FINAL THOUGHTS . . . Seems like every day there are new numbers to ponder as we consider how to respond to the challenges of youth and young adult ministry. And, it's really not a pretty picture. In the book, Already Gone: Why Your Kids Will Quit Church and What You Can Do to Stop It, the authors note George Barna's finding that "six out of ten 20-somethings who were involved in a church during their teen years are already gone." They note that nearly 50% of teens in the U.S. regularly attend church - related services or activities. More then three-quarters talk about their faith with their friends. Three out of five attend a least one youth group meeting at a church during a three month period and one-third participate in Christian clubs at school. Yet, most disengage from active participation in the Christian faith after high school. Youth and Young Adult Ministry simply present a huge challenge to the church. What are we doing for them? What do we have that will keep them engaged? How are we encouraging them in the faith? What are we doing to support them? What do we offer that would attract them to our Gospel message? Sometimes we seem to simply assume that they'll be back when they get married and have children. While that might have been true in the 50's and 60's (last century) it's no longer true when young adults marry and have their children in their mid-to-late 30's. The fastest growing segment of church programming is for Baby Boomers and older adults. I'm thinking we need to seriously rethink that and recommit to ministry with children, youth and young adults. To quote my favorite words from C.F.W. Walther, "You cannot use your time to better advantage than by serving well the young people of the congregation." Perhaps those words, said more than 100 years ago, need to guide our efforts today.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
How do we keep 20 somthings in the church? Please comment!
The following was included in an e-mail from our church body today. What are your thoughts?
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Here's what's wrong....What do we offer that would attract them to our Gospel message?
ReplyDeleteWe don't offer anything.
It's not our message.
Do what God has asked you to do - provide Word and Sacrament. Week in and week out. It might be boring. It might not be any fun. God never said it would be either of those. He said he would be faithful. Be consistent with your message. Make your message clear - tell them EXACTLY what you want them to do. Don't leave anything implied. What do you mean by missions?
In this ever changing world, we need to know we have a solid rock to stand on. This is why consistency is important. Changing it up all the time isn't consistent. The economy is changing, jobs are changing, everything changes, but God is the same as He was at the beginning of time. The church is God on Earth - it needs to reflect His consistency.
They have to know you really care. For the first time ever - we had a Pastor come to our house last night. He in no way let us wiggle out of it either. He point blank asked us if we were busy on Monday evening because he would like to come and visit with us. There's no wiggling out of that. It showed commitment and sincerity to his flock.
Just my thoughts....
Kerri
I concur. There is a startling trend in (apparently most?) evangelical churches in the USA to make the church look and feel more like the rest of the world. It appears that this has been driven by some outspoken persons (usually non-denominational) and a number of polls and surveys asking unbelievers, the un-churched as well as ailing churchgoers what they want. I see this as even detrimental to the kingdom. The more we make "church" look and feel like the rest of the world, the less we need the church!
ReplyDeleteHow much is the presence of God in a church with hip music and a complete multimedia experience different from having a party or watching a movie at the house of a Christian family? And how little would you then need to change your home movie time to make it just like your church "experience"?
I don't go to church because it is like everything else I know and see. I go to church because it is intentionally different from everything else in the world. I need to escape from the world, leave behind the high-paced technology that distracts me the rest of the week and participate in the real presence of God through the sacraments without an electronic proxy. To worship him with other believers and be renewed so that I can return to the world with new vigor to face my daily trials, and an unwavering confidence to represent my Savior in my vocation and other activities.
I suppose that was all a precursor to the actual question, "how do we keep 20 somethings in the church?"
Being a "20 something" that is still "in the church," I can guarantee that it is not the church that keeps me here. It is Jesus Christ that keeps me in the church through the conviction of the law and the promise of the gospel. It always has, and I suspect it always will.
I am always strikingly, emotionally, deeply affected by the law and the gospel when they are correctly balanced and declared simply and clearly. I think we all need to simplify our message. Gods word does not need our gimmicks and flair in order to be effective. The only effect I have seen from these changes is confusion and distraction.
~Patrick
Thanks Kerri and Patrick for sharing what has kept you faithful. I agