What Hasn’t Changed

Stevens believes that sagging church involvement among young adults, despite recent exacerbation, has existed for decades, and he points to a few uniform causes on his blog:

– Families, divorces and parental examples: Young adults are more likely to feel a commitment to church and faith if their parents were still together when they were 17 and the whole family attended church together.

– Church attitude: Too many churches are not welcoming enough for young adults and operate using culturally obsolete worship styles, groups and technology. For a generation that operates on the cutting edge, this is a turnoff.

– Christian experiences as teenagers/children: If, as high school and middle school students, young adults had meaningful interactions in church and with God, they are much more likely to seek out a church community as young adults.

With that last point, Stevens challenges the old “youth group” model, which he says separates teenagers from forging connections with other ages. “We in student ministry have been so focused on meeting the developmental needs of adolescents that we have separated teens from the rest of the church body to do ‘youth stuff.’ This has resulted in thousands of teens who have joined a ‘youth group,’ but have never been integrated into the full life of the church. No wonder they leave the church after high school; they don’t feel like there is anything for them until they get married and have children of their own.”

Resistance Is Not Futile

The Church will never buck the trend by making excuses. One common gripe about evangelizing to the 20-somethings and college students is that they live a transient life, moving around as careers and education demand. Many pastors and church leaders contend that keeping track of this group is too much of an ordeal, but Anderson says young adult movement doesn’t have to be a barrier. “If you have built your church around stability, long-term discipleship and leadership development, then it is a problem. But if you can foresee that this will be a recurring cycle, then instead of bemoaning the fact, you simply build your church with this in mind.” As Anderson’s church is near Arizona State University, he anticipates that his college-age members will be at his church for about two years. He wants to help them mold and develop their Christian understanding so that they can take it to another church, wherever their future destination is. “What better way to send out domestic missionaries? They are getting jobs, so they are self-supporting. They are getting new homes with new neighbors as their mission field. We try to hook them up with a new church where they can continue their ongoing discipleship. If they stay longer, that’s great; but we don’t plan on it.”

Another trend consistent among “young” churches is that, in general, young people don’t financially give as much as older, more established people. Naturally, even the most dedicated 20-something tithers can’t contribute as much as older adults because they haven’t reached their peak earning potential. Food and gas prices are rising, and most students today graduate with gargantuan debt. Before giving to church is even a thought, usually every penny of young adults’ income is instantly absorbed. But Jesus didn’t ignore reaching out to the young and poor, and churches shouldn’t either, Anderson says. He outlines Praxis’ philosophy, strategies that minimize costs and maximize serving Christ. “We designed our entire ministry around three things: Sunday Gatherings, Life Training (discipleship/theology classes) and Missional Communities. We spend next to nothing on Missional Communities, and we spend about $500 per month on Life Training. That’s $500 per month on two-thirds of our ministry. Most of our expense is building costs and payroll. If you build your church on expensive programs, then young people are a problem because they give basically nothing. So conversely, if you want to reach young people and be able to float your ministry, you have to change your structure.”

Anderson points out, however, that young adults often have more energy and are willing to give more time than older adults. Asking the 20s to share these gifts might alleviate their concerns about financial insecurity, thereby diminishing one barrier that can keep them out of church.

Technology and Truth

Technology on its own won’t bring 20-somethings to the Gospel, but a lack of it might keep them away. Young adults’ communication today is often instant, thanks to technology and the media that has shaped their culture, if not all of American culture. That’s why many ministries have succeeded by using Web 2.0 tools such as social networking, video sharing, podcasting and blogging. Many churches have built Starbucks-esque cafes in their buildings, hoping to replicate the java giant’s trendy, relaxing ambiance and stranglehold on hipster, young-adult living. Yet, even when congregations brew modern coffee, establish social networking presences, and offer Web devotions, Anderson and Stevens agree the techniques alone won’t assuage the young-adult drought.

“These tools can be very useful in communicating meeting details, sharing an encouraging word or prayer need, providing a forum to discuss real-life issues, and can do so over long distances without time constraints,” Stevens points out. “But even for all of technology’s benefits, young adults need most to meet God and His Son Jesus face-to-face, to experience Him in worship and to live out their faith in rubbing elbows with other people of all ages.”

In fact, being available to help make these personal connections is what it all comes down to. “I firmly believe you don’t have to be cool to reach young people,” Anderson offers. “I believe they are just looking for someone to be honest with them. They are looking for people that they can trust because the world is full of people they can’t.”

Generation Names

iGen – Short for “Internet Generation,” these folks are “Net natives” who struggle to remember life before the World Wide Web and ubiquitous cell-phone use. They are the most vocal on the social networks, particularly Myspace and Facebook, and use text messaging and instant messaging as primary modes of communication. Almost of all today’s preadolescents, teenagers and even young college students are included.

Gen Y – Gen Y is an earlier branch of the iGen. Known as “the millennials” and born in the 80s, Gen Y-ers are old enough to remember the Internet boom and the dot-com bust. Their day-to-day lives involve much use of the Web. As most of these people are currently in their early 20s, they are currently undergraduates, young professionals or graduate students, living in environments that mandate strong technology skills. Like the iGen, they also frequent social networking sites and use instant- and text-messaging, though they still seem to value face-to-face interaction. They’re the children of the late baby boomers.

Gen X – It doesn’t seem long ago that the marketing hubbub was all about how to reach Gen X, which spans people born between the late ’60s and the very early ’80s. They do remember life before the Internet, and the earliest of the bunch came of age and started working before Web 2.0 was even a blip on the radar. In general, this group was known more for a musical and cultural revolution (U2, Nirvana) and societal apathy. Ironically, this group has led much of the “green movement,” and in their young adulthoods, they have voiced some of the loudest concerns for social change. Today, Gen X-ers are solidly in their 30s. They’re starting families and have served as major fodder for the growth of megachurches.

Good Reads

“unChristian.” Dave Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The writers examine all of the walls between the Church and today’s young adults and they give real solutions for how to break them down.

“Hurt: Inside The World of Today’s Teenagers.” Chap Clark. Today’s teens are tomorrow’s young adults. Because so much of a young adult’s faith is shaped during the teenage years, this book provides help for those trying to understand the up-and-coming iGen.

“Young Adult Ministry in the 21st Century: The Encyclopedia of Practical Ideas.” Eds. Brad Lewis, Beth Robinson, Carl Simmons. This anthology contains great ideas for how to provide the support and truth young adults crave.