I recently wrote an article on why young Christians are leaving the church. I felt it was an important topic as we seek to understand why young Christians are leaving the church in large numbers.

Recently, I was interacting with a very, well known pastor and he claimed that the alarming statistics surrounding this mass exodus was just ‘fake news.’ He then went on to claim that 99% of articles on this issue are written by people who are disconnected from youth.

I, respectfully disagree.

Perhaps, like this pastor you are confused or unsure about the studies done on this topic. Studies tell us that 60-75% of our youth will walk away from the church in college. That means that roughly 3 out of 4 Christians that start college as Christians will walk away from the faith. I wanted to post the evidence along with who these people are that are writing such articles.

1.) J. Warner Wallace
A cold case detective and teacher (to Christian youth). He spent his first 35 years as an atheist before becoming a Christian. Jim has worked for many years as a youth pastor and saw the need for deeper studies in church youth programs. He has authored books such as Cold Case Christianity, God’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith. Additionally, he has co-authored a kid’s version for each of his books.

Jim writes at coldcasechristianity.com

Articles:
Young Christians Are Leaving the Church—Here’s Why
The Reason Young Christians Are Leaving the Church
Are Young People Really Leaving Christianity?

2. Stand to Reason
STR.org is a solid resource for learning about our faith and how to defend it. Many of their writers/speakers have experience with our young Christians and like Jim Wallace support Summit Ministries (a youth camp that focuses on equipping our youth with the truth). They also are active with other youth across the nation.

Articles:
How Many Youth Are Leaving the Church?
Who’s Waiting for Your Kids?

3. Frank Turek
Frank runs CrossExamined.org and regularly speaks at college campus’ many of them liberal universities. He has also authored many books such as I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be An Atheist, Stealing From God, Legislating Morality, and Correct, Not Politically Correct. 

Frank is constantly around our youth, many times talking to them about their doubts or objections to Christianity.

Articles:
Why 99 Out of 10 Millennials Leave The Church
Youth Exodus Problem
Church Dropouts: Overcoming the Youth Exodus

4. Sean McDowell
Sean is a teacher that works with youth on a daily basis. He speaks at conferences and helps yong people think through their ideas. He has a great ability to connect with young adults in a way they understand. He knows how they think and speaks to them in a way they understand.

Sean has written and co-authored several christian books and is passionate about our youth and knowing the truth.

Articles:
Book Review: Growing Young
Students: How Can You Stand Strong for Your Faith in College
Why Do Kids Leave the Church

5. Ratio Christi
Ratio Christi is a college ministry that focuses on defending the christian faith. Their focus is engaging with others who aren’t confident in their faith and talking with skeptics. The organization is aware of how many students walk away from their faith and they are making a conscience effort to change the number of Christians who walk away from the church. They have chapters all over the world that focuses on helping young Christians to think through what they know is true.

Further research includes the following:

Barna Research

Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church
The Challenges and Trends in Youth Ministry

Pew Research Forum:

Why American’s ‘Nones’ Left Religion Behind
Pew Research on Youth Leaving the Church

Other Articles:

Young People Are Indeed Leaving the Church
Millennials Leaving Church In Droves, Study Finds
As Millennials Leave the Church Some Youth Ministers Ponder The ‘Scary Stats”
Why Millennials Are Really Leaving Religion
59% of Millennials Raised in a Church Drop Out