Religion and Culture Expert Alex McFarland and Apologist and Evangelist Jason Jimenez Explore Why Millennials Leave the Church and How to Bring Them Back 

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—In a brand-new book being released today from Tyndale Publishing and Focus on the Family, religion and culture expert, national radio host and author Dr. Alex McFarland (www.AlexMcFarland.com) explores why millennials are leaving the church in droves and how those who love them can bring them back.

Co-authored with evangelist and apologist Jason Jimenez, “Abandoned Faith: Why Millennials Are Walking Away and How You Can Lead Them Home” sheds new light on what Christian parents must do to reach their young adult children when it comes to matters of faith. “Abandoned Faith” also offers a strong voice of hope for church leaders, employers and others who serve and love the millennial generation.

“Over decades in ministry, I have spoken to tens of thousands of young people, and have talked to them about their doubts, insecurities and disillusions with religion,” McFarland said. “There are many reasons why young people may walk away from the church—mistrust, skepticism, rebellion, pressure or just turning from what they might see as the status quo of organized religion. But I would venture to say that many walk away because they are faced with situations where they are either asked or demanded to defend their beliefs, and they just don’t know how.”

This group born between 1980 and 2000 now out-numbers Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest generation. And they have surpassed Generation Xers as the most significant portion of the workforce. The millennial generation is a force with which to be reckoned.

In “Abandoned Faith,” McFarland and Jimenez interview top Christian leaders who work with millennials and families. Millennials constitute a group of more than 80 million individuals who are technologically astute, ethnically diverse, and culturally and vibrantly engaged. Yet they face high unemployment and massive debt. These characteristics, coupled with the fact that they comprise the largest number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, should be concerning to every parent, grandparent, pastor and potential employer.

Dr. Jeff Myers, President of Summit Ministries and author of “Understanding the Culture,” offered these positive words for “Abandoned Faith:” “As someone whose life work is to strengthen the faith of millennials, I see this book as a caring guide chock-full of practical advice. As a dad of millennials, I see it as a well-timed life preserver in the swelling waves of a cultural storm.”

“Abandoned Faith” is available for order at AlexMcFarland.com, as well as from major online retailers and brick-and-mortar bookstores.  

McFarland’s blog at www.AlexMcFarland.com features posts such as “The Stress-Free Way to Know God’s Will,” “5 Strategies for Reaching Skeptics,” “Pitch These 9 Fallacies Before Making Moral Choices” and “Don’t Let Our Kids Be Eaten by Lions.” Read more here.

Also serving as Director for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at North Greenville University (www.ngu.edu) in Greenville, S.C., McFarland is

the author of “Stand Strong America,” “The God You Thought You Knew: Exposing the 10 Biggest Myths About Christianity,” “10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer,” “10 Issues that Divide Christians,” “10 Answers for Skeptics” and the “Stand” series of devotions for teens. McFarland is an expert in the field of apologetics—the practice of defending the Christian faith in a world where faith in Christ is plummeting at alarming rates.

McFarland has spent years working with young people and takes their questions to heart. He has preached in more than 1,300 churches and has been featured at conferences such as the Billy Graham School of Evangelism, Focus on the Family’s “Big Dig” and California’s “Spirit West Coast,” sharing the platform with Chuck Colson, Eric Metaxas, Josh McDowell and others.

Part evangelist, part apologist, part educator and part broadcaster, McFarland focuses on communicating the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He co-hosts the daily, live radio program “Exploring the Word” on American Family Radio’s Talk Network, heard on more than 125 stations across the country, and the weekly television show “Viral Truth,” airing on the National Religious Broadcasters Network, which he co-hosts with Jimenez.

For more information on Dr. Alex McFarland, visit www.AlexMcFarland.com or follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @AlexMcFarland. View the media page for Alex McFarland here.