I stumbled across a funny, but interesting video on YouTube of a 7-year old boy who stole his father’s car in order to escape going to church. The news reporter stated that the boy took his father’s keys from the house, stole the car, and went on a joy ride. Funny, but sad.
My question is this…
Why do kids hate going to church?
Obviously, this kid was so turned off from church that he did what I’m sure thousands of kids wish they had the guts to do every Sunday… run away. But why? I’ve heard the old folks joke about how they were “dragged” to church, but is that really the way God intended? I wonder what was the turnoff for this 7-year old kid to go to such extreme measures to escape going to church.
I think this video possesses a deeper conversation that should be going on in a lot of churches and youth ministries.
What are we doing with the children that are walking through the doors of our churches on Sunday morning? Are we REALLY engaging them? Are we REALLY creating an environment where Christ, God and the Bible are made relevant? Are we really connecting the dots in their lives? Or are we throwing them off to Sunday school or in a room with toys until service starts? Honestly, what are we doing?
I ask these questions because I’ve visited several churches myself and I see how irrelevant and BORING they are in their failed attempts to really capture the hearts and minds of youth. This bothers me. I think we’ve settled in our excuses and our blames that we put on the youth and their parents, but are we as church leaders, youth pastors, and volunteers REALLY doing our part in challenging our traditions and views of how we DO church… especially with youth?
I would love to hear your thoughts.
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Marchan Wallace August 20, 2009
Man That Video was too funny… he drove really well for a 7 year old..