Change is never easy but sometimes necessary. The average (median) age that a catholic leaves the Church is now 13. That means half of those who say they left the Church did so by the age of 13. That is 7th grade. Children must see on a regular basis that being catholic means something substantially better than whatever else the world offers. The christian world view used to be instilled by school and society and parents/families and the Church. God has effectively been banished from school. The new religion of society is secularism/relativism/humanitarianism/Moralistic Thearaputic Deism. Only 50% of children will spend years 0-18 with the same two parents. And when was the last time you felt inspired by the Church? Things are pretty bad...but the solution is simple. We must spend more time than ever in prayer, with scripture, with dynamic christians, and doing overtly christian things. We must talk of Jesus in the home and on the streets. We need to encounter Him as saviour and friend.
These books have been very helpful in developing the philosophy behind Journey Home. The videos below will share some of the stats behind why a shift in strategy was necessary.
The introduction of the video runs the first 10 minutes. Feel free to fast foward past the introduction to the content. Minutes 10-27 are very informative.