The Young Adults Will Save Us! (or not)

It’s pretty much gospel among most denominations (including my own, The United Methodist Church) that we have to do a better job of reaching young adults. And I wholeheartedly agree. But before we make an idol out of this generation, this article (click on the headline to go to it) is a sobering yet helpful read.

If you do reach young adults, your church may not magically turn around and be all that. According to this survey (and, admittedly, it’s a generalization), recent generations tend to focus more on “money, image, and fame.” Although I have nothing to base this judgment, I have a hunch that we will see more and more of this as social media becomes more and more ingrained in people’s lives. Facebook (and I say this as a fairly avid Facebook user) encourages navel gazing. Healthy self-reflection is fine, but when we look to promote (sometimes false) images of ourselves and have people liking many of our daily activities, one can’t help but be concerned about image and fame.

Speaking as a pastor of a church that is reaching some young adults, I also have found that they’re not always the most reliable group in the world to build a church around. Many twenty somethings are trying to get a handle on their lives, make friends, sit at the grown-up table, and if church can fit into that, fine, but, if not, that’s fine, too. 

I wouldn’t change what I’m doing for anything. I love working with 20- and 30somethings. Their energy and creativity is infectious. I’m only saying that church leaders need to know what they’re getting into when doing this ministry.