North America is facing a spiritual epidemic:

• Only one in three Canadian young adults who attended church weekly as a child still do so today.
• Of the young adults who no longer attend church, half have also stopped identifying themselves with the Christian tradition in which they were raised.

                                                                                                                                   tgcfcanada.org/hemorrhagingfaith/

tgcfcanada.org states that ‘there are four primary toxins that keep young people from engaging with the church: hypocrisy, judgement, exclusivity, failure.’

Last Wednesday evening during our Family Ties program Pastor Jason facilitated a discussion surrounding this very issue.  Out of that discussion came a very practical way we might care for our young people: simple care packages, sent to wherever they are attending school, as a little reminder that we care.  It is a small step against a growing problem but necessary in establishing a much needed trust between the body of the church and it’s disappearing young people.

A group is rallying together to make this happen but they need your help! They are looking for donations of granola bars, mini chocolate bars, hot chocolate packages, gum, wrapped candy, or a cash donation to help cover the cost of packaging and postage.  Please consider making a contribution and dropping these off at the church office by Sunday, October 27.

If you’re interested in exploring this issue further, take a little time to read through the Faith Today article, Why They’re Leaving from their September/October 2012 publication.