We Need Our Kids Back in Church, Religious Leaders Say

By Attiyya Atkins

When violence is at an all-time high, like it is today, many wonder “Where is God?” “Where are his people?”

The Florida General Baptist Convention is in transition, and one of its presidential candidates, wants churches to have more of a presence when it comes to secular issues like social justice, violence, and the state of our youth.

The Florida General Baptist Convention has been around for 146 years and member and senior pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church of Fernandina Beach, Reverend Darien K. Bolden Sr. is looking to make that change.

If elected as president of the Convention, he says the organization will be a voice for the voiceless in Florida and beyond.

“We’re fighting for social justice,” Bolden said. “We need to reclaim our young people to give them some direction or some hope.”

Although not church related, Bolden says that national issues like the murder of Tyre Nichols and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers and other crimes warrant the church’s attention. “In a general sense, these types of crimes are atrocious and shouldn’t be happening in our community, we need to discuss these issues and have a stance.”

In addition to reducing community violence, Bolden wants the church to be more involved in voting rights, voting registration, getting children back in church and helping people who have criminal records.

Bishop Gary McLeod of Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Deliverance in Pompano Beach, who is also a member of the Florida General Baptist Convention, agrees. The recent drive-by shootings and violence within the city limits have caused alarm and concern within the Pompano Beach community.

“We are not used to that,” McLeod said. “You see it in Miami, far off, and other communities with higher populations. It could be attributed to the city growing…the bigger the city, the more ills come along with it.”

McLeod agrees with Bolden about the importance of church in children’s lives, and how God-fearing children are less likely to make dangerous decisions.

“It is very critical that we get the young people back in church,” McLeod said. “There’s been a downslide in the number of people attending church, and that’s in part due to parenting. When we were young, if our parents didn’t go to church, they made sure we went, whether through a family member or a church van. Today, parents would rather sleep in on Sunday, and so will the kids.”

He added: “Even when building churches in this age, we need to add a school component. In white neighborhoods, most of their churches have schools. They have churches with education in mind, we built our churches as fellowship halls…We have to add the component to draw our kids, we have to get our hands in the mix and grab our kids back and get these kids back to deter this crime rate. Kids as old as 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 have committed some of these shootings and mass shootings. We have to get our young people back in church.,” McLeod said.