I have the priveledge to pass on just a few of the points Ed shared, as well as a link at the bottom of the notes for access to more of his research and accurate statistics.
Why do we love bad stats?
Many bad stats - like the 94% of kids dropping out of church - are used in many books and publishings
Some accurate stats
32% of young adults are religious
32% of young adults are spiritual
3 in 10 young adults are nones
Jews, Evangelicals, Mormons, and Nones are the best at passing on their religion to their children
Researchers from USC followed 358 families from California through 3 generations to get those statistics.
Marrying someone of the same faith matters. 74% of married couples who were both evangelicals also had kids who were evangelicals.
1. The statistics may get attention -but they're not necessarily true
2. Close relationship with a father = huge indicator in child's faith formation.
3. Bad stats might undermine the faith of the kids who hear them
4. We are talking ourselves out of evangelizing you adults because we think they are not open to it.
Together, the characteristics tested predict about 32% of the variance in dropout behavior.
For more information and the MANY statistics I couldn't capture as Ed Stetzer spoke, here is a link!
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