01/08/2026
I grew up as a preacher’s kid in the late ’80s / early ’90s deep in the Bible Belt. Missing church was unthinkable. There was Sunday school. Sunday morning service, Sunday evening suppers with church members which almost always included a very long and enthusiastic analytical discourse on the sermon my Daddy had delivered earlier that day in Church.
And don't forget Wednesday night Bible study and Thursday night choir practice; which to this day, I do not understand why my parents insisted I attend because I have never been able to sing a lick. Our choir director would politely tell me to just hum..lol. Our lives centered around church. My parents owned and operated a large farm, so my life with pretty much school, church and very grueling farm work. If you have never picked to***co in 100 degree weather for 12 hours a day then I am sorry but you cannot say that you have ever really worked..lol.
By the time I went off to college, I was religiously exhausted. I loved suddenly having a whole extra day to sleep in, catch up laundry or watch Star Trek reruns with my roommate. By my sophomore year of college I had gravitated towards philosophy and actually ended up majoring in it. So naturally, I just quietly drifted away from church altogether, except for the occasional coerced or mandatory visit.
Still, I made sure my children were exposed to faith. I wanted them to be exposed to the foundations of Christianity so as to be able to choose versus inherit that system of belief. Today, both are deeply spiritual but not very religious.
And lately, I’ve noticed something else. It seems that fewer friends and family attend church .And when I do go, there’s almost no one under 35. It makes me wonder if what I experienced wasn’t just personal burnout but part a larger shift.
So I’m curious: Do you still attend church? And if why did you stop? Do you have many young people in your church? How abot you GenZers, why aren't yall going to church?
No judgment. Just conversation.
Cece