Church leaders all over the nation are
concerned about the drop-out rate of
young people. And well they should be. It
is a tragic thing to see these precious boys
and girls, who are so thrilled with Bible
Study as little people, grow cold and
uninterested in the Lord’s work as they
grow older.

Lately, several congregations have made
in-depth studies of the factors leading to
youth leaving the church, with an eye to
learning what might be done to help solve
this problem. What do we need? More
youth programs? More rallies? Special
teachers?

 A great central truth has begun to emerge
from these studies. Their faithfulness to
Jesus doesn’t have anything to do with
special programs or teachers. It is not
dependent on whether they are members
of a large congregation or a small one. The
single most important factor is their own
immediate family.

 One congregation found that when both
parents were faithful to the Lord, and that
includes active interest in the local
congregation's programs, 93 percent of the
children remained faithful. On the other
hand, if only one parent was faithful, the
figure dropped to 73 percent. Where both
parents were only marginally active, it fell
to 53 percent. Now comes the shocker—
when both parents attended infrequently,
6 percent of their children remained
faithful to the Lord.

 Do you want your children to go to
heaven? Then make certain you are
leading them. The likelihood is they’ll go
no other way!

 Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from
it.

 (Parents and young couples: if you are not
already attending the Parenting Class on
Wednesday nights in the small auditorium,
it’s not too late to start.)