Faith Family Reunion/Hand Out Materials
Testimony Links
· Link to David Kinnaman, “You Lost Me” Youtube Video
*used with permission
http://youtu.be/eD1iWqPERNw
· Link to Paula Isakson Testimony: http://www.spreecast.com/events/faith-family-reunion-1
Why Kids Leave: Some Common Answers From Faith Family Reunion
· Did not understand what was going on, church did not makes sense
· Church seemed like a lot of singing, standing up, sitting down
· Everyone that attends church is a hypocrite
· I have done so many bad things in my life, how can God even love me?
· The sermons do not make sense, they are just full of judgment.
· I always feel guilt when I go to church, so I quit going.
· I do not connect with the pastor or the people in the church, they are just not friendly people.
· I just quit going and slept in on Sundays, I fell out of the habit.
· Church seems like a place to socialize, I can meet with my friends and socialize so why do I need church?
· Going to church cuts into my free time, I have to do and weekends are my time to catch up.
· Going to church is for older people
· I am afraid I will make a mistake in my talking about the Bible or may not understand it correctly
Group Questions (Questions for small group breakout and discussion)
· Question: Are you a parent whose children have left the church? If not do you know of parents whose kids have left the church?
· Question: Why is the subject of our kids leaving the church such a hard subject to speak about?
· Question: What are some of the feelings you experience? What are some of the common feelings that parents experience?
· Question: Do you really know why your kids left the church? If not why haven’t you asked them?
Full Article by Jon Nielson from Conversant Life,
“3 Common Traits of Youth Who Don’t Leave the Church”:
· Link: http://bit.ly/wOZEbY
· Used with permission
What do we do about our kids?” The group of parents sat together in my office, wiping their eyes. I’m a high school pastor, but for once, they weren’t talking about 16-year-olds drinking and partying. Each had a story to tell about a “good Christian” child, raised in their home and in our church, who had walked away from the faith during the college years. These children had come through our church’s youth program, gone on short-term mission trips, and served in several different ministries during their teenage years. Now they didn’t want anything to do with it anymore. And, somehow, these mothers’ ideas for our church to send college students “care packages” during their freshman year to help them feel connected to the church didn’t strike me as a solution with quite enough depth.
The daunting statistics about churchgoing youth keep rolling in. Panic ensues. What are we doing wrong in our churches? In our youth ministries?
It’s hard to sort through the various reports and find the real story. And there is no one easy solution for bringing all of those “lost” kids back into the church, other than continuing to pray for them and speaking the gospel into their lives. However, we can all look at the 20-somethings in our churches who are engaged and involved in ministry. What is it that sets apart the kids who stay in the church? Here are just a few observations I have made about such kids, with a few applications for those of us serving in youth ministry.
1. They are converted.
The Apostle Paul, interestingly enough, doesn’t use phrases like “nominal Christian” or “pretty good kid.” The Bible doesn’t seem to mess around with platitudes like: “Yeah, it’s a shame he did that, but he’s got a good heart.” When we listen to the witness of Scripture, particularly on the topic of conversion, we find that there is very little wiggle room. Listen to these words: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17) We youth pastors need to get back to understanding salvation as what it really is: a miracle that comes from the glorious power of God through the working of the Holy Spirit.
We need to stop talking about “good kids.” We need to stop being pleased with attendance at youth group and fun retreats. We need to start getting on our knees and praying that the Holy Spirit will do miraculous saving work in the hearts of our students as the Word of God speaks to them. In short, we need to get back to a focus on conversion. How many of us are preaching to “unconverted evangelicals”? Youth pastors, we need to preach, teach, and talk—all the while praying fervently for the miraculous work of regeneration to occur in the hearts and souls of our students by the power of the Holy Spirit! When that happens—when the “old goes” and the “new comes”—it will not be iffy. We will not be dealing with a group of “nominal Christians.” We will be ready to teach, disciple, and equip a generation of future church leaders—“new creations”!—who are hungry to know and speak God’s Word. It is converted students who go on to love Jesus and serve the church.
2. They have been equipped, not entertained.
Recently, we had “man day” with some of the guys in our youth group. We began with an hour of basketball at the local park, moved to an intense game of 16” (“Chicago Style”) softball, and finished the afternoon by gorging ourselves on meaty pizzas and 2-liters of soda. I am not against fun (or gross, depending on your opinion of the afternoon I just described) things in youth ministry. But youth pastors especially need to keep repeating the words of Ephesians 4:11-12 to themselves: “[Christ] gave...the teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Christ gives us—teachers—to the church, not for entertainment, encouragement, examples, or even friendship primarily. He gives us to the church to “equip” the saints to do gospel ministry in order that the church of Christ may be built up.
If I have not equipped the students in my ministry to share the gospel, disciple a younger believer, and lead a Bible study, then I have not fulfilled my calling to them, no matter how good my sermons have been. We pray for conversion; that is all we can do, for it is entirely a gracious gift of God. But after conversion, it is our Christ-given duty to help fan into flame a faith that serves, leads, teaches, and grows. If our students leave high school without Bible-reading habits, Bible-study skills, and strong examples of discipleship and prayer, we have lost them. We have entertained, not equipped them...and it may indeed be time to panic!
