Does The Church Believe In Adult Conversion?

If you’ve been an active member of any church, then you have probably served (or been asked to serve) in children’s ministry. Churches are always looking for volunteers who will work with kids. Children’s ministry is often the biggest focus and is where a great deal of church funds are funneled. I’m glad to see ministry for children, and I actively participate in numerous roles that serve kids. However, after seeing the sometimes singular focus on youth, I can’t help but wonder if the Church actually believes in adult conversion.

Are We That Kid-Centered?

Let’s begin by agreeing that everything I’m about to say is generalized. I know there are plenty of churches with aging congregations that long to have children in attendance. There are also churches that strike a healthy balance in ministry and reach out to everyone. On the other hand, we’re blind if we don’t see where the lion’s share of energy and money goes in many American churches.

An average church may have Sunday School classes for children, children’s church during the main service, youth group, Awana (or something like it), Vacation Bible School (VBS), Easter egg hunts, Christmas activities geared toward children, youth trips/outings, carnivals, etc. Truly, the sky is the limit. Am I complaining about these ministries? No, I’m not. But what are we doing for adults?

What About Adult Outreach?

Of course, churches are reaching out to adults, too. It seems like most outreaches to unchurched men and women are based on an event (e.g., block parties), a spiritually neutral activity (e.g., sports club), or slick marketing. Do these tactics lead to adult conversion? Good luck figuring that out. It’s very difficult to pinpoint those numbers, and studies often conflate being a Christian and church attendance.

One study, however, suggests that events are not particularly effective. The National Association of Evangelicals reported a study that only looked at Evangelical leaders. This is a niche group to be sure, but one might argue they are more likely to be serious about their faith than a sample of “average” Christians. This study found that only 8% of those surveyed were introduced to their faith through a Christian event. The number one influence was family (59%) followed by friends (19%). These statistics are in line with reports from resources like Barna and Biola University. Events aren’t a bad thing, but they aren’t likely to change hearts. Not to mention, compared to the effort we put into children’s ministry, the Church almost seems neglectful to unsaved adults.

This isn’t the point at which you need to get angry with me and claim I’m accusing you of something you aren’t doing. If it don’t apply, let it fly. That’s what my husband always says. As a woman who was saved at twenty-six years old, I can say, from my experience, the Church was not interested in me as an unbeliever. Christians I knew mostly kept their faith to themselves when they were around me, ignored me and stayed in their cliques, and others even warned others to steer clear of me. The only true outreach aimed at me by the many Christians in my sphere was a half-hearted, “Wanna come to a Bible study?” There was nothing wrong with that question, but how many unsaved, unchurched adults are waiting for this invitation? No, I absolutely did not want to attend a Bible study.

Adults Are A Lost Cause…

Several years into my Christian walk, I began to hear that adult conversion is “unlikely.” I wondered why God’s salvation was so much more limited for adults. Are adults a lost cause? No, but I think adult conversion is less common than professions from children and teens. I just happen to also think the Church might be, at least slightly, responsible for that disparity.

We Steer Clear Of Adults

Christians are often hesitant to approach adults with the gospel. Everyone has his or her own level of comfort witnessing to others, and children seem to be an easier audience for many of us to approach. I can’t pretend to know every reason someone might avoid telling adults about Jesus, but I have a few ideas.

1. Fear

I’ll speak for myself and admit that I’m easily intimidated by people who seem to have their act together. Professional, beautiful women are terrifying. High school Julie comes to the surface, and I’m convinced they are laughing at me. Share Christ? That’s going to take a big leap of courage from me.

Your fear might not be mine, but there is likely something that makes you too nervous to approach someone.

2. Change

Most people won’t admit it, but they don’t want things to change. We get used to our lives the way they are, and we don’t want something (or someone) to ruin the good thing we’ve got going.

If we reach out to children, they don’t typically change major things in the church they attend. Meanwhile, what happens if we reach out to unchurched men and women in our community and witness adult conversions take place? Well, hopefully, they’ll come to church and eventually serve in it. But they will come with adult opinions, preferences, and ideas. That new believer won’t be a sponge who soaks up others’ teachings and knowledge forever. She’s going to affect some area of your church. She will cause things to change.

3. Time

Adults come with baggage. Though children also come with a history, usually adults are dragging around a lot more…stuff. They don’t quietly absorb into your church with zero needs.

My poor first church received me as I was coming out of a lifestyle of smoking, heavy drinking, and practically living at bars with the wrong sorts of people. Not to mention, I was dealing with nearly all of my family and friends rejecting me because of my new faith. I was like an orphan with absolutely no support network. Oh, and I quickly got engaged to my ex who broke up with me a year prior because he has gotten saved. What a project to take on! And they did take me on. Graciously.

They loved me and made me a part of their lives because my adult conversion completely complicated my life. And praise God for that! But I’m positive that plenty of other Christians would have never walked alongside me because I required a lot of others’ time.

4. Lack Of Training/Confidence

Kids are kids. We know more than they do about pretty much everything! Sharing the gospel with children isn’t that intimidating when you think about the age, knowledge, and life experience differences. Adults, on the other hand, might be able to see right through your knowledge gaps. They might have good arguments against your faith.

We don’t need to feel ill-prepared because we can literally prepare for those conversations. Being proactive is the key.

