If we are going to see kids follow Jesus for a lifetime, we must help them become growing, passionate and intentional disciples. According to Barna, here are the current commitment levels among the generations.
Boomers (Ages 58 to 76)
- 53% not involved in any type of discipleship
- 28% are being discipled
- 5% only discipling others
- 14% in discipleship community
Gen X (Ages 42-57)
- 41% not involved in any type of discipleship
- 27% are being discipled
- 5% only discipling others
- 27% in discipleship community
Millennials (Ages 25-41)
- 23% not involved in any type of discipleship
- 27% are being discipled
- 6% only discipling others
- 44% in discipleship community
Gen Z (Ages 9-24)
- 39% not involved in any type of discipleship
- 3% are being discipled
- 6% only discipling others
- 44% in discipleship community
Without being intentionally discipled, today’s kids will grow up and will not know how to defend their faith much less know the key doctrines that the Bible rests upon.
Did you know that 24% of Gen Z says our teaching is too shallow?
They want to be discipled.
They want to know why they believe what they believe.
It’s time we move beyond the fluff and engage kids in learning how to defend their faith.
If we are going to effectively disciple kids, then we must…
Have disciple makers ready. Discipleship happens through relationships. If you are going to make discipleship a top priority in your ministry, then you have to have volunteers ready to invest in and pour into the children. You can’t disciple kids when you are in a room with 30 kids and 2 volunteers. It will turn into crowd control. Work hard to build your volunteer team so you can have a discipler ready for every group of 6-8 kids.
Teach Bible apologetics. A big part of discipleship is helping kids know why they believe what they believe. I have an apologetics series that can help you prepare kids to defend their faith. It is being used by hundreds of churches and is available for you at this link. I also have another apologetics series that will be released within the next month.
