Why do so many young people leave the faith?

[dawnmichelle]

My son left the faith. I do not believe he was ever converted; although, when he was young there seemed to be evidence for it. It is a heart-rending thing to endure. I pray for the mercy of God for him daily.

[keithwilson]

“Walking the aisle” with a friend due to peer pressure has had deadly consequences for many, especially Baptists.

[JopeyTheLegend]

They didn’t leave the faith because they never had any

[pharoh_mind]

Listen guys.. we can teach, we can pray, we can read the Bible, we can be the example, we can go to church every Sunday, we can do confirmation, we can do communion, and we can hammer it home anyway we want to. The fact of the matter is that it is God's timing, not ours. It is God's plan, not ours. Accepting Jesus is a personal decision that can only be made and realized by the individual through true conviction. We can only do what we can do but trust in the Lord to do what he must. Love y'all and be well.

[GogakuOtaku]

I was so scared that I was going to abandon God when I got to college. Instead, God blessed me with an amazing community of Christian brothers, and my faith has grown stronger than ever. I will never be able to thank Him enough 🥹

[J.F.]

Regeneration is an absolute necessity in order for one to persevere in the faith.

[cameronbennett]

True. And I'd argue that a major reason for lack of conversion of children is hypocrisy in the home.

[jdkayak]

Very true, this is why I'm against confirmation before the age of 16, and am against any pressure to confirm a child into membership.

On the other hand there are a portion of abused children who leave because they don't feel safe in church for some time especially in fundamentalist churches. Church can be a trigger for their past experiences until they find the right one.

[RZRL]

I can testify to the validity of this claim

[stmichaeldefendusinbattle]

This is Gold!
And i would add the terrible job from pastors and parents to teach about their identity in Jesus, repentance and the reality of hell

[royjaquez]

Facts! That’s what I always say, too. If they left, they never were, as 1 John 2:19 says. That’s not to say that they never will, but surely as Matthew 7:16-20 affirms you will know them by their fruit.

[mattfuller]

This can be a problem with baptizing babies. 😉 But in all seriousness, this is spot on.

[Razaiel]

This was me. I was baptized when I was 11, but looking back there was no evidence that I was regenerate & plenty of evidence to the contrary. God called me back to Himself 4 years ago & (I'm 43 now) & I can see the evidence of His work in me.

[AndrewKendall]

Some go through a crisis when leaving childhood to work out their faith as their own or the parents'. Some however "go out from us because they were not of us."

[cathcolwell]

Yes, this actually makes perfect sense. Having not been converted why would they want to be part of the family of Faith?

[gigahorse]

One thing that really irritates me is when parents blame schools or colleges for turning their child into a heathen. It’s almost as if they expect institutions to do their parenting for them. On a more related note, I’ve felt growing up in my IFB church that a lot of my peers were unconverted and didn’t truly believe in God. God didn’t seem to have any bearing on their lives at all.

[petergunn]

This is spot on correct. I would add that so long as parents continue to surrender their responsibility of raising their children in the faith as Deuteronomy 6 commands to churches, youth ministries, Bible camps, etc. their children will continue to walk away. God intended parents to be the ones to deposit the truth of faith in their children. The church has a role to play, but it is not a primary one.

[JayReacio]

If he was an honest he would say- The root cause is because God ordained that they would leave the faith

[bigdw]

I’ve been asked the same question many times. My answer is usually the we think we are raising our children as Christians instead of raising them to become Christians.

I believe I’m God’s sovereignty in salvation, but raising children who think they are already Christians is dangerous because it can inoculate them so they are not as sensitive to their need for truly trusting in a Christ for themselves.

[Savedbygrace]

Yes I see the so called deconversion videos of people absolutely hating on who they think god is or who they think the church is. Mostly they grew up in it and were convinced by others they were Christians but the proof is if they leave us they were never really of us. They need prayer and true faith granted only by God. Paul Washer has the best videos on this I think. 🙏✝️