You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church . . . and Rethinking Faith

by David Kinnaman, Aly Hawkins

Overview

Is the Church Losing the Next Generation?

More than half of all Christian teens and twentysomethings leave active involvement in church. Based on research conducted by the Barna Group, You Lost Me exposes ways the Christian community has failed to equip young adults to live "in but not of" the world—to follow Christ in the midst of profound cultural change. This wide-ranging study debunks persistent myths about young dropouts and examines the likely consequences for young adults and for the church if we maintain the status quo.

The faith journeys of the next generation are a challenge to the established church, but they can also be a source of hope for the community of faith. Kinnaman, with the help of contributors from across the Christian spectrum, offers ideas for pastors, youth leaders, parents, and educators to pass on a vibrant, lasting faith, and ideas for young adults to find themselves in wholehearted pursuit of Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801015892
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/21/2016
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	634,831
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

David Kinnaman is coauthor of unChristian, You Lost Me, and Good Faith. He is president of Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses ranging from film studios to financial services. Since 1995, David has directed interviews with more than one million individuals and overseen hundreds of U.S. and global research studies. He and his wife live in California with their three children.

Aly Hawkins and her husband, Bryan Ashmore, live, write, and make music in Southern California. Aly is the author of Shine: Beautiful Inside and Out, as well as numerous articles. Married for five years, Aly and Bryan are passionate about living at the intersection of faith, art, and culture.

Table of Contents

You Lost Me, Explained 9

Part 1 Dropouts

1 Faith, Interrupted 19

2 Access, Alienation, Authority 37

3 Nomads and Prodigals 59

4 Exiles 73

Part 2 Disconnections

Disconnection, Explained 91

5 Overprotective 95

6 Shallow 113

7 Anti-science 131

8 Repressive 149

9 Exclusive 169

10 Doubtless 185

Part 3 Reconnections

11 What's Old Is New 201

12 Fifty Ideas to Find a Generation 213

Acknowledgments 243

The Research 245

Notes 251

Index of Contributors 254