Teen hates church

[MoJo77]

I didnt raise my kids in church. I didnt find my obedience to God until recently. My youngest son is 17. My oldest is 24 and doesnt live with me. I do force my youngest to go to our teens and kids church on Wednesday nights and make him go on some Sundays. He hates it. He told me tonight he is so sick of hearing about being saved. He said someday he may get saved but he only goes to church to please me. I worry that forcing him to go is pushing him away. My preacher advised that I do make him go at least ever so often. I feel like God wants me to have him there. Its like I hear a still small voice saying, bring him and let Me do the rest. I guess Im just looking for some encouragement. Maybe someone here has been in my shoes.

 

[zephcom]

I didnt raise my kids in church. I didnt find my obedience to God until recently. My youngest son is 17. My oldest is 24 and doesnt live with me. I do force my youngest to go to our teens and kids church on Wednesday nights and make him go on some Sundays. He hates it. He told me tonight he is so sick of hearing about being saved. He said someday he may get saved but he only goes to church to please me. I worry that forcing him to go is pushing him away. My preacher advised that I do make him go at least ever so often. I feel like God wants me to have him there. Its like I hear a still small voice saying, bring him and let Me do the rest. I guess Im just looking for some encouragement. Maybe someone here has been in my shoes.

Can you picture Jesus forcing someone to listen to Him?

I'm of the opinion that a true Follower of Jesus lives life the way Jesus taught them to live it and then leaves everything else to God. When your son sees you living the life Jesus taught, he just may want to learn how he can be that type of person.

Just love your son. Be there for him no matter what happens. And stop pushing church onto him, wait until he is interested.

 

[mama2one]

keep bringing him to church with you

one of my high school girlfriends was raised in a family that never went to church
today she's an atheist and her husband is into Buddhism


don't give up

 

[sunshine100]

keep bringing him to church with you

one of my high school girlfriends was raised in a family that never went to church
today she's an atheist and her husband is into Buddhism


don't give up

keep bringing him to church with you

one of my high school girlfriends was raised in a family that never went to church
today she's an atheist and her husband is into Buddhism


don't give up

I agree,keep bringing him to church with you,and one of these days he will like going to church,and will come to relalize that having God in his life is so important.

 

[JAM2b]

Teenagers should be allowed to choose, especially at 17. He's practically an adult. At 17 he can drive, have a job, sign for the military, and be tried as an adult for crimes. The time for taking him to church to show him Jesus and how to make the right choices in faith has passed. That should have occurred 10+ years ago. At this point you do your best good as far as influence in the way you treat him and the way he witnesses you treat others. You will be more impactful if he sees a genuine faith in you, not one that you purposefully display for him to notice just for the purpose of being a witness, but being who you really are in your current state in Christ.

God pursues people at the pace they can receive Him and in the method that will be effective. You yourself have spent your children's' growing-up and developing years not being faithful to the Lord, and yet here you are now. It's never too late for God to act in someone's life.

You just do your relationship with God -do it genuinely- and allow God to do what needs to be done for your almost-all-grown-children.

 

[FireDragon76]

I don't see the point of forcing someone to go to church when they don't want to be there. That seems very counter-productive.

 

[meyerjd]

I would not make your son attend, and would drop the issue with him.