I asked a question on my Facebook page
not long ago that was you raised your
child in a Christian home but now they
say they're atheists what happened I got
hundreds of responses from Christian
parents with broken hearts explaining
their journey are you one of them or are
you still raising your kids but
wondering how you can prevent this from
happening to them in this video I'm
going to cover three basic areas on this
topic the first is the problem that
we're facing second is reasons why they
leave the faith and third prayer points
for parents finding themselves in this
situation let's explore this together
raising a child in a Christian home is
no guarantee that they will stay in the
faith throughout their lives dr. James
Dobson and Focus on the Family said the
greatest illusion is to suppose that
children will become devout Christians
simply because their parents have been
so what happens that causes children
turn teens and adults to walk away from
their faith and to many people's
knee-jerk reaction is just to blame the
parents that they weren't diligent
enough they didn't do enough they didn't
love their kids enough they should have
homeschooled their kids they should have
done this so they should have done that
or they shouldn't have done the other
and for some this may be true but the
truth is life isn't quite that simple
one of the responses on my Facebook page
was from a woman who's now a minister
she wrote I was raised in a Christian
home but I rebelled as soon as I could
for no particular reason other than I
just wanted to it wasn't my mom's fault
or my precious granny who took me to
church now one of the comments that I
appreciated the most was actually from a
man who had been raised as a Christian
and later walked away
Brandon wrote I was raised in a
Christian home
Pentecostal at that and my parents did
everything right and I'm an atheist and
I chose that path for myself based on my
own education and life experiences my
decisions had not
to do with how I was raised my parents
their home or any of the church folks I
was raised around he went on to say life
is complex and every situation has its
nuance those of you who are blaming the
parents are blaming the church are being
too short-sighted and you don't have
full understanding I will always defend
my parents for the way they raised my
sister and I and I will always defend
the church where I grew up for giving us
a solid foundation sometimes people just
walk away from it Wow so parents take
whatever comfort you can and what he
said you can do everything right and
still see your children walk away are
you one of these parents who have found
yourself in this situation if you are
please type yes in the comments section
below
while this video is primarily about
those who became atheists let's not
forget the thousands of young people who
walk away but still believe in God it's
epidemic in the world today not just in
the United States but Canada the UK
Europe Australia New Zealand and and
many other places I really do believe
there is something that has been
unleashed on today's younger generations
the Millennials and especially
Generation Z that is unprecedented in
human history
it's a conglomeration of the internet
social media our educational systems
media and entertainment political
correctness and humanistic cultural
beliefs that have become increasingly
anti-god in their influence there's not
just one thing but many things bombarding our kids from the time they're
born going throughout their whole lives
now does that take Christian parents off
the hook in regards to how they parent
absolutely not
but we do need
realize there are a lot of other things
to consider out there the Christian
research company named Barney group
recently did some deep research on
generation Z that was very eye-opening
I've linked a book below if you're
interested in getting a copy of it for
yourself in part they write generation Z
is the least Christian generation in
American history as many as thirty four
percent of them say their religious
affiliation is either atheist agnostic
or nothing at all thirteen percent of
thirteen to eighteen year olds today are
twice as likely as adults to say they
are atheists another research group says
20% of Americans ages eighteen to twenty
five report not believing in God if
you'd like to dig a little deeper into
this I've done a lot of research and I
have several sessions in my school of
supernatural children's ministry
specifically for Christian parents on
this topic it's s SSCM level three called
revolutionary family ministry I've
linked it below there are fifteen
sessions for parents in this series you
can buy the whole set at a discounted
price or you can buy just the individual
sessions that you're most interested in
there's one session that I feel is
particularly important that I took from
a book called why they stay and why they
stray I feel like every parent needs to
listen to this because it brings up
things we never really think of having
an impact on our kids like whether or
not they were baptized in water or
