Why the massive youth exodus from the church?

There was a time when parents and their children would head to church together on Sunday morning. No anymore. Young people are increasingly opting out of this ‘family outing’, whether they are living with their parents or on their own. SYLVIA WAKHISI sought to find out why.

“It has been a while since I stepped in a church, not because I don’t like going to church, but because I have not yet found one that suits my needs. I prefer staying at home on Sundays and watching the many church services aired live on TV,” says 25-year-old Sophia.

Just like Sophia, Francis, 22, a student at a local university, is not a churchgoer.

“I stopped going to church after high school; I find it boring. I feel I get more out of religious discussions with my friends than I do out of church,” he says.

Sophia and Francis are not alone. They represent many young Kenyans who have stopped going to church, citing various reasons.

According to some sources, the percentage of Kenyans who are Christians is estimated to be as high as 85 per cent. But the church is gradually losing its popularity.

Unlike in the past, many teenagers and youth in their 20s and 30s are not following in their parents’ church-going footsteps. Their religion is expressed differently from that of the older generation, from watching church services on TV and online, to listening (and dancing!) to gospel music whose beats and gyrations make church elders cringe.

The reasons for dropping out of church seem to be highly interrelated. The young people who choose to disconnect perceive the church as irrelevant because they sense they are unaccepted and feel that their needs are neglected. Many say the church does not cater for them through relevant programmes.

For some, the inconvenience of waking up early on their respective Sabbath days is another indicator that the church is oblivious to the reality of their lives. As 28-year-old Joan poses: “How can I wake up for an 8.30am Sunday service after working long hours throughout the week, attending evening classes almost daily, and juggling office and classroom assignments?”

This, combined with various personal issues and disappointment with perceived intolerance, hypocrisy and condemnation have estranged young people from the church.

“I need to find a church where I feel at home. Somewhere where I will go and not feel condemned,” says Sophia.

She further points out that the church is no longer what it used to be.

“It has become a business of some sort, where instead of saving souls and leading the flock, some church leaders and pastors are only out to make money.”

But it is not all the church’s fault. Father Patrick Kanja Wachira, a Catholic chaplain at the University of Nairobi, points out that the quest for materialism and pleasure as a measure of one’s identity and status is driving young people out of the church.

“The modern trend is for young people to look for easy ways of making a living. Their mission to avoid hard work means they don’t mind breaking rules, including religious rules, which also means they avoid the church and its expectations. However, when many people are older, they realise that such things do not equate to happiness,” says Wachira.

“The African and Christian culture and religion expect young people to act in a particular manner. However, the desire for social pleasure pushes them out of the church since they don’t want to be restricted to living a disciplined and morally upright life as taught in the word of God.”

Stumbling block

The priest says religion should not be viewed as a stumbling block to living a good life.

“Young people are our future in the church and as a nation, so we cannot afford to ignore them. They need to be taught the grave dangers of living against religious standards and what the Bible says. They need to attend faith-based institutions that can nurture their spiritual growth.”

Reverend Canon Samuel Mawiyoo, a Protestant chaplain at the University of Nairobi, is of the opinion that young people drop out of church during the transition from Sunday School to the main church, which is composed of all classes and ages of people, and where the biblical message is shared through monologue — a preacher giving a sermon.

“The worshiping style in the children’s Sunday school is different from that of the adults’ church service. Most churches have specific classes for various age brackets, whereby the method of teaching is modelled on the group’s interests, and includes skits, illustrations, and songs,” says Mawiyoo.

To slow down the youth ‘dropout’ rate, there is a need for churches to not only get young people involved in the life and activities of the congregation, but also to present acceptable living standards in ways that will make the youth see them as worth supporting and emulating.

“I see discontent and boredom among those in our age group and wish that we could find the satisfaction we desire. But it’s very difficult to want to be involved in the church when our ideas and opinions are considered to be too radical and unimportant,” says Leah Njoki, an IT student at a local university.

“Everyone tells us that we are the church of tomorrow, but if they do not recognise us and allow us to apply our youthful energy and new ideas, there will be no church of tomorrow. Time moves forward and not backward, just like science and technology.”

Technology

Mawiyoo says that technology is one of the dynamics that is significantly affecting the church today, both in positive and negative ways.

“While a number of churches are conservative in their doctrines, thus locking out young people who are yearning for discovery and new ways of doing things, some are changing their worship styles to suit the needs of the youth,” says Captain Samuel Kang’ara of the Salvation Army.

Some churches and ministries, such as Citam (Christ is the Answer Ministries), Mavuno Church, House of Grace and Jubilee Christian Church, have packaged the gospel and church activities in a manner that attracts the young people.

“We know our flock is digital. They use iPads, smartphones, projectors, state-of-the-art TV sets and monitors and present their ideas in Powerpoint. We will not be communicating when we preach using obsolete technology. The gospel is true and unchanging, but how it is packaged and preached varies,” Citam’s Bishop David Oginde is quoted as saying.

But what is attractive to the youth is not always attractive to the rest of the community, as witnessed during the furore over the Mavuno church poster targeting teenagers.

Meaning

The trend of young people leaving the church has not only affected Kenya; other countries across the globe are also grappling with this problem.

This is evident from a study carried out by Dr Roger Dudley, director of the Institute of Church Ministry and professor emeritus of the Christian ministry at Andrews University in the US.

The report titled Why Our Teenagers Leave the Church: Personal Stories From a 10-Year Study reveals that 40 to 50 per cent of young people who join the church in their mid-teens drop out by the time they are halfway through their 20s.

It further points out that young people are seeking sincerity, genuineness and an intelligent meaning of their lives; meaning that makes a practical difference in their day-to-day affairs.

“Young people are desperately seeking love, acceptance, and spiritual depth, yet many are disappointed with the spiritual resources they have been offered,” the report says.

The majority of respondents who had left the church said they felt it did not make a difference in their lives. They perceived the church as clueless to their generation’s needs. Many felt their church was irrelevant to their social needs; they felt ‘cut off,’ ‘lonely,’ and ‘estranged’ because of lack of peers.

According to Dudley, the youth of today want the church to be their ‘friend’. They seek relevance in the heart realm of warmth and acceptance. They crave a church that takes a personal interest in them and their wellbeing.

While his research focused on Adventist youth, his findings will be helpful to other denominations as well.

“Young adults don’t seem to be looking for an individualistic worship experience, but one of genuine, involved fellowship. The dropouts are shouting that they want a church that makes a demonstrated impact in the world — a church whose focus is not on judging or condemning them but rather on service, healing, and redemption,” he advises.