Derrick Flannigan, a good friend and relatively new blogger, has posted a link to a trailer for Segregation, a movie discussing youth ministry in Protestant Churches in the U.S. The gist of the movie is that by segregating youth from other parts of the church, individual churches are unable to retain young people after they enter college.
This is a trend that I have seen happen in many a young person's life... and these days, without proper catechesis of the youth (many don't even know basic tenets of the faith—Protestant or Catholic), many leave the Church and never look back. Even after they become older/wiser.
From Derrick's post:
According to the NCFIC, "65% and 85% of Christian youth leave the church when they enter college" (www.ncfic.org). Such numbers are shocking, to say the least! I would only hope that the Catholic Church could boast of having fewer numbers.
What can we do to combat this trend (which, I believe, is happening also in the Catholic Church)? Perhaps having a more unified approach to youth ministry? More catechesis, and less activity-based ministry?
Comments
This is very interesting. Most resources I read are changing their minds about segregation of the youth and point to it as a problem stating the kids aren't integrated into the life of the larger community and then have trouble becoming adults Christians. So, they leave because they're not being catered to.
Unfortunately, I doubt the numbers are much smaller in the Catholic Church. More adult-like faith and catechesis is definitely a problem in the teenage years. I think this is vital in helping kids transition into a more adult-like faith. I think we need, not only more catechesis in youth ministry but more spirituality. We need to teach kids how to pray and practically live the faith. If this doesn't happen, it's only a bunch of facts that can be traded for other facts when the reach college.
One thing I will say. The adults I run into that come back to the Church after being way for a while come back because of the smells and bells...the rituals and traditions and practices. The Catholic Church does a good job of getting the external practice of the faith into your DNA so to speak. Now we need to get great at providing the internal practice and they won't fall away at all.
I totally agree! In fact, I've blogged about this several times myself (from a protestant perspective, but it still applies either way).
http://www.studentministry.org/segregation-at-youth-group-video/
http://www.studentministry.org/youth-ministrys-contribution-to-the-miss…
Good thoughts!
How about stopping to look at why? I don't believe that the institutional church has a clue or a care about any of the precious people inside it, other than to have them as another statistic, another butt warming a pew, another paycheck in the tithe box.
Stop seeing people as numbers, but as God's children, and all of a sudden it doesn't matter if you are Catholic, Protestant, or Muslim. Religion just doesn't matter. It was made by man to control other men. It is what Jesus came to set us free from (think about it; sin and death are religion).
Sadly, that is the case with some in the Church—just as it is the case with some in every single walk of life, including 'religion free' societies.