Analysing the research that has been done in the US on youth ministry (which is probably similar to the UK), Steve Wright in reThink notes four gauges which show that there is a problem.
Gauge #1: Student Retention Rates – 70-75% of young people are leaving the church after finishing youth ministry.
Gauge #2: Student Pastors Tenures – there is a high turnover rate with very few student pastors serving at a church long enough to see a student go through an entire student ministry from beginning to end.
Gauge #3: Student Baptism Rates – a decline in number shows that there is a failure to reach teens with the gospel and baptise them.
Gauge #4: Student Biblical Literacy – 85% of young people from churches who attend public schools do not embrace a biblical worldview. Students are not being equipped with knowledge of the Lord, His Word and His ways.
“If the church is not able to keep its youth or those called to reach and equip them and if the church isn’t effectively reaching and equipping students to defend their faith, then we can easily see that we are in the middle of a major crisis.”
See HERE.