5. Past Failures

Adults can be difficult to reach for Christ. Perhaps we’ve tried to get coworkers to come to church. Maybe we’ve set up a Bible study with a friend that was dead on arrival. Discouragement creeps in, and we decide we can’t reach adults.

“They can’t be saved!”

“I’m just not good enough at presenting the gospel.”

“Let *insert name here* try for once!”

6. Commitment

Adult conversion requires a long-term investment. If the new believer sticks around, she could potentially become someone you know forever. Actually, if you had anything to do with her coming to the Lord or her discipleship, you should know her forever. That’s an important relationship in a believer’s life, and she deserves more than “be warm and filled” as you walk away from her.

7. Kids’ Programming Sells

My husband’s second pastorate was at a church with five children. Ours. And that was one of the most difficult parts of leading that church. If a visitor with children came, they never came again. We didn’t have programs for kids, and they didn’t see built-in friends for their children. Sadly, solid Bible teaching is not enough for many families in search of a church. They’ll accept questionable sermons if the children’s ministry is really good.

With this knowledge, churches are tempted to pour as many resources as they can into children’s ministry even if it’s at the cost of some other ministries. Why? Because children’s programming fills pews. For some churches, it’s a numbers game.

The 4/14 Window

The heavy focus on children’s ministry also stems from studies that appear to indicate that 60-85% of Christians came to the Lord between the ages of four and fourteen. If you’re someone who likes to investigate statistics, then maybe you’ve already seen a potential flaw in the 4/14 Window. At the very least, there are some questions we should ask.

Is this based on professions? Baptisms?

Which denominations are part of this statistic?

Is this based on adult responses, or are we taking a six-year-old’s testimony as seriously as someone who has walked with the Lord for twenty years?

Is the respondent’s walking testimony part of the determination of whether or not the person is a believer?

What percent of the Church’s energy is going into children’s ministry, and how much is going into adult outreach?

You Shoot What You Aim For

That final question is the one I immediately had. We leaned hard into kids’ outreaches, and then kids made professions. Somewhere along the way researchers realized adult conversions are less prevalent than professions of faith from children. The 4/14 Window was born. As a result, churches go in even harder with children’s ministry.

I felt like a cynic, so I Googled my question about the 4/14 Window, and do you know what I found? Full support. What? The first rule of statistics is to never take them at face value. Even unintentionally, they can mislead people and cause a myriad of incorrect conclusions. In the end, I found one article by Ray Comfort from Living Waters. Comfort said exactly what I was thinking, but he said it way better than I could.

“When fishermen fish only for herrings, we shouldn’t be surprised that the results only show a catch of herrings.”

Ray Comfort, Nov. 9, 2022

Oh. When churches put all their efforts into children’s ministry, we shouldn’t be surprised or discouraged by the fact that we don’t see nearly as many adult conversions. Comfort also shares a study that supports the 4/14 Window and says that children make their “initial commitment to Jesus” in that window. This means, of course, that these children will go on to make commitments again. How many times must we be saved, though? Once.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

John 10:27-28

Sometimes Christians get so excited to lead a child to Christ that they don’t use enough care. Comfort warns against this in the same article.

“For those workers who lack knowledge of the nature of true conversion, it’s very common to see their agenda as wanting children to give their hearts to Jesus. It’s actually an easy thing to do. I’m sure I could get 99% of four-year-olds to raise their hands to accept Jesus by asking if they wanted to go to Heaven when they die. Then I would follow up with, ‘And how do you go to Heaven? You give your heart to Jesus. Who wants to give their hearts to Jesus?’ And there you have it—a whole class of 4-year-olds want to go to Heaven, and they indicate that with a raised hand.”

Ray Comfort, Nov. 9, 2022

Conflicting Evidence

Articles that claim adult conversion is “rare” also offer information that puts the 4/14 Window in question. Guess who leads children to Christ more than anyone else. Parents. Who’s next on the list? Other relatives. The article linked in this paragraph suggests approximately 75% of people who get saved were significantly influenced by family.

Am I the only one that sees the incongruence in messaging here? Churches need to hammer away at the 4/14 Window because adult conversion is rare and difficult. Also, most kids who become Christians will be strongly influenced by their families. I’m not saying it’s one or the other, but I’m imagining what we would see in families if fathers and mothers were saved! Especially fathers. Sure, we follow up with parents when their kids participate in our ministries, but it’s so easy for them to stay away. And if we push too hard, they can take their children out of church with them. On the other hand, when moms and dads are walking with the Lord and serving in the church, we know that they spiritually influence the kids in the home in a positive way.

Final Thought

I get a bad rap sometimes because I poke at potential golden calves. But let’s make sure we do what we do because it’s the right thing to do and glorifies God. We don’t want to find ourselves doing the same things again and again because looking at it a different way would be somehow “wrong.”

I can be quite critical of children’s ministry. Too many churches leave God out or are waist deep in easy believism. Nevertheless, children’s ministry is absolutely worth the effort when we do it right. All I’m saying is that we should reconsider our adult ministries. Do we have any? Are we putting in the effort? Are we building bridges with the families who send their kids to our children’s programming? Do we really believe in adult conversion, or have we given up on it for something that appears to yield more results? It’s beyond time to self-reflect and determine whether or not we need to find effective ways to directly reach the adults in our communities.

What does your church do to reach unchurched adults?

Image courtesy of Jametlene Reskp via Unsplash.