Will our children have faith?

This is a big question and concern for many parents and grandparents as the world becomes less religious overall. It is a concern of mine, too, and I think we should really consider how best to reach the hearts and minds of young people with the good news of Jesus. 

Recent studies show how people in general are less affiliated with religion than they used to be, especially younger people. A new poll by Gallup revealed that less than one-half of U.S. adults – 47 percent – have any kind of religious affiliation. That is a big drop from a little more than 20 years ago when that number was 70 percent.

Of those 75 and older, 66 percent belong to a church. In the baby boomer generation (ages 57-75), 58 percent belong to a church. When you get down to Gen X (ages 41-56), it is 50 percent, and the millennials (25-40) and Generation Z stand at 36 percent.

Those are striking numbers, making this one of the most important questions of our time. I know it weighs heavily on many parents and grandparents. In fact, Pope Francis recently spoke of the importance of grandparents. I know someone who attended a First Communion gathering for a little girl in Rome, and the pope himself happened to be there. The girl asked him, “What do I do if my parents don’t go to church?” 

“Have your grandparents take you,” replied Pope Francis.

I think he is right in that we need a multigenerational approach to increase our efforts to introduce the faith to our young people. I would like to offer a couple of ideas that might be helpful.

Earlier in my priesthood, I spent a lot of time working with young people as head of the Office of Youth Ministry. From my experiences then and continuing to this day, I believe that our Catholic schools and religious education programs are often very strong at catechesis but perhaps not equally strong at evangelization. One important exception stood out to me, and that is schools or parishes with retreat programs. 

Those retreats usually are led by peers with the help of teachers and adults. Young people benefit greatly from hearing other young people speak about the importance of meeting Jesus personally in their lives. Whether the experiences take place through one of our Catholic high schools or religious education programs, I find they help our youth become more excited about really getting to know Jesus. 

When there is an interest in a personal relationship with Jesus, what follows is an interest in catechesis, history, facts, details, and the theology behind our beliefs. I find it often starts when young people experience the Lord Jesus in a special way through the hearts and minds of others, and they then begin to live it themselves. 

I also find that service is a meaningful way to reach our young people. From my perspective at Catholic Charities, I believe that many in the younger age groups are less moved by faith or doctrine as they grow up, but they are deeply affected by working directly with someone in need. 

The hearts of young people are looking for ways to serve, to help, and to lead others. They are looking for a chance to make a difference in the lives of those around them. When they get involved in a soup kitchen, a parish outreach program, helping the homeless, volunteering at one of the 55 Catholic Charities programs, or any similar service activity, they come alive as they discover what it is to serve, to give back, and to meet Jesus himself in someone else.

As Matthew 25 says so clearly, when we do for others – feed, clothe, visit and more – we meet Jesus in those we serve. We hope that they also meet Jesus in us. I believe that young people want to meet Jesus, but it probably will not happen in a homily at church, no matter how good it might be. It probably will not be in the rituals and liturgical practices, no matter how beautiful they might be. In this era, they are not the touchstones for young people that they may have been to previous generations. 

The touchstone, I believe, is service, so I hope we can find more ways to get young people involved in directly ministering to those in need. Their hearts will be moved by the witness of Jesus present in those they serve.

We are extremely proud that Catholic Charities has 7,000 volunteers, and we recently added 250 new ones. We desperately need volunteers to carry out the works of service. We also realize that many people come back to the Lord and begin to practice their faith once again through our volunteer programs. This is a beautiful truth of service, and it is true of all ages.

In this most unusual time during a global pandemic, we have been knocked out of our routines. We may have lost our mojo a little bit. This is the time to get our young people involved again. Can we make every effort both individually and collectively to make sure that our faith is the most important dimension in all we do? And can we all get to know Jesus more intimately through reflection and service to those in need?

Mother Teresa said it beautifully. “If we pray, we will believe. If we believe, we will love. If we love, we will serve.”

May we be examples of prayer, love and service for our young people, and may we find ways for them to be examples to each other.

(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.)