Helping young people build resilient faith
Reading four books may feel unattainable but Youthworks makes it easier by giving you summaries of key learnings from recent literature on building resilient faith in young people
This is an excerpt from the recent Youthworks publication, Building Resilient Faith in Young People: A Review of Recent Literature. It outlines four recent publications from the US and Australia asking the question, “Under God, what leads to lasting and flourishing faith in young people, post-adolescence?”
As a youth group leader in my 20s, I poured my heart and soul into discipling a group of young people: praying for them, reading the Bible with them, spending time with them, organising camps for them, walking through life’s ups and downs with them. Now that they are in their 30s only a handful of them are still thriving in faith and embedded in the body of Christ.
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Building resilient faith in young people
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For this handful, I give great thanks to God. But I’m perplexed by those, for whom I cared deeply, who have left the church and have left the faith. Could it have been different? Under God, what could be done for young people to have found a permanent home in the body of Christ? That question drives this literature review.
The data reflects my experience as a youth leader. Extensive research in the US indicates a significant drop off in faith and church attendance post-adolescence. Research conducted by Barna indicates this rate could be as high as 64%[1], while Fuller Youth Institute puts the number at 40-50%, citing numerous studies[2]. This is mirrored by data in Australia outlined by Sarie King in her paper Retention and Transition[3].
These resources (as well as one other) are reviewed as some of the most recent research and literature, both from the US and the Australian context, into the area of how young people can remain in thriving, flourishing and lasting faith.
My intention is to make this recent research accessible to busy ministry practitioners – whether senior ministers, youth and children’s or young adults ministers, or engaged and interested others. Reading four resources can be overwhelming in the cut and thrust of ministry and life, but perhaps reading summaries of these resources is a more attainable goal or it may be the beginning of a reading journey. It also forms part of my preparation for a bigger project researching practices leading to lasting and flourishing faith post-high school in the Australian context.
Get in touch with your Youthworks youth or children’s ministry advisor to discuss how you can apply these principles to your ministry to young people.
[1] Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon, David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock (Baker Books, 2019)
[2] Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church, Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad Griffin (Baker Books, 2016)
[3] Retention and Transition, Sarie King (2015, Effective Ministry, www.effectiveministry.org)