I watched a video this week
and within seconds, it had my attention.
This is how it started (in the video):
Why did you have children?
Your children are totally neglected by you.
You have farmed out their raising to everyone else:
Their schooling, you’ve handed off to another.
Their character building, you’ve handed off to the coach.
Their religious instruction, you’ve handed off to the youth minister and the pastor.”
And the uncomfortable part?
There wasn’t much to argue with.
When God called Abraham,
He didn’t just give him a promise.
He gave him a responsibility.
“To direct his children and his household…
to keep the way of the Lord.” (Genesis 18:19)
Faith was never meant to be outsourced.
It was meant to be lived…
and passed on.
Not perfectly.
But personally.
Today, we’re concerned.
Young people are leaving.
So we build more programs.
More events.
More strategies.
But here’s the question—If programs could keep them, why are they still leaving?
Studies repeatedly say,
7 out of 10 walk away in early adulthood.
So why do the 3 stay?
Not because everything was perfect.
But because someone was present.
A parent.
A mentor.
Someone who didn’t just say, “Go to church.”
But said, “Walk with me.”
This Sabbath, our children will lead.
And it will be beautiful!
But what happens on the stage
must continue at home.
Because faith was never meant
to grow once a week.
It grows in the ordinary.
At the table.
In conversation.
In quiet prayers no one else sees.
This isn’t about doing more.
It’s about coming closer.
Because the next generation
doesn’t just need better programs—
They need present faith.
And most of the time…
That faith
begins at home.
God Bless,
Pastor Ben