More than two thirds of church-going young adults in the US drop out between the ages of 18 and 22, according to Thom and Sam Rainer in their book Essential Church?: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts. In the course of extensive research amongst young church drop-outs numerous reasons for leaving church were given, but the common theme was that these young people just did not feel that church was an essential part of their lives.
The book discusses the results of the research in some detail, and then attempts to offer a four-step prescription to help churches “close the back door” to stop young people leaving. The first step is to simplify the church’s structure by making it very clear what the church stands for and how people are invited to participate. The second step is to deepen the church’s impact by providing solid biblical teaching. The third step is to have high expectations of people, and the fourth step is to multiply by placing emphasis on evangelism.
I have read too many of George Barna’s books to place too much faith in the book-based-on-a-survey genre, but this book is one of the better ones of the genre. The problem outlined in the first part of the book is based on solid evidence, whereas the prescriptive solution is based on the author’s observations and opinions rather than solid evidence, but nonetheless in my opinion the prescription is appropriate. The problem addressed is a critical one, so I recommend this book to church leaders.