I can be, and am, moral without God, I do not need a belief in a deity to make right choices. Religious people make bad choices all the time, this alone proves they have no moral advantage over the re...Read More
Nothing will help you, destroy you, love you, hurt you, carry you, or hinder you like your family. Your personal experience may have been wonderful but there is also the possibility it was not. When i...Read More
Have you ever been really, really …. really bored attending a church service? I think everyone has had this kind of experience more than once. Perhaps this is why some churches use uncomfortable...Read More
The question should never be whether or not you attending a church. Attending does not ensure spiritual growth, involvement, or your desire to be there. The question needs to be, ‘are you livi...Read More
There was a night I was sitting in a church event when I was a teenager. As usual I had taken a seat in the back with a few friends and really wasn’t paying attention. Well, until I heard someon...Read More
I remember going to the altar at my church. Actually, I remember going many times to give my life to God or to rededicate my life to Him after some wayward living. It became quite a routine. When I wa...Read More
There are different ways to get to a vacation destination. First, you could fly there. This as an option is certainly the fastest, and sometimes the easiest way depending on where you are going. You a...Read More
While you may not have tried this before you should test it out. You will need to wait until there is a sunny day, or perhaps purchase a really bright light. Then when the conditions are right go find...Read More
Ever wonder when churches, youth groups, or most organizations lose the most people? It is during times of transition. In Canada, the largest drop of in church attendance comes between Children’...Read More
Does attending a church, or not, affect your faith? According to our Canadian stats the answer is definitely yes. Over 60% of young adults who stop attending their faith groups (Church, Home groups, E...Read More
There are people who have very strong anti-religious and anti-faith messages. Not only are they questioning aspects of religion or faith, they are also saying even the idea, or practice, of a religion...Read More
I have always been a laid back person. I have only gotten really angry a few times in my life. I have been upset, but there have only been a few times when I was truly angry. I remember one such day q...Read More
There was a night I was sitting in a church event when I was a teenager. As usual I had taken a seat in the back with a few friends and really wasn’t paying attention. Well, until I heard someon...Read More
Me too. These two very short words have incredible impact. When people have questions and doubts and feel like failures these words can be powerful and life saving. The truth is you are not alone. You...Read More
Dear Senior Pastor and Leadership Team, My name is David Sawler. I am senior leader of a Church in Glace Bay, NS. For the past decade of my life I have been studying and speaking on the topic of why a...Read More
When youth and young adults, who grew up in the Church, were asked, ‘What repels you from Church the topic of judgement rose to the surface. It seems it has affected them in two ways. They have ...Read More
I do not even pretend to know everything about God and how He works. I am surprised sometimes with the things that have happened in my own life, despite my own limitations and failings. I have had my ...Read More
For most of my life I have been involved with various extreme sports. If there is something I love, it is to go fast. Whether it has been mountain biking, snowboarding, four wheeling, or being on my m...Read More
God blesses. It is His promise. This truth is stated repeatedly in the Word. He watches over us, protects us, sustains us, and hears our prayers. These are truths. There have been some who h...Read More
It would pretty hard, or impossible, for me to ever say that God does not exist. Not because I have been told He is real, but rather because I have experienced far too many ‘God Moments.’ I have p...Read More
There is a lot of hate towards short term missions. There seems to be a ton of resources spent to help make people’s facebook and instagram pics look good. I understand the complaints, as there is a...Read More
NORMAL. Activities that are ’normal’ are things that that reoccur, are regular, happen a lot, or just ‘the way it is.’ What we grow up in, or live with, ‘becomes our normal,’ t...Read More
I live a life of extremes. I know I am involved with too many things and have far too many passions in life. My head sometimes spins with ideas, thinking of ways to create something, challenge people,...Read More
I have been called a devil, but I am not the devil. However, let’s for a moment, for the sake of this story, pretend I was in fact the real devil. If, as the father of lies and deceit, my purpos...Read More
I have seen this sign and similar bumper-sticker sayings in the past. I am sure it is unintentional but this group is doing more to promote faith than destroy it. By talking about ‘good’ t...Read More
