Lie #3 Teens are Less Committed to Church

In a recent Gallup Youth survey 68% of teens said that "I attend church because I decided myself I wanted to go." That is an amazing fact! It is incredible to me to see that teens across this country want to go to church. Overall church attendance has stagnated but church attendance by teens is up. Generation Xers have witnessed many broken commitments(especially family commitments.) It is no wonder that many are cautious and afraid to make commitments. Even with their attendance being up, their commitments are often "lukewarm." This should be applauded. Yes, applauded because in a world where a promise is nearly meaningless for them to commit, even a little bit, is a big step.
Most of the teens here at Falls Church have not had a family breakup, but they have seen the affects on their friends. They know the pain their friends must deal with as they try to make sense out of what happens in their lives. Our teens struggle with commitment as well. On the sign up sheets for church activities, among the “yeses” for participation there are often as many “maybes.” In the short time I have been here, I have observed that the teens are fairly committed to church but are more committed to their friends at church. This is a good sign, because the church is made up of people.