Children Stay in the Faith When Both Parents Teach Them

Word from the Center
Written By Gene Edward Veith

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After reviewing what was said at their Baptisms, LCMS confirmands affirm their intention “to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it” (LSB p. 273). Nevertheless, confirmation is often the last time we see some of these young people in church. When they become adults, some children return, but many do not.

How do we keep young people in the church after they grow up and are on their own? This has become an urgent question, not only for congregations and denominations, but for parents who worry about their children’s spiritual lives.

Some research is confirming what many pastors have long observed: When both parents take their children to church and are active in teaching their children about the Christian faith, their children tend to hold onto that faith when they grow up.

Finnish scholars did a 10-year follow-up study on a set of young people who were confirmed — when they were 14 or 15 years old — in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, to find out what they said about their faith now.

“In roughly half of the young people studied, their faith remained fairly stable from the age of 15 to the age of 25,” reported one of the researchers. “However, one in three became more distant from faith, both according to their own assessment and a longitudinal analysis. One in seven felt they had become closer to God or that their faith had become stronger.”

Parental involvement makes the difference. Click here to learn more from Dr. Gene Veith.

Dr. Gene Edward Veith is the author of over 20 books on different facets of Christianity and culture, including, most recently, Authentic Christianity (CPH), with A. Trevor Sutton. A retired English professor and college administrator, he also directs the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, and blogs regularly at patheos.com/blogs/geneveith.

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