Comments on: Too Much Church! 5 Dangers Facing Over-Churched Kids

By: ‘Over-churched’ kids | Faith & Works

‘Over-churched’ kids | Faith & Works — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:08:45 +0000

[...] LifeWay post follows up on an earlier one on his own site, in which he adds that familiar Bible stories lose their power for over-churched kids. They often [...]

By: Evelyn Noweder

Evelyn Noweder — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:32:28 +0000

I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this, but I think one of the things I see is the over-churched, fake-Christian youth being placed into positions of youth leadership. Often, because they are very involved and very enthusiastic, it is seen as a reflection of their spiritual maturity. Sadly, I think that this is not always the case. The other concern I have, is seeing some of our churched children growing up knowing some of the “stories” or “principles” and yet knowing very little of Scripture. In some cases, the basis of their faith seems to be more Christian lyrics than Scripture. I have to say that I am VERY CONCERNED for the state of our churches. Not only the over-churched kids, but the over-churched adults, who also seem to be very involved and excited about “church” and yet so much less excited about getting into Scripture or spending time in the Word. And, where are the Bible teachers? I learned as I saw women who loved to read the Bible. How many such teachers are out there? And how many churches are using these teachers to pass on this skill and love for the Word? It is so much easier to use pre-packaged studies than to dig in to the Word for ourselves.

OK, sorry, you have touched on a sore spot for me. My heart aches for how anemic church has become in so many ways. We seem to have made it so much easier to just show up, for both adults and children. So little is expected.

And, in my own church, I see a push to get involved in outreach, which is GREAT, but our church is still in so many ways immature and there is such a lack of foundation. We need to build up the body, to stop pushing the milk and begin feeding the meat. We need to begin raising expectations and helping believers to reach for those expectations rather than making them comfortable in their pews. We SO NEED to begin training and developing instead of entertaining and giving principles for successful living.

OK, I’ll stop now. I could go on and on, and maybe I am wrong. Maybe I am old-fashioned or not seeing the big picture. But, oh, my heart aches for the body of Christ and what it has become, a nice, comfortable, friendly get-together on Sunday mornings.

By: Lela Nickell

Lela Nickell — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:27:22 +0000

Oh my goodness! You’ve hit the nail on the head. Our ministry team has talked about some of these problems, and have been working to revamp the way we present the Bible to the kids in our church. Looking forward to more on this subject.

By: Pastor Corrine Nixon

Pastor Corrine Nixon — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:17:47 +0000

I Praise the lord for giving you this insight, because this subject i have always been concerned about. As a teacher, Minister and pastor, I’ve worked with many types of sunday school programs, and have seen the boredom and lack of understanding in our children. I’ve often wonder how much of Christ and who He really is, is being imparted in their lives. I’ve also had this experience myself growing up in the christian faith.

By: faridah

faridah — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:03:51 +0000

you are right,some of these kids come to church as a routine they dont have any touch with christ.And because they’ve grown in church they fell that they know every thing.

Thank you for opening our eyes.

By: Manon

Manon — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:23:44 +0000

I think you hit the nail on the head with this– ” 3. They Have Learned to Pretend Pray: A real struggle for grown-ups is connecting with God through prayer. Too often it becomes routine and dry. Most younger children learn prayer as an act of imitation. Many don’t even realize that something cosmic is happening when we address our words to God. They don’t feel the presence of God or even expect that they should.”
I think most of the kids at my church, mine included are doing exactly this and are completely unaware. Thanks for bringing it up, i’ll try some “prayer aware” lessons/pointers to remind us what prayer is really about.

By: mary davis

mary davis — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:40:52 +0000

Good insights, Tony. Indeed, i was effectively reared to become a little Pharisee…in fact, in my church circles, it was applauded. We even used our sense of superiority as a weapon of mockery of those who didn’t agree with us (of course, they weren’t as wise as we were, not as well taught…). We were a bunch of horrible people in Jesus’ name, doing what we thought was Jesus’ work.
The good news is, even for the most Pharisee’d kid, God’s Word is still truth. It still never returns void. And through whatever long path it takes, we little Pharisees still have the living Word to kick us into real Jesus-following. My recommendation: If kids see their parents focused on Jesus instead of on the church drama (and discussing it over Sunday dinner!), if kids see their parents going sincerely to Jesus, humbly repenting, growing in grace, those overchurched ones are much more likely to see that this is real, life-changing and powerful…even for the pastors and their wives who happen to be their parents!

By: Three Kinds of Over Churched Kids | Life2gether

Three Kinds of Over Churched Kids | Life2gether — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:30:00 +0000

[...] months back, I started thinking more seriously about the problem of over-churched kids. My first article on that topic went viral (thanks to Doug linking it here) and many others are seeing the same [...]

By: sarah

sarah — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:42:57 +0000

hey all,

I am an over-churched kid. Growing up with both of my parents working for the church, it seemed like all I ever heard was the gossip and the soap-opera drama of the staff. It drove me so crazy, and even now that I’m on my own, I’m having trouble finding a church to settle down in because it’s been so long since I enjoyed it.

I think when I get around to having kids, I will not work for the church in the sense of having a career there while they are growing up. I will sit with them in the services and really talk about God with them and maybe take some kind of job (volunteer or otherwise) when they’re old enough to take care of themselves.

By: Over-Churched Kids | Faith Church Blog

Over-Churched Kids | Faith Church Blog — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:13:56 +0000

[...] Interesting article here… [...]