown-ups, without any sense that they've gone anywhere?

Is evangelicalism juvenile: a thrill that wears off, a fire that goes out, a stage that's outgrown? After all, "youth are our future", but only after they've grown up. Maybe we should study how to more effectively address grown-ups.

But these are old criticisms, impossible to prove. More "traditional" churches are losing at a comparable rate, or worse. It's something for everyone to pay attention to, and continue to ponder, discuss and pray about.

Mark's question is the very question we need to answer .... How do we more effectively address grown-ups?
The answer lies within the family. It starts with the patriarch of the familiy assuming his rightful role as "leader". Being a leader takes much more than words. It takes modeling correct behavior. It takes courage and perseverance. It takes sacrifice. It's the sacrifice that parents don't want to make. If it's convenient, GREAT! If it's not .... well, maybe next time.
A recent Barna survey says that 38% of adolescents say that church has made a positive influence in their life. This same survey says that only 35% find it easy to talk to their parents about everything that is happening in their life. This is an indictment against the family.
Parents must take the lead, primarily dads, in the spiritual development of their kids. The church can't do it alone. The church should only lend support to what is going on inside the family.
So how do we get Dads to answer the call? How do we convince them of this task that lies ahead of them? Where do we start?

I agree the 4% sounds to low. I havie been thinking aong the lines of a community model. We the local church functions as a whole and not simply to get entertained.

Parents need to be integrated and brought to maturation in their own faith, only then can it begin to trickle down. Kids also need to be taught committment.