As we steer this series towards home I have to say that it has been great seeing how much conversation it has produced. Several great comments have come in on the young adult blog here and I am humbled by the remarks I received offline along with the reports from my church’s young adults who have shared with me their peers reactions and the conversations that they have had.
So, here’s my pedigree once again. I assisted with a church plant that targeted inner city youth and young adults. I was a youth and young adult Pastor. In my current church the fastest growing demographic is young adults. My point, I have learned some things over the years that have stood true no matter where I have ministered to young adults. Therefore, in this post I wish to clear up some misconceptions that many churches and church leaders have in regard to young adults and faith.
Misconception #1
Young adults are so self-centered that they care very little about God and faith.
It is exactly because they are self-centered that many young adults DO in fact, care about God and faith. When I say that they are self-centered what I mean is that they are on their own, or trying to be. They are attempting to “make it”, to chase dreams and figure out what matters the most in life. Yes they default to self, last time I checked you and I often do as well. But by and large there is still an openness to explore God and faith. The key is that it must be done in a way that is sincere and relevant. Remember, many of them have an aversion to church created by the level of hypocrisy they have seen in many church going folk. The more open and honest you are with them the more they are willing to allow you to guide them on a faith walk. The more you show them how to think through biblical principles, as opposed to spoon feeding them “do’s” and “dont’s”, the more they appreciate God’s Word.
Misconception #2
In the name of relevance they like it dumbed down.
I believe that God’s Word is relevant. I do not need to make it relevant I simply need to show people it’s relevance and timely nature. This is never more true than when ministering to young adults. BUT, this doesn’t mean that I dumb down the Word or my teaching of it. If a young adult has spent any time in church they have already had the Bible relegated to a bunch of stories. What they want now is to dig in! Whether or not they accept it and incorporate it into their lives, young adults want to dig in and explore all that the Bible has to say about life and any particular topic. They want to see it for themselves. They want someone to slog through tough passages with them. They are smart enough to begin formulating real life application.
One of the young adults from my church recently attended a conference. The main speaker of the conference handled one topic throughout several sessions in the span of two days. I thought it would be great to have this young adult be in an environment where the speaker would lead an effort to “dig in” to a subject.
When the young man returned home I asked how things went. His first line, no lie…”I think he dumbed it down for a mass audience.” My jaw dropped. How could you set up an environment for “concentrated” study then deal in terms of generalities and platitudes?
Don’t be afraid to dig in and dissect passages with young adults!
Misconception #3
If you reach out they won’t respond.
If nothing else, have the courage to engage young adults in conversation.
Utilize the techniques of “Active Listening" to better understand them.
I have found that young adults have a lot of opinions and most of them love to share those opinions. If you are open and honest with them, willing to admit your, and the church’s, faults, they will respond and appreciate your efforts.
What they say of church folk is also true of young adults, “They won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Young adults, have I come anywhere near hitting the mark?
Let me hear from you!
Do you, or have you ministered to young adults?
I’d like to hear of other misconceptions you have experienced.
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