Every generation of parents feels it: something in the culture is pulling their kids away from God. Today it often arrives through a screen. But the pressure itself is not new. The Bible tells the story of a whole generation of heirs who nearly disappeared, and of two people who hid one little boy in the house of God until it was time for him to be king.
That story, in 2 Chronicles 22 to 24, gives the church a clear picture of what it can and cannot do for the next generation.
Athaliah and the Spirit of the Age
King Ahaziah of Judah reigned only one year. Scripture gives a telling reason for his failure: “He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly” (2 Chronicles 22:3). His mother’s name was Athaliah.
When Ahaziah died, Athaliah did something chilling. “Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah” (2 Chronicles 22:10). She wiped out every potential heir and took the throne for herself, against the order God had established.
Athaliah is a picture of the spirit of the age. In every era there is a dominant mindset in the culture that shapes young minds away from the Lord. It acts as a counselor in doing wickedly. It assists in distraction. It assists in turning people from God. And, like Athaliah, its aim is to consume the next generation before it ever comes into its calling.
The Counselor in Your Pocket
Technology is not the enemy. It is useful, and much of it is good. But it can also be a counselor in doing wickedly.
Social media platforms are designed to keep people engaged, because engagement is profitable. They lean on dopamine, the chemical that tells your brain, “That felt good. Do it again.” Adults are adapting to this as something new. The next generation is not adapting. They are being raised by it, through social media, YouTube, Netflix, TikTok and whatever comes next.
In 1994, two Today Show hosts famously could not work out what the “@” in an email address was called, and one of them asked, “What is the internet, anyway?” Today, a toddler handed a tablet can often work it better than her parents. She has never known a world without a screen she could touch. That is the world the spirit of the age is working in.
Hidden in the House of God
Athaliah did not get every heir. “But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be put to death.” She and her husband, Jehoiada the priest, hid the boy and his nurse, “and he remained with them six years, hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land” (2 Chronicles 22:11-12).
In the seventh year, Jehoiada “took courage” (2 Chronicles 23:1), gathered the leaders, and brought the boy out. “Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, ‘Long live the king’” (2 Chronicles 23:11).
Jehoshabeath and Jehoiada could not overthrow Athaliah on day one. What they could do was protect a child in the house of God until his time came.
The Church Cannot Reverse the Age
When people worry about the next generation, the solutions often sound like a retreat: throw out every device, go back to the way things were. That is not realistic, and it is not the calling of the church. We cannot reverse the age.
What the church can do is create a refuge. A refuge is a space, a window of time, where young people step out from under the constant influence of the culture. The Bible’s word for that kind of setting apart is consecration. In that space, kids and teenagers can receive ministry that encourages them, inspires them, equips them, trains them and prepares them for their role in the kingdom. Paul says, “We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20), and that calling does not wait until adulthood.
God has a call on every young person. Some are called to pulpits. Some are called to business, medicine, teaching or the trades. They can hear that call in the house of the Lord, if the church makes room for it.
The goal is not to remove kids from the culture. The goal is to give them a refuge from its influence.
When We Take Care of Kids, God Takes Care of Us
The story of Joash has a striking turn. The boy who was hidden in the temple grew up to care for it: “After this Joash decided to restore the house of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 24:4).
That is why caring for the spaces where children meet is not a maintenance issue. It is a soul issue. Fresh paint on a wall, a working air conditioner, a clean classroom: each one is part of reaching someone’s son or someone’s granddaughter with the gospel.
It is also a matter of trust. Parents decide where to go to church based on whether they can trust a church with their kids. Many families will compromise on style, preference and even some of their theology for a children’s ministry they trust. That is a hard truth, but it is real. A church does not have to choose between the power of God and excellent care for kids. It can, and should, have both: a secure check-in, clean and safe rooms, and leaders who take children seriously.
When parents see that their children are safe, loved and taught, the door opens for the whole family to hear the gospel.
Sowing Into the Next Generation
Investing in the next generation costs something. Scripture describes giving as seed: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). And the God who calls us to sow is the One “who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food” (2 Corinthians 9:10).
The invitation is not to give out of pressure. It is to ask the Lord what He would have you give, and then to trust Him with it.
A Refuge for a Joash Generation
The spirit of the age is real, and it is after the next generation. But so was Athaliah, and she did not get the last word. A faithful woman and a courageous priest hid one child in the house of God, and in time he wore the crown and restored the temple.
That is the calling of the church today: not to reverse the age, but to be a refuge from it. Protect the kids. Consecrate them. Call them out. When we take care of kids, God takes care of us.