New findings from author and researcher George Barna suggest that fewer churches are placing the importance on a Sunday school program that they did even five years ago. According to a report on LeadershipJournal.net, in a 2002 survey, Barna found 22 percent of pastors called Sunday school their church's top priority. In a survey this year, that number dropped to 15 percent.

Barna attributes the loss of the priority to the drop in classes offered for young children and adolescents at most churches. Elementary kids still have a steady diet of Sunday school, according to the Barna research, although their midweek programs may have been axed, especially by younger senior ministers. Younger leaders are more likely to opt for less traditional Christian education programs than Sunday school.

In fact, something different, may be at the heart of the decline in Sunday school, as church leaders seek to reach the youth in more relevant or fresh ways. So what is working, or at least what is hot in children's ministry these days?

According to more Barna research and a report on Crosswalk.com, churches should first pay close attention to the unorthodox views espoused by teens who attend church. Barna's findings suggest that in issues of the divinity of Christ, the resurrection, the reality of absolute truth -- the majority of church-going teenagers simply do not hold to views that are orthodox. The news is similar to that found by Josh McDowell and promoted in his 2002 book, "Beyond Belief."

The findings also explain why churchgoing teens abandon a weekly congregational meeting once they enter college. A 2004 study released by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) examined church attendance by college students. UCLA researchers found that in 2000, just over 80 percent of college freshman said that they had attended church services frequently or occasionally during their last years in high school. During their freshman year at college, that dropped to 52 percent. And by 2003, as those freshmen were going through their junior year, only 29 percent could make that same claim.

Perhaps it is the busy rush of college life that draws college students away from church. It was for many, according to the research, a habit, rather than an act of faith or deeply held belief, anyway.

So what can church leaders do to disciple children better? How can they instill spiritual truths that withstand the test of time and circumstances?

While many churches are looking to the entertainment and action-packed adventure trends of children's ministries in large churches, a small study of a quieter and more contemplative sort of children's class hit the radar this summer and if you were like me (entertaining your own kids who were home for the summer) and missed it, the experiment bears consideration:

According to the Wheaton College Graduate School, slow, thoughtful reflection is central to many spiritual disciplines, so a quiet and reflective space may be more conducive for children to "fall in love" with God than a high-energy venue.

"Parents and church leaders would do well to investigate their children's deep longings rather than opt for cultural trends," an article on LeadershipJournal.net explains.

Rather than loud music and boisterous and active games, the research here suggests stillness and quiet.