A devastating disconnection

Recent CDC reports reveal that 40% of American teens reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year. The World Health Organization says suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 29-year-olds. Lingering consequences from onerous pandemic policies and increased use of technology have exacerbated both of these issues. 

Despite five years’ distance from the pandemic, faith-based communities have yet to regain their pre-pandemic attendance levels or participation. And kids have hardly recovered from the full consequences of what lockdowns did to them. There’s growing recognition of the harm iPhones and social media caused during that time—but undoing the damage isn’t easy, and some consequences may be lifelong.

In a 2024 study, the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) said that at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, they thought the “worst” of pandemic consequences was behind them. “Unfortunately, data from the past two years no longer support that conclusion,” they wrote.

Lower grades, less churchgoing, lack of confidence, and social struggles due to developmental losses—this was the perfect storm to brew hopelessness for teens who came of age during that time. 

Fewer attend youth groups now—and the impact is evident—but the downturn in attendance isn’t unfounded. Springtide research reported that just 10% of young people say a faith leader reached out to them personally in the first year of the pandemic. That gutting reality demonstrates how deeply we failed young believers during this time. People remember how you made them feel and young people felt forgotten. The same survey found that 61% said “the adults in my life don’t know how much I’m struggling with my mental health.”

This disconnection is devastating. We can’t underestimate the importance of a diverse set of Christian adults who can pour into teens. Still, it remains difficult for churches to recruit volunteers for youth ministry. In a young Christian’s most formative time, the church family must step into this critical role. 

We’ll be digging out of pandemic setbacks for years, but we know one thing for certain: Data shows one of the best ways to combat depression and anxiety is religion. A Boston Globe survey found that “religious conservative” teens are by far the least likely to experience mental health problems. Secular liberal teens are most vulnerable to them. This is one reason more teens need to be in church—not only because they need the saving grace of Jesus but also to be surrounded by loving adults who can mentor, minister, and disciple them.

The direction of youth ministry could help with this. National Next Gen Director Shane Pruitt told me that a church-integrated and intergenerational approach is next. This seems to be what some teens are craving: a more intentional, level-headed relationship with fellow Christians of all ages. 

“We cut discipleship legs out from under us when we separate people by ages and demographics,” Pruitt told me. “We tell youth pastors that senior adults are one of their greatest untapped resources.”

By intentionally connecting youth with other adults, we could change the trajectory—which isn’t good. Since 2021, the percentage of youth who say they “never attend” religious services rose from 30% to 44%. 

We need to capture them before they are lost to the post-Christian culture overtaking the country. It’s commonly said that the United States is about 20 years behind Europe in terms of the loss of Christianity and declines in church attendance. The pandemic may have substantially exacerbated this trend. 

“We jumped forward in that, how far behind we are behind Europe—that jumped forward by at least 10 years,” Dietrich Kirk, executive director of the Center for Youth Ministry Training, told me in an interview last year. 

The results are evident within youth specifically. Kirk said he sees many kids who used to come to church once a month scaling back to only Easter and Christmas. Similar trends exist for adults. Teen girls are particularly affected by the mental health declines and loss of religious community. The Youth Risk Survey found that 57% of teen girls felt “persistently sad or hopeless” in 2021, as opposed to 29% of teen boys. Shockingly, nearly one in three teen girls reported that she had considered suicide. 

Another survey echoed the Springtide results, showing that isolation more negatively affects teenage girls from lower-income families. Low-income teens already suffer from a lack of church exposure and that’s worse today than ever before. Churches in low-income areas, specifically in black communities, have been struggling to stay open for years. With inflation and other factors, it’s even more complex. 

The church has a big job ahead. Parents, who have the greatest influence on a child’s faith formation, have an even bigger one. But if we can advocate for the benefits of strong faith communities and convince families that Christian fellowship is a real remedy for mental health woes, we can change the trajectory. 

Secular culture won’t help us. You won’t find suicide prevention websites guiding people towards churches, even though studies show a significant decrease in suicide attempts from regular churchgoers. Our teens are in crisis. Our churches are one of the most powerful ways to help draw them out of it. It’s not an easy task, but it’s important for Christians to get busy connecting with teens and helping them see that God is relevant to their lives exactly where they are.