by Casey Puckett

Created on: June 20, 2008

As I was reading many of these other articles, I realized I was crying. I am certainly not one to cry. I had planned to write what I thought. Which was that many of these writers are either not looking hard enough or are simply fools. Well as I read through them, I realized how right many of them are and how wrong I am. I attend church a lot. And youth group as well. I have no parents to make me go. I have no one to judge me one way or the other. And I almost never miss a service. What I intend to use this information for in the first place was to show people that just because I'm seventeen does not mean that I'm not going to attend church. I'n fact half of the congregation I attend is in there early twenties. But as I read what the other writers had to say I took a step back and looked at myself. I asked myself a question I've avoid for a while now. Am I really getting anything out of church? And if I am. What? I truly hate admitting when I'm wrong, but frankly it's better in the long run. I realize my answer to the first question was yes, but to the sencond my answer was simply, friends. I want so badly to be able to say that my answer would be God, but I'm not one to lie.

I've always thought it was worse to go to church for the wrong reason, than to not come at all. And that reason is different for everyone. But for me personally the right reason is feeling God, not only on Sunday, but throught the week. To be honest, I've never felt futher from God. That's probably the worst thing to say. But the thing is if it were not for the fact that I feel as the my church is the one place I belong. I wouldn't be there. I'd be somewhere else. I read my bible and I feel nothing. I go to church to see friends. I sing worship music and all I hear is a nice melody. Before I read my bible and I felt as though God was speaking to me. I'd go to church in order to learn and be draw closer to the One that loves me despite all of my short comings. I'd sing to show Him how thankful I was for everything. At seventeen I've moved away from God. I'm just now realizing this. To be honest, I don't really know what it's going to take to bring me back.

Well even though I probably screwed myself up to where you no longer care what my opion is about why youth today don't attend church, I'm going to give it to you anyways. It's taken more thought than I should need to resolve this in my head but here it is. At this age, we are searching for not only a place to belong, but who we are. It's as simply as that. Church is a place that we feel as though we are suppose to know who we are. Which is, a child of the living God. And yes that's wonderful. But that they is we need more than that. And I say we because I realized just in the last hour that I'm no better than someone who doesn't attend church at all. It's probably horrible enough that I'm saying a child of God needs more. But as I said before I am not one to lie.

My resolution for this is to find things that would bring back the meaning of Christianity for those who are searching. It pains me to say that I'm one searching, but in a way, are we all not searching for something. Young or old. So with that I say, let us search and if you want us in the church so badly. Than find a way to help us find what we're looking for. Because in the end, we'll find it. But where is the ultimate question. Is it not?

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