4 minute read
The Missing Generation
One of the iconic images of last summer was a waistcoat clad football manager standing on the touchline leading his country to the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time in almost 30 years. Gareth Southgate won plaudits from all corners for his bold approach of trusting young players he had nurtured with the responsibility of playing for their country on the biggest stage. How can we be as caring and courageous when it comes to nurturing and releasing the next generation in our congregations
The first decade of adulthood often contains the most significant transitions of life. As young adults leave the bubble of their teenage years behind them, they are suddenly confronted with having to make real decisions, each packed with moments that have the potential to cause faith to crumble. In these transitions, it’s so easy for many to lose confidence in the faith they once had. In many places, young adults are the most likely to leave church and the most likely to not return. It’s right to acknowledge the missing generation.
Last year, we hosted several focus groups for people engaged in ministry to young adults within congregations across our Church. The purpose of these discussions was to discover key principles to help congregations be effective in reaching and discipling young adults. Some of these principles are shared here, while others will be unpacked more fully in an upcoming resource on young adult ministry. Two of the central themes that emerged were ‘relationship’ and ‘responsibility’.
Relationship
As we listened to the stories of young adult ministry, words like ‘relationship’, ‘community’, ‘belonging’ and ‘mentoring’ all featured highly. It became clear that the young adults most involved in church activities were those most deeply engaged in their church community.
This generation of young adults are at risk of information overload and choice paralysis. With endless social media feeds, constant movies on demand and instant access to smartphone apps, this generation are capable of accessing more information and creating more connections than ever before. Even when it comes to the things of faith, online sermons, podcasts and audiobooks mean that they can discover, read and hear Christian content without ever setting foot in a local expression of the church.
The need isn’t more connections or better entertainment, but deeper relationship, and our focus group conversations underlined the benefits of getting alongside young adults and being present in their lives. In settings where ministry among young adults was thriving, the emphasis seemed to focus more on the lives of their people rather than the nature of their programmes.
While we might not think we have anything to pass on, we should be encouraged by the fact that we aren’t called to be perfect in our lives, but rather be present in their lives. Let’s not underestimate the power of our lives and the potential of relationship. Let’s not place young adults off to the side of church life but bring them more fully into our lives. Let’s not neglect everyday actions, such as the question of: “How was your week?”, the invitation to join an activity, or welcoming them into our homes for a meal.
Responsibility
However, it was clear that young adults desired more than merely relationship on its own. What emerged from our conversations was the desire young adults had to be involved in serving and leading in the life of the church. In fact, the more responsibility that could be given to young adults over time, the more committed they seemed to become to ministry and mission.
One congregation shared an example of a programme that had regularly failed to engage young adults. The simple transition of handing the keys of leadership over to a small group of committed young adults saw that completely change. By allowing them to shape things, they saw both commitment levels rise and the age demographic change. In other words, the people best placed to reach young adults, were young adults!
Another congregation shared how their young adults’ group wasn’t so much about doing ministry to young adults, but actually about doing ministry with young adults. This emphasis meant giving more ownership of the programme over to them while continuing to maintain some level of overall leadership and control. If you want to develop young adult focused initiatives, the more that young adults are involved in planning and shaping it, the more they will own it!
Perhaps we might be tempted to be overly cautious and choose not to give responsibility to those who seem young, or perhaps we have been frustrated in the past by lack of commitment in a younger generation. However, it is key we move young adults from mere involvement to more influence. James Lawrence said, “Young people leave church when we ask them to be passengers rather than participants.” If our desire is simply for young adults to attend rather than contribute, then we run the risk of frustrating them in the present and missing their influence in the long-term.
There is no doubt that involving young adults in leadership can at times lead to frustrations or even failures, but we should be encouraged that throughout the story of Scripture, God is constantly in the business of using the young. While it might mean effort in the short-term, it should lead to celebration in the longterm. It’s messy in the nursery but neat and tidy in the graveyard, so let’s be prepared to take the risks and embrace the mess!
Rick Hill is PCI’s Discipleship Development Officer.
