You Can’t Outworld the World

It’s prom and graduation season. Before you know it, school will be out for summer and we must ask ourselves if anything has changed this year? Our children might be smarter as they move on whatever next education level they choose, but are the closer to God?

As ‘church communities’ we spend countless hours planning social activities, classes, special athletic events, even overnight gatherings. We do this all in the name of keeping out kids in church. Is it working?

Too many studies reveal that too many of our children are leaving the Church once they can drive or graduate high school, but you don’t need fancy studies. Look around your local church. Where are the generations of Sunday School graduates? Many have left.

Sure, the Orthodox Church in America is currently experiencing a ‘surge’ in convert activities. Time will tell if that new trend will be long-lasting. One thing is certain. If generations have left already, something must change ‘if only’ to keep the new members from leaving.

Youth ministry in America has learned much from our Protestant friends. Youth groups and sports leagues began to spring up all over the country in the last century. Where are ‘all those’ kids now? Many have left, and I think I know why.

The mistake the Church made, and I’m afraid continues to make, is trying to compete with the world. I learned a long time ago from a priest, now passed, “We can’t do the world better than the world.” We offer Christ, someone the world doesn’t offer. We win with Christ, not the world.

The Church is ‘holy’ which means ‘not worldly’. Be definition, the Church cannot and should not focus on being better at worldly things than the world. Still, good intentioned parents are trying to figure out ‘what night’ their kids are free for Church activities.

Anything and everything trumps the Church. Sports practice and games, dance practice, and even debate clubs are ‘more attractive’ to our youth. Where does that leave the Church? We scrounge around for whatever free time our children have and try to squeeze it all in.

You can’t squeeze God into your children. Another worldly activity will pop up and we will lose that date on the calendar too. Don’t believe me? Just twenty years ago, whoever heard of ‘travel soccer’ making even Sunday attendance impossible?

No amount of sports, lock-ins, or even classes will keep our children united to Christ, except Christ. The only way for our children to receive Christ is to be in Church. If all our youth ministries do not ultimately lead to our children being in Church, they have failed.

Sure, our ‘communities’ might be united, but united in what? Certainly not Christ if we are not in Church receiving Holy Communion. The time has passed when we must change our priorities but today is better than tomorrow.

The Church is the Kingdom of God, in the world but not of the world. It’s time our ‘community’ life reflects that reality. Stop trying to outworld the world. You will lose every time. Start offering Christ to the world. Nobody ‘does Christ’ better than the Church. It’s the only way to win.