Indeed, as
many as one fifth of teenagers are 'active followers of Jesus', according to new
research.
And
one of the things that encouraged them to give their lives to Christ was visits
to church buildings, often with their schools.
The
poll was carried out by ComRes months ago but has onlly just been released
because researchers were so surprised by the results they had them checked and
double-checked.
For
years it has been a widespread view among many that attendance among the young
is in terminal decline.
The
poll was commissioned by Hope Revolution, a Christian
organisation that brings churches and young people together to transform
communities. Reported in the Telegraph, it found
that 21 per cent of those aged between 11 and 18 describe themselves as 'active
followers of Jesus' while 13 per cent say they are practising Christians and
churchgooers.
Around
13 per cent of teenagers converted after after a visit to a church or cathedral,
according to the figures. A fifth said reading the Bible was important, 17 per
cent said going to a religious school had had an impact and 14 per cent said
they had had a spiritual experience that led them to Christ.
But
the influence of a church building was more significant than attending a youth
group, going to a wedding, or speaking to other Christians about their
faith.
Jimmy
Dale, the Church of England's national youth evangelism officer, said his team
was 'shocked' by the findings.
He
told the Telegraph: 'There was disbelief among the team because it was so
high.
'What
is really exciting for us is that there is this warmth and openness that we are
seeing among young people – they are really open to faith. Things which we would
class as old hat methods are some of the more effective ways.
'It's
a real wake-up call for the church – we've got lots of young people who are
coming into churches with school groups and that's a really integral part of
them becoming a Christian.' Christian
Today.