There is no one thing you can do to guarantee that your kids will be serving God in twenty years. I know this is not the answer many people are looking for when they are trying to do their best they c...Read More
I love stats at times. I use them all the time when talking about youth and young adult rentention in the church today. Sometimes I believe people think I must be quite depressed as I have spent a sig...Read More
‘My prayer for my kids is that they will go further in ministry, do more, share the gospel with more people, go places I will never go, and have experiences with God that I never have.’ I heard my...Read More
In May of 2014 the Canadian Youth Network toured numerous cities in Canada. Every year they take time to invest and encourage youth workers. This year they showed three videos with lessons from Before...Read More
[youtuber vimeo=’http://vimeo.com/65575367#at=0′] This is video featuring David Overholt. It is an explantation of what the Haemorrhaging Faith survey is and also why it is so very relevan...Read More
‘Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.’ Carl Sagan Science is built on facts. Or perhaps for some it is the discovery of those facts,...Read More
A truth from the Hemorrhaging Faith Survey – Young people who are engaged in the church today are far more likely to say that they have personally experienced the love and acceptance of God, as ...Read More
Dr Andy Bannister was one of the people we asked to give some input for the Before You Say Goodbye Project. He was asked this question, ‘Hasn’t science disproven God?’ Here is his re...Read More
It may seem a bit strange to some, however I am part of several online atheist groups and discussion boards. I’m not there to bash people but to listen to people’s thoughts, perspectives, an...Read More
Lost in Transition Talk about surprises. It has been a long held belief that most young people walk away from their faith after high school and into young adulthood. While it is true there is a decrea...Read More
Several years ago, I visited a church in Columbia that had a youth ministry which had grown dramatically into the tens of thousands. I had the opportunity to speak to a few of the young people who wer...Read More
Who do you want to be like? As a skateboarder there are a few guys I have always idolized. I am amazed at the things they can do and wish I had the same skills they do. You likely have your own people...Read More
In Before You Say Goodbye we have included stories of real Canadian youth and young adults. Ashley’s faith journey is one we could all learn from. Watch her video below. I was born with Cerebral...Read More
Some things change for the better. In the last few years the Gideons have taken huge strides in becoming relevant to the younger generations in Canada. Some people just know them for putting Bibles in...Read More
Sean Cullen is the national director of Power to Change Students. In this blog Sean gives some advice on how to not just survive but thrive in college and university. Their website is www.p2c.com R...Read More
Only 1 in 3 people who attended church as a child still do so as young adults. 1 in 2 young adults continue to identify with the Christian tradition they were raised in. 3 out of 5 young adults who st...Read More
After a year of work we have finally finished putting together a one of kind resource for Canadian Youth and Young Adults. It is a web-interactive magazine style book that is a proactive response to t...Read More
Life doesn’t always go as planned. It seems that trouble finds us. If it hasn’t yet, it will. Pain, suffering, sickness, loneliness, and death are all coming. It seems when we go through these thi...Read More
There are so many great stories of things our youth and young adults are doing across our nation. Very often there is a focus on why churches are losing this age group. However, did you ever stop to c...Read More
A few weeks ago we asked Cindy, from ‘Your Movement’ as few questions. One of them was, ‘Why should someone do a mission trip with you?’ This was her response. We have designe...Read More
One of the highlights of being involved with Before You Say Goodbye was discovering a few of the people across Canada who are producing incredible resources for youth and young adults. Shauna Jenkin...Read More
Last year when the Hemorrhaging Faith Survey came out there was a lot of focus on why many Christian faith groups were struggling with keeping their youth and young adults. However, there was also oth...Read More
There are some incredible resources online these days for youth groups, individuals, churches, and so on. We are pleased to say I Am Second is promoting in Before You Say Goodbye. To be honest I had n...Read More
There will always be change. The message of the gospel is always true and yet the methods we use to share hope, love, and the message of Jesus may take new forms. Over the next few weeks I am going to...Read More
Before You Say Goodbye tells the stories of just some of the incredible things happening with youth and young adults across our nation. Some are in print, but we also have many links to videos, in t...Read More