whether or not they like their youth
leader and many other things I'd like to
give an mp4 copy away today maybe more
than one maybe two or three but I'm
gonna do it for those who take time to
leave comments below because I need to
know how you feel on this topic and what
you're going through right now so
comment I want to list some of the top
reasons I've found in my ministry and in
my research as the white kids from
Christian homes turn atheist or in
general walk away from their faith
number one on the list is in spite of
being raised in the church many times
being saved they actually do not have a
life-changing encounter with Jesus for
themselves and that's something parents
can't control but it's important one
parent wrote and said I took the
salvation of my kids for granted I just
assumed they would fall in love with
Jesus the same way I did he's so
irresistible in captivating I thought if
I taught him and showed him and led them
to experience him that they would just
simply fall in love with him too but
they didn't the takeaway here based on
this and other comments is that when
praying for your children make it a
priority that they don't just get saved
but they have a life-changing encounter
with Jesus a defining moment when God
just grabs him by the heart and they
can't help but fall in love with him
number two lack of Bible knowledge and a
limited diet of nothing but Bible
stories over and over again during their
childhood I teach on this extensively in
my school in fact is one of the things
that irritates me the most the lack of
really teaching our kids the truths of
God's Word and staying right on the
surface just giving them stories because
that's what we think they can understand
and nothing more one of the most
devastating results on our kids is a
serious lack of Bible knowledge and a
worldview which affects every area of
their lives
Barna Group found in their research that
the average thirteen-year-old get this
leaves our traditional Sunday schools
after thirteen years thinking they know
everything there is to know about God in
the Bible and they have no further need
for going to church why because they've
never been taught any doctrine or deep
truth all they've heard is the same
fifty-two Bible stories over and over
and over again
Barna says as a result only four percent
of generation Z has a biblical worldview
which speaks directly to their lack of
Bible knowledge so as educating them
better on Bible doctrine and the word
that guarantee that we want that they
won't walk away from the faith well
unfortunately no but it's definitely
gonna help when they stand before their
atheistic friends and college professors
knowledge that David picked up five
stones in the stream to kill Goliath
with it gonna help on one bit they need
to know what they believe in why and
that only comes
with a knowledge of the Word of God
that's why in our curriculums and kids
in ministry every single one of our
curriculum dives deep into the Word of
God and teaches fundamental doctrine and
concepts that they generally don't get
in other materials one parent wrote so
if I was going to do it all over again I
would do a better job of getting the
Word of God
deep into my kids there take that advice
parents now number three why do kids
walk away a follow up to the lack of
Bible knowledge is their inability to
defend their faith against science and
evolution when they're confronted in
school they feel like they have to
choose between science and their faith
because they don't know how to defend it
that all they know is the Bible stories and
it's just not enough the biggest hit
happens when they get to our secular
colleges and universities and they just
get blasted with secular and political
correct views and their faith in God is
viciously attacked there's actually a
lot of research to show that young
people who go on to Christian colleges
and universities and I don't mean the
ones who just call themselves Christian
and named but are very secular in their
views but real Christian in their
philosophy they have a significantly
higher chance of staying in the faith
for the long haul throughout their lives
now while your children are still young
I can't recommend highly enough
materials for kids like the Jonathan
Park audio series which are
action-packed stories full of faith
building and educational evidence for a
creator I've got it linked below in this
series it's great stories that give kids
an intellectual and scientific basis for
believing that God is real and he is the
one who created the heavens in the earth
it goes a long way in helping them trust
the Bible now along with this please
please please investigate the volumes of
kids and team materials from the
ministry called Answers in Genesis whose
whole purpose is to equip kids to
biblically and intellectually defend
their faith and have confidence that the
Bible is true and can be
Trusted. there's also many other books
that we have in our online bookstore and
I hope you check them out at
www.kidsinministry.org in the store. I'm always shocked.
