Today you will get a pop quiz. Don't worry, no matter what grade you get, it doesn't go on any kind of permanent record, and if you don't have the correct answer, that's ok. We are all learning, as I would tell students when I taught classes.
Question: Who is responsible for youth growing in their faith and getting to church?
A. There's a magical fairy that waves a magic wand and under the spell they go to church and read their Bible.
B. The pastor, DCE, Deaconess, Family Life person, and/or volunteer youth leaders.
C. The parents.
D. The youth should figure it out themselves
Ok. Do you have your answer? Let's break it down.
Of course A. was a silly thing I put in. No one answered A.
How about B? Well, the pastor, DCE, Deaconess, Family Life person, and/or volunteer youth leaders can talk to the youth and offer certain programs, but they still don't have the ultimate responsibility. Do they have a small piece of responsibility? Yes, but it is a VERY small piece.
What about D? This rarely happens. Praise God for when it does, but when all is said and done it happens so rarely, that it's too big of a risk to take to just go with that.
So, that leaves us with C. The Parents are the responsible ones. If the parents aren't taking the youth to church or encouraging them to read their Bible or doing devotions as a family, it's an extreme likelihood that it won't happen.
Deuteronomy 6 tells the parents to teach the children the faith. "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) Notice it isn't telling the priests (the Old Testament equivalent to our pastors). It's telling the PARENTS. Did the priests have responsibility? Yes. Did those responsibilities have an effect on the children? Yes. But if the parents didn't do their duty, it could only do so much. He tells us to meet together (go to church) "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:25) He tells us that the promise is for us and our children. "For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”" (Acts 2:39) So, if parents are to teach their kids the faith and not neglect church, and the promises of the gospel are not just for adults, but for children, then who is responsible for youth church attendance? Parents.
I worked at a church that had five youth in the middle school/high school age. They were in church pretty much EVERY week. The only time they weren't there was if the family was out of town or if they were very ill. Why? It wasn't because the pastor or I (I was the deaconess and was responsible for/helped out with a lot of the stuff for the under 18 crowd) went to their house and talked to them about the importance of church or offered them over the top youth stuff (we had some stuff, but it wasn't over the top). Those youth were in church every week, because their parents got them out of bed on Sunday and told them to get in the car. Faith and church and knowing about God is important. We are going and so are you.
Why was I in church every week besides travel or illness? Not because my pastor came over and encouraged me to go, but because my parents got me out of bed and got me in the car to get to church. My parents instilled the importance of church in me. Sure, the pastor said things in sermons or confirmation class that reinforced it, but it was still what my parents did and said that truly got me there and kept me there.
So, when you don't see the youth, don't gang up on the pastor or other church workers. It's not their fault. If they are delivering the Word and Sacraments to you, and offering programs that you hired them to offer, they are doing their job. Go, gently talk to the parents, and encourage them to go to church and to bring their youth.
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