Parents, Five Actions that Help Children Stay Faithful

The 25% of Kids Who Stay

One of the main statistics I share through Stand Firm Parents is that over 70% of children raised in church leave church and often the faith. It’s a stat I first ran across in 2001 from Lifeway Research and one that has remained high. This week I had a guest on my podcast who pointed out that we should focus in on the 25% that stay.

He’s right. Let’s think positively for a bit. So, why did the 25% stay?

I first ran across this week’s podcast guest Josh Denhart of Kidmin Science and Lead Ministry through a graphic of his that had gone viral. The graphic was entitled, “75% of Kids Left the Church from 18-29, Why 25% Stayed Connected with Christ from 18-29”. After that provocative title, he included a list of five actions that contributed to 25% of children raised in church staying.

Those five actions aren’t what you likely think. They are surprisingly simple.

After seeing that graphic, I hunted Josh down and invited him on. The first part of that interview aired this week. It is an incredible episode.

We talked about the simple actions in that list of five.

Drum roll. Are you ready for the five actions?

Five Actions that Help Children Stay Faithful

These five actions were present in the 25% that remained.

1. The children who remained faithful ate dinner five of seven nights a week as a family.
2. The children who remained faithful served with their families in a ministry.
3. The children who remained faithful had one spiritual experience in the home during the week.
4. The children who remained faithful were entrusted with responsibility in ministry at an early age.
5. The children who remained faithful had at least one faith-focused adult in their lives other than their parents.

Jake McCandless

Executive Director of Stand Firm and lead pastor of Epic Church NWA in Springdale, AR and multiple award-winning author, Jake has a B.A. in Bible and Pastoral Studies from Central Baptist College, and an Advanced Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Former regular contributor to the Baptist Press and WND News with popular conservative voices such as Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Ben Carson, Chuck Norris, Greg Laurie, Ben Schapiro, Joel Richardson, and others. He now is a weekly contributor for Israel, Islam, and the End Times and Armageddon News. He has authored books such as the, award-winning Spiritual Prepper from WND Books. Award-winning devotional books, Invincibleand For Uncertain Times, he authored the ground-breaking children’s book, Jesus and His White Horse from CrossLink Publishing. He is also a regular guest on national and international radio and streaming web shows, along with hosting his weekly live streaming program Talking Stand Firm and weekly podcast Stand Firm Parents.