What If Your Child Is Walking Away From Faith?

What If Your Child Is Walking Away From Faith?

How do people find hope in the darkest times? This conversation on *The Call with Nancy Sabato* sits right in the tension many parents feel when a child starts drifting from faith. Guest Rich Griffith, a pastor, adoptive single dad and ministry lecturer, talks honestly about the joy and cost of adopting children from hard places: “It’s been a tremendous blessing.

But it’s also been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” He shares how trauma, identity struggles and unanswered questions can leave young people feeling lonely, anxious and far from God.

You’ll hear practical ideas for simple, everyday discipleship at home, such as reading a Bible passage together and saying, “What does that mean to you?” He stresses it’s fine to say, “I don’t know, let’s find out together,” so kids feel respected, heard and invited into the journey rather than shut down with “you just have to have faith.” Rich also challenges churches to act more like true family, where children are treated “like their own”, young people serve and lead, and newcomers are genuinely welcomed by people who notice when someone isn’t “fine”.

Rich opens up about having a prodigal son and the weight of parental guilt, gently reminding parents that “Adam and Eve had God as the perfect Father and they still rebelled.” Rather than blame, he points towards steady, patient love and keeping the lines of communication open with questions like, “Help me understand,” instead of lectures.

Stability, belonging and purpose, he says, are what many teens and young adults are craving but often miss at home, in culture and even in church. If you’ve cried over your child, wondered where you went wrong, or feel like it might be too late, this conversation offers gentle reassurance: don’t give up, your kids need you more than ever. What small step could you take today to show them they still belong?