After reading the article by an American youth pastor, “Youth Pastor Exposes the Shocking Truth: Why 73% of Church Kids Abandon Faith (And How to Stop It) I reached out to Irina Tsvelikova, an experienced and highly knowledgeable Sunday school teacher at the Spring of Life Church (SW Mukilteo, WA), with the following request:
Dear Irina,
I am writing to you as a respected and knowledgeable Sunday school teacher, and I greatly need some of your guidance and recommendation.
I came across an article about raising children in the faith that deeply interested me and confirmed some of my own observations: “Youth Pastor Exposes the Shocking Truth: Why 73% of Church Kids Abandon Faith (And How to Stop It).” It was published on the Christian Parents of America website.
Perhaps the statistics in Slavic churches are somewhat different, but I know that many of our children, even after being raised in Christian homes, attending Sunday school, and participating in youth fellowship, often do not have a firm foundation in faith. They may live double lives and, in essence, remain unbelievers.
If you have not read this article before, I would be grateful if you would take a look at it. Perhaps it will interest you as it did me, and you may want to apply something from it in your ministry.
My sister, who has worked with children for many years, continues to serve with youth, and has raised four children herself, purchased one of the children’s systematic theology books mentioned in the article. She liked the book, although some parts seemed a bit simplified.
If you are familiar with these books, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and feedback.
Olga Avetisova
Reply from Irina Tsvelikova
Good evening, dear Olga!
Thank you for your letter, for your reflections, and for sharing these materials. The topic of raising children in the faith is truly extremely relevant and, in my opinion, requires special and thoughtful attention from the church today.
I read the article you mentioned and must note that many of the issues raised strongly resonate with the observations we teachers also see in practice. Despite differences in cultural and church context, the problem of formal Christianity, the absence of a personal foundation of faith, and the so-called “double life” among teenagers and young adults truly exists and cannot be ignored.
I agree with you that in Slavic churches the statistics may appear more encouraging—largely due to the strong emphasis on family, the personal example of parents, and children’s regular involvement in church life. However, this does not remove the need to continually rethink our approaches and honestly ask ourselves: how deeply do children understand what they believe? Has the Gospel become their personal conviction, rather than simply part of an inherited tradition?
As for the program suggested in the article, as well as the systematic theology materials, I believe these are worthy and useful resources. At the same time, I think it is more accurate to view them as supplementary tools rather than a complete and finished program. There are stronger and more deeply developed approaches, and these materials may serve well as additional support in lesson preparation and ministry with children.
In that sense, they can be helpful in the hands of thoughtful and prayerful teachers and parents, provided they are applied wisely and intentionally.
Reflecting on this, I increasingly come to the conclusion that perhaps now is an especially timely moment to gather experienced educators and ministers from different churches and work together on creating a new curriculum—one that would be adapted specifically for our children, taking into account cultural aspects, the environment, and the country in which they are growing up.
This is certainly a complex and demanding path, as it requires considering not only the realities of children, but also the cultural background of parents who grew up in a different setting and now face the challenge of raising children in entirely new circumstances.
At the same time, I believe that with the Lord all things are possible. I am convinced it is not by chance that He is touching the hearts of different servants today in this very area, prompting reflection, dialogue, and the search for deeper solutions.
Your letter was an encouragement to me as well—because once again I saw confirmation that the Lord is leading, guiding, and uniting us in these matters.
I believe your article can truly bear good fruit and serve as the beginning of a deeper and constructive dialogue in our churches about how to help the next generation become deeply and sincerely rooted in Christ.
With gratitude and prayer,
Irina Tsvelikova
Link to the pastor’s article | Link to the article with resources