how few Christian parents even think about getting these types of
materials to help them learn how to
defend their faith. And number four, this is
really big on my list in this ministry
and that's that most Christian kids
never experience the supernatural hand
of God he's just not real to them
they're never taught how to hear his
voice the majority of kids research say
to their knowledge they've never even
felt God's presence and this includes
Pentecostal churches they're never
filled with the spirit or taught how and
why they should pray in tongues as a
part of their prayer life this is a
really big issue you guys also they have
never seen someone healed or prayed
for anyone's healing and seen a miracle
in their world signs wonders and
miracles and God's presence it's just
something that's reserved only for the
adults as I looked over children's
ministry as a whole and I first got
started in KIMI I saw this as a
glaring hole in our Christian training
for children being able to experience
these things is hugely important while
that may not keep them 100% from walking
away from the faith at least it's far
less likely they'll walk away and say
God is not real. Number five tragedies
such as death of a loved one unanswered
prayers huge disappointments like
divorce in the family that they feel God
could have stopped but he didn't this
causes many to turn away from their
faith in anger and disappointment life
happens and sometimes when it does
people just get mad at God so they get
at him and revenge by choosing to
believe that he doesn't exist
number six hypocrisy in the church and
Christians in their lives as a whole it's
another reason for them turning their
backs on their faith and it's really a
big deal it ranks as one of the top
reasons why young people leave the
church so now what can you do as a
parent when you find yourself in this
situation that is your kids were raised
in Christian homes you gave them a good
upbringing and now they consider
themselves atheists but let me encourage
you to spend time on YouTube searching
under the words praying for the prodigal
son or daughter I was blown away how
many videos there are out there from
other Christians who are dealing with
this exact issue as I said it's like the
hordes of Hell have been unleashed on
this generation and it's really a
growing issue in the church and now
let's talk about prayer points for
parents here's just a few of the ones
that I found in a very quick search on
the internet on this topic number one
pray that the eyes of your child will be
open that God will take the blinders off
their eyes and that they will see the
truth for what it is number two pray
that God would send them healthy
Christian friendships people that are
living right and walking marvelously
before the Lord that will boldly point
them to God number three pray for a
heart of brokenness in your child no
matter what the cost
number four pray with increasing faith
and hope and not fear walking in fear is
not going to help the situation at all
it'll negate all your other prayers
number five if your child has been given
prophetic words about their future in
their growing up years do what Paul the
Apostle said to Timothy, make
war over those prophecies that have been
given to you declare God you said this
and that about my son or daughter and
I'm standing on
promise it's not like this is taking God
by surprise you know he knew this was
going to happen to your child and I
believe he gives you those prophecies
and those promises early in their lives
to keep you holding on in faith in the
hard times
number six find relevant scriptures for
your situation and continually pray
those over your children standing on the
promises of God number seven
pray for your child to hear God's voice
and have significant encounters with
them that they cannot dismiss or deny
number eight pray for wisdom for you and
your spouse to know when to speak and
when to be silent number nine praise God
for what you don't see yet and just
trust them for the results now finally
consider how are you going to treat them
how are you going to interact with him
and your family and in your home when
they believe differently than you in a
way that you disapprove of well first of
all yes certainly don't want to preach
to them all the time and keep bringing
it up you're gonna love on them because
love never fails speak words of
encouragement and affirmation to them as
a person regardless of their beliefs
don't get confused thinking if you're
kind to them that somehow that means
that you approve of what they do and
what they believe in secondly when the
opportunity arises have an open dialogue
about what they believe without getting
angry and argumentative or defensive
just talk it through find out what they
believe in what led them to this
decision number three don't shun isolate
them from the family give them a cold
shoulder or make them feel guilty or
less than a valuable person regardless
of what they believe always be
supportive of them as a person be the
best example of a loving parent and a
kind loving Christian as you can don't
give them any more fodder to point to
Christians and say they're all just
hypocrites five if they aren't married
yet begin praying over the person that
they will marry whether or not they're
dating that's immaterial you actually
should start doing this from the minute
they're born this actually came up a lot
in comments in Facebook that the
children seem to be doing fine and then
the spouse they married turn them away
from God
okay so right now I'd like to encourage
you to listen to my video on called
there's a children's revival coming
because this is going to give you a new
viewpoint and a hope that not all is
lost on this generation God has promised
to move on them and send revival and we
need to be encouraged that in what seems
like our darkest hour in this generation
we can hang on to the prophetic promises
of God this is such a huge subject we
barely have scratched the surface and
done justice in this short video which
which is already longer than it should
be I would really like to know if you've
been helped by anything that I've said
and if you have please let me know by
clicking the like button and commenting
below also please share this video with
other Christian parents will you feel
needed until next time stay encouraged
and never never never quit praying for
your kids
you
