Today’s young people aren’t simply taking faith for granted. Many are looking for an opportunity to apply what they’ve heard about Christ, and see if what they’ve been taught truly can change their lives. For some churches, this can be frightening, because older teens, 20 year olds, and 30 year olds are asking the hard questions, leaving pastors going back to the Word for concrete answers.

Pastors need to be on their A-game to answer these questions, too. Young people who are left dissatisfied with what their Christian leaders have to offer are ready to walk away from their home church, or worse, Christianity altogether. A recent report covered by The Christian Post, 35 million young people raised in Christian families are expected to walk away from Christianity by the year 2050. The study also found that Christians will only take up 59 percent of the US population by 2050, as opposed to today’s 73 percent.

While these numbers are staggering, there are choices that pastors and their church teams can make to address these young people in their home churches. As each youth group/young people’s group has different dynamics, it’s important for pastors to carefully and prayerfully address their church’s needs before taking action.

Four Ways To Keep Your Young People Discipled

Develop a School of Discipleship

Gone are the days when high school and college aged kids were excited to play games and eat pizza at group. They’re looking for something more authentic and real, which they can turn around and take to school and work. For some, this might mean developing a school of discipleship, or pairing up with a Bible College that offers discipleship courses for young people to take a part of. If the youth group transforms into a place where young women and men can grow, they will happily show you what they can do with their new knowledge.

Discipleship courses don’t have to be anything high tech — if church staff is unable to teach, there are several teachers from Christian Bible Colleges that can proctor the classes through their college.

Staff a Generations Pastor

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you transform your pastoral team with a millennial. It does mean that you have someone who understands millennials, their culture, and their drive, though. This individual needs to be able to help high schoolers transition to college, and college students into the workforce without their faith being shaken. Small group leaders and teachers can take on this role, if given the opportunity. They just need to be allowed to do so.

Empower Young People to Change Their Culture

Greg Stier, who founded the national youth ministry organization Dare 2 Share, said churches need to be “fully onboard” when it comes to mobilizing and equipping youth to become missionaries on their campuses in order to reach their peers with the Gospel.

“Youth ministry needs to be re-engineered to be Gospel-advancing and disciple-multiplying,” said Stier in the Christian Post article. “It is not about meetings but about the mission. Young people are longing for a cause that matters. So they need to be equipped and youth leaders need to be equipped to equip them.”

With proper training, a high school or college student can bring in souls to their church. To have the right tools, though, they need training.

See This as an Opportunity for Revival

This information is not meant to be disheartening. For some pastors, this is an opportunity to see a great revival in their churches, but only if they’re willing to accept that youth ministry and young adult ministry need to be revamped. It can be that empowering these young people be the leading influence needed to transform their churches.

“Revival is something God brings about but it can change paths pretty quickly. The first Great Awakening happened when America was a pretty dark place before we were the United States,” said Stier. “Jonathan Edwards, his revival, had been chiefly among the young. So it was a student youth movement that prepared us to become the United States. What if it was a student youth movement that would bring us back to our roots and unite this nation and transform it from the inside out?”