There Are Solid Christian Churches Full of Young Families (Part One)
They Know the Times
What if I told you that there are solid churches in various parts of this country that are teeming with young godly families? The likely reaction would be something like this. “Of course there are! It’s because they do all the sounds and lights. It’s because they don’t preach the hard truth. It’s because you can just show up and leave without being known by anyone. It’s because it’s flashy.” You can imagine the rest of the reasons often given. And, yes, those kinds of churches are out there. You can usually find them downtown by either following Google maps or the sound of the Ted talk coming from the stage.
However, the churches I’m referring to are quite the opposite. They are quite simplistic in their setup and approach. They often preach the harder truths that even the “hardnose” conservative style churches won’t touch. They are actually very personal with their congregants. And their worship is far from flashy. They often sing hymns and the Psalms. Their music is often driven by congregational singing as opposed to praise band performances. Instead of Sunday morning being filled with the silence of a stuffy library, the cries of babies and the shifting around of children reverberates off the walls.
What a thought! Solid, biblical churches full of young families without having to cave to the kind of syncretism that the popular mega-churches are often guilty of. I know, it sounds like I’m telling you unicorns exist. But I promise, these churches are out there, and they have something to teach us if we really want to solve the problem of the missing generations. Let’s dive into some observations on what they are doing right. Ine this first post, we will consider observation #1.
Observation #1: They Know the Times
“Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do…” (1 Chronicles 12:32a, NASB)
There have been a few different shakings that have happened in society in recent years. Notable among those are the rapid advance of secularism, the Marxist agenda, and the Covid pandemic. Not to mention the corruption being exposed from basically every corner of our society at breakneck speeds. These things have come so quickly and consecutively upon us that no one is able to evaluate what is happening before the next thing happens. I believe the people most affected by these things are the younger generations (Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z). While many in the older generation sit in their Bible studies celebrating the fact that they won’t have to put up with this stuff much longer, the younger generation is left to dread the dark ages approaching over the horizon.
We are watching as all the assurances our parents gave us about life as Christians in America turn out to be no assurance at all.
As we see this brooding social despair overtaking our futures, we are met with brisk wags of the finger from our elders because, obviously, it’s all our fault. But we see it differently. We see that the former generations watched as the match was lit and the building started to burn. However, they decided to simply continue watching and doing nothing about it. After doing so, they handed down the embers and blamed us for the wreckage. Because, after all, it is currently in our hands, not theirs.
Parents of young families today find themselves with incredibly heightened anxiety; the kind that their own parents could only imagine in their nightmares. More than ever, they need somewhere to turn. They are seeking a community of likeminded people. They’re seeking out the kind of brothers and sisters that will have their backs if things hit the fan. If everything really does collapse in our society like it seems to be, they need to know they have people in the trenches with them. This is a major reason why the younger conservative generation is drawn to people like Tucker Carlson, Matt Walsh, and Jordan Peterson. They are talking openly about the issues they face.
When we hear that a generation of people are needing somewhere to turn, our knee jerk reaction is to cry out, “That’s what the Church is for!” Of course, we are right. But the problem is that so many churches have proven themselves not to be a place to turn. Young men and women have consistently heard the leaders of churches and ministries talk negatively about bringing up politics. They have been reprimanded anytime they mention anything that could be deemed “political” or “conspiracy.” The excuse often given is that those kinds of conversations can turn people away from the gospel.
Young people are not naive. They have developed the art of seeing through the smoke and mirrors.
They know that most (not all) pastors who use that excuse are simply avoiding conflict. They won’t stay for that. That pastor and, by extension, his church will not have their backs when the world goes upside down. If you want examples of this, think back on the Covid years and how so many church leaders quickly silenced any conversation that included dissent to the status quo. Now try to remember if the reaction was the same when people were discussing Covid in agreement with the status quo.
I’ll cut to the chase. Among biblical, solid churches (remember, not mega churches) that are somehow full of young families (and growing!), I’ve noticed a trend. Their leaders are boldly and openly dealing with the issues of the day. Even better, they are applying Scripture and theology to all of it. They are not ashamed to “get political.” Quite the opposite. They are helping their members develop a biblical worldview to navigate politics and public life. They are demonstrating that the Bible is sufficient to address what is happening. And they are doing what they can to guard their people from invasive laws and unbiblical overreaches from the powers that be.
The second a leader boldly addresses a polarizing issue, with no apology, standing on the authority of Scripture, the young man listening suspects, “Here is a man that will be in the trenches with me.” As soon as he sits in a gathering where likeminded Christians are openly discussing these things and praying over them, he determines, “This is a community that will have my back when the trial comes.”
Young men and women are full of dread and confusion. They see all the corruption and it is clear to them how it affects them and their families. They see the illegal immigrants bringing waves of crime throughout their towns. They see their children faced with gender ideologies everywhere they turn. They see the state threatening to take them away if they won’t let them get gender-affirming surgeries. They see how close we are to the iron fist of communism and/or the impoverished depths of socialism. They see how close their children are to dying on foreign soil at the whims of corrupt politicians. They fought and struggled - they were demonized and cast out - because they didn’t want to inject unknown substances into their children’s bodies. The list could go on. Then, when many of them tried to talk about these very real monsters they’ve been facing, their churches told them, “We don’t talk about that here.”
The churches that are talking about those issues and helping their people walk through them are attracting young people left and right. These families want the unfiltered truth and they are flocking to the churches that offer it.
Are you a church leader struggling with getting young families in your church? Know they are out there, and they are looking for leaders who will candidly and openly address the demons encroaching all around them. When you stop “staying out of politics” and start using Scripture to guide your church through it, you might be surprised by the amount of young people that come flocking.
Stay tuned for observation #2.