There seems to be two primary ocassions when youth dropout of church and youth group participation. The first is when they get a driver’s license. Suddenly they are no longer dependent on mom or dad or the church van to get around. They have to work to pay for their car, gas, insurance, tickets, etc. Often if the parents don’t attend, especially if dad doesn’t attend, church attendance drops off for teens as well. It is as if church is seen as something for children and old people.

The next dropout event is graduation. It may not take place immediately, but sometime after graduation people begin to disappear from church. They go off to college, move away to get a job, get married, or just get too busy.

People are at risk of dropping out of church anytime they face a major life change. In a sense this is reflected in the traditional “summer slump” when attendance drops off for the summer. Schedules get hectic, routines are interrupted, habits change. Even close friends drift apart due to distance and time away.

Unfortunately, many people view church as an activity on the schedule. It is a social event that is prone to change when one’s schedule or circle of acquaintences changes.

Now if this just meant that people relocate from one church to another when they experience these major life changes it wouldn’t be so bad. But that is often not the case. They drop out. This is not just a summer slump (as frustrating as that is). This departure may last indefinitely and it occurs during a time when people are making crucial life decisions.

Can this be avoided? Do we have to just wait and see who makes it through as if we were watching people floating downstream toward a waterfall? . . .