How Do We Reclaim This 'Vanishing Generation'?

Nearly two-thirds of people ages 18-29 who grew up in the U.S. going to church have dropped out, according to the Barna research group.

One-third described church as “boring,” one-quarter said faith is “not relevant,” and one-in-five who attended church as a teenager said God “seems missing” from their experience.

What went wrong?

I believe we’ve left a whole generation floundering because—despite all our teaching materials, church programs and activity—they’ve never had a genuine encounter with the living Christ. Instead, we’ve been led to believe the smartphone generation needs constant media bombardment.

Our misplaced emphasis on fast-moving media and rock-concert volume has replaced the much-needed timeless discipline of seeking God in quiet meditation and reverent silence. As a consequence, our worship services have focused on performance rather than coming before God.

Look where that’s got us. An entire generation is vanishing from the church, deserting the faith, before our eyes.

Why? They’ve found nothing of substance, nothing real to cling onto. In their own words, God “seems missing.”

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K.P. Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), has written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than four million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.