I often refer to the study from Barna which shows Gen Z is turning away from their faith to atheism at double the rate of any previous generation - you will find it at this link and a couple months ago I shared the new Gallup Poll which shows fewer people in the USA now see the Bible as the literal Word of God as only 20% of people believe the Bible is the literal Word of God - you will find it at this link.
Today I want to share yet another study, this time from Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research which shows "adults in the US are moving away from orthodox understandings of God and his Word year after year. More than half of the country (53%) now believes Scripture 'is not literally true', up from 41 percent when the biannual survey began in 2014." You will find the full article at this link.
Clearly we must continue to teach the "whats" - what the Bible says and therefore what we believe, but we also must start teaching the "whys" - why we are able to believe God is real, the Bible is true, God and science DO go together, and God is good. If we do not teach both the "whats" and the "whys" in a way which engages children, we will see these numbers increase as we lose the next generations.
Now, more than ever, it matters for parents/grandparents/the church to focus on teaching the "whats" - what the Bible says and therefore what we believe - and the "whys" - why we are able to believe. When the children only learn the "whats", they may go on to believe all their lives, but as the polls show, more and more of them are not continuing to believe. We must teach the "whys" so they are able to know with confidence why they believe what they believe.
Anchored will equip you and the parents and grandparents in your church so you are able to teach the "whys" - and in doing so, hand down confident faith to the children you love! It only costs $26.00 for an entire year of resources you will be able to use in your church AND parents and grandparents will be able to use at home! Check Anchored out at this link and find sample lessons at this link.
Plan to add it to what you are doing to teach the "whats", so as Josh McDowell says - "Belief is knowing what you believe. Conviction is knowing why you believe it." - the children in your ministry will have a confident conviction!
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