Forget your youth programs for a second. Are we sending out from our ministries the kind of students who will show up to college in a different state, join a church, and begin doing the work of gospel ministry there without ever being asked? Are we equipping them to that end, or are we merely giving them a good time while they’re with us? We don't need youth group junkies; we need to be growing churchmen and churchwomen who are equipped to teach, lead, and serve. Put your youth ministry strategies aside as you look at that 16-year-old young man and ask: “How can I spend four years with this kid, helping him become the best church deacon and sixth-grade Sunday school class teacher he can be, ten years down the road?”
Ten Reasons to Return to the Lutheran Church (LCMS) from www.faithfamilyreunion.com
1. Learn about Love (of the Heavenly Father)
· Discover that the Lord loves the world, including you, so much that he gave his only Son. His Son was born on earth and he walked the earth for 33 years sharing the love that the LORD had for his people. He then died for us (for our sins) so that our relationship might be restored with him.
· Hear the good news that the Lord’s love in Jesus Christ is unconditional. We are loved so much by the LORD. He loves you not only when you obey him but also when you fail. His love remains steadfast.
2. Get a free Gift:
· Discover the implication (significance) of Jesus dying on the cross for you. Jesus died for us all. His death is a free gift, whether we believe it or not. When we believe this, we experience freedom, peace and rest. What a great alternative to a hectic and stressed out life on our own.
· Find out that Jesus’ death on the cross for you (for your sins) is a free gift, not something you have to earn. No payment is required; there is no catch.
· Good works or deeds are not needed to pay for the forgiveness of your sins.
· This free gift is not given just to certain good people but to all.
· Through the Scripture the Lord offers this gift to everyone. When we read his Word, we receive this free gift spoken of in Scripture. When we participate in communion, we receive confirmation of this wonderful gift that the Lord has given to us through body and blood offered under bread and wine.
3. Learn the true meaning of the Law:
· When you are loved, you find out that you desire to love that person back and do what pleases them, this is natural. When you learn and understand the great love that the Lord has for you, you will find that you desire to do what he asks of you.
· When someone loves you back, they want to do all that they can to protect you and keep you safe. As you respond to the Lord’s love, you find that the Law, that seemed to be a bunch of “do’s and dont’s”, was actually created to keep you safe and secure in his love.
4. Hang out with a bunch of Hypocrites:
· Confirm what you already thought about people in church, that they all are a bunch of hypocrites. Learn that this is “why” they are in church in the first place because we all are hypocrites (those who attend church and those who do not).
· Realize that “perfect” people do not attend church, why would they need it? Instead hypocrites attend church because they realize their imperfection and their need of a loving God.
· It is easy to judge people from the outside looking in, but when you are in the fellowship of other hypocrites and actually talk to them, you will find that they are a lot like you.
5. Discover how the Lord speaks to you:
· Did you know that when you read the Bible, that the Lord is speaking to you? You may find that words or passages just seem to jump off the page at you. Here is a great example when Jesus prayed for his disciples and also prayed for future believers. When you read this prayer you will get the feeling that Jesus is speaking to you, read it here.
· Sometimes when the pastor preaches a sermon in church, the subject matter seems to hit the nail on the head with an issue you are dealing with.
· Perhaps a particular hymn that the congregation sings during the service has a special meaning and brings you comfort with the wording or the melody.
· How about that still small voice, have you heard it before? Have you noticed that when you listen to that loving still small voice and follow through that you are often comforted and encouraged? And that things seem to go the right way?
6. Find your own connection with the Lord, not your parents:
· Learn that “you” can communicate with the Lord, try it, just begin with a simple ‘Dear Lord’.
· The Lord is not just there for your parents, but he is there for you, for each of us. He is determined (he never gives up on us) to have a personal relationship with each of us. It is hard to have a relationship with him when you look at him as your parents God. Try to see him as your Savior and Lord. When your relationship becomes personal you will see a change.
· Realize that there is not only one way to communicate with the Lord; you can talk to him as a friend asking questions or pray a formal prayer like the Lord’s prayer.
· The more you ‘talk’ to him, the more you will want to ‘talk’ to him. He is there for you.
7. Discover That You Are Unique and Special to the LORD:
· Have you ever wondered why you are the way you are? Do you question what your purpose in life is?
· When God created human beings, he created them in his image. He created male and female. He did not speak people into existence but created them.
· When we are formed in the womb, we take on unique and special characteristics from each of our parents that creates a one of a kind person, an individual.
· As we grow from a baby to an adult, we discover that we each have a unique personality and special gifts like no one else. Some of us are speakers, others writers, some good with numbers, others musicians, some are artists, others teachers.
· Each of us has been endowed with special gifts and talents that make us unique. As we grow in love for the LORD, we begin to realize that these gifts can be used to honor him in our daily life, our community and our church.
8. Learn How to Live Beyond Ourselves:
· When we realize the great love that Jesus has for us, our heart softens and creates a desire to help others. We begin to move from a ‘selfish’ existence to one that looks at other people and their needs.
· We begin to see the world through HIS (Jesus) eyes and not our own.
· We begin to serve others with our gifts and talents right around us and in the world.