August 11, 2024— It is true. The youth are leaving churches, some never to return to the Christian faith. They are lost forever to a world of false doctrine and false prophets. What evidence supports this claim? In 2018/2019, The Pew Research Center reported on the number of individuals identifying as Christian per generation. Christian belief declines an average of 12% with each generation. On average, 69% of people identify as being Christian. Table 1.0 below displays the findings from the 2018/2019 survey:
Table 1: Percentage of Christians with Each Generation[1]
GENERATION | PERCENT OF CHRISTIANS | PERCENT DECLINE FROM PREVIOUS GENERATION |
Silent Generation (born 1928-45) | 84% | - |
Baby Boomers (1946-64) | 76% | 8% |
Generation X (1965-1980) | 67% | 9% |
Millennials (1981-1996) | 49% | 18% |
AVERAGE | 69% | 12% |
This may not seem too concerning. You can easily argue that many people accept Jesus when they are older. However, that is not the only thing to consider. What about the overall population per generation (Table 2.0 below)?
Table 2.0: Population per Generation in the US in 2019
GENERATION | POPULATION SIZE IN US |
Silent Generation (born 1928-45) | 23,000,000 |
Baby Boomers (1946-64) | 71,600,000 |
Generation X (1965-1980) | 65,200,000 |
Millennials (1981-1996) | 72,100,000 |
If we look at the data slightly differently and compare the tables above, we get the results in Table 3.0 below.
Table 3.0: Population per Generation in the US in 2019
GENERATION | POPULATION SIZE IN US | PERCENT OF CHRISTIANS | PERCENT OF NON-CHRISTIANS |
Silent Generation (born 1928-45) | 23,000,000 | 84% | 16% |
Baby Boomers (1946-64) | 71,600,000 | 76% | 24% |
Generation X (1965-1980) | 65,200,000 | 67% | 33% |
Millennials (1981-1996) | 72,100,000 | 49% | 51% |
The data tells us that the number of non-Christians will outweigh Christians by the time we reach the Millennials. What will that mean for Gen Z? If the pattern continues, Gen Z non-Christians will far outweigh those of any generation before them.
How can we account for those raised in church but who leave? Shockingly (or not), surveys by USA Today and other sources say that 70%- 80% of those raised in church leave it. In 2011, David Kinnaman reported that 59% of young adults with a Christian upbringing left the church sometime in their 20s.[2] However, this percentage increased from 59% to 64% by 2019, just eight years later. Teaching them apologetics will certainly deter this mass exodus from the Church.
WHAT IS APOLOGETICS?
Apologetics is a specific work performed by Christian believers that presents a case against those who pose questions about our faith. They know the Holy Bible and can make excellent arguments about the Christian faith when they discourse with others. Using critical thinking, they dig deep into the Holy Bible and even point to historical and archeological evidence to support biblical accounts. Remember, we do not go looking for an argument, but sometimes they find us. The Holy Bible is clear on this in 2 Timothy 4:2-5:
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Why Are the Youth Leaving Christian Faith and How Can Apologetics Help Them?
The youth leave due to misconduct in the church, poor leadership, a lack of parenting, and more reasons. Another aspect is that many children are raised with “bible stories.” Some grow up thinking it is a story because their parents or pastors never reiterated the truth. So, when they are questioned by teachers (yes, this happens), peers, or others, they are left questioning their faith at an age where they are the most vulnerable. This happened to someone I know.
In middle school, a science teacher told a young boy that God was not real, and he kept repeating this. Now, that boy is a man and is, at best, agnostic, though he was raised in a Catholic home. Suppose only pastors and parents were as repetitive about the truth of the Gospel as the science teacher was to manipulate the boy. In that case, the boy may now be a God-fearing man, regularly attending and participating in church.
Paul said, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). While we do not need to see God to know that He is real, archeological and historical evidence supports our faith against people that not know the Holy Bible or what Christianity is. We cannot see Moses parting the sea or God flooding the earth, but we find real-world evidence of these ancient events. For example, evidence for the Great Flood consists of consistent oral and written stories across cultures and billions of fossils encased in waterborne sedimentary layers.[3]
One day, I was conversing with a colleague of mine who is Hindi. She affirmed that in her culture, there is a belief that the world was once submerged under water. She concluded that everything is tied together by something [God]. This is fascinating to me. Across the world (I am in the U.S.), there is consistency about the flood written in the Holy Bible in the Middle East. Finally, the discovery of the Nippur Deluge Tablet describes the flood. The tablet was written in Sumerian and was discovered in modern day Iraq. [4]
While physical evidence is not for the Christian, it helps establish the case for the unbelieving skeptic we will face in our journey with Christ. It is important not to let secular archeological and historical evidence replace what is written in the Holy Bible, for it is God’s word for us.
Teaching Apologetics to Kids
Go to a museum, research online, and compare results to what is written in Scripture. Display the findings for your children. As they face their peers, they will be challenged to question their faith. They will at least have biblical and real-life data to explain. It is worth noting that God has taught us to train our kids in the way of the Lord (Proverbs 22:6). It is our responsibility to ensure children do not go to public institutions without knowing the word of God. Children must be as well-versed in the Bible as well as you.
When to teach them starts as toddlers or even earlier. I have heard of Christian mothers who read bible passages to their children while they were in the womb. Not too long ago, the Holy Spirit told me to replace nursery rhymes with that of Psalms. He had a perfect point.
Timing can be tricky. You must teach them the Bible as often as possible. For working parents, this is extremely difficult but not impossible. God would not instruct us to train our children in His ways and then make it impossible for them to obey such a law.
I write to you to encourage you to teach your kids the Holy Bible and stress that it is right and true. Also, reiterate that the stories of David and Goliath, Moses, and Jesus are not merely stories but real accounts of people who lived thousands of years before us.
Accepting Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is our savior. Just as God flooded the earth to destroy all the wickedness, God will again judge the earth through fire (2 Peter 3:6-7). It is by our faith in Jesus Christ and our confession that He was born through a virgin, was baptized, started His ministry, and was crucified. While on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30).
What was finished? The price for your sins. Paul said, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). God laid down moral law for us, and each broke some, if not most, of them. That is where Jesus comes in, saving us from the wrath of God so we can go to heaven.
After Jesus’s crucifixion, He was resurrected three days later. After 40 days in His resurrection body, Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God.
An apostle known as Paul declared, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9). If you are ready to accept Jesus, say this prayer aloud:
God, I confess that Jesus came in the flesh and blood, paid the price for my sins, died on the cross, rose on the third day, ascended to the heavens, and sent the Holy Spirit to help me understand Your ways. For that, I accept Jesus Christ as my savior and Lord, and I welcome the Holy Spirit in my life. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen!
Welcome to the Christian family!
[1] The Pew Research Center, In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/ accessed August 11, 2024
[2] Kinnamin, David, (2011), You Lost Me, Baker Books
[3] Answers in Genesis, Why the Book of Romans Will BLOW Your Mind, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcIU6rEAj_s, accessed 8/11/2024.
[4] Penn Museum, Flood Tablet/Deluge Tablet, https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/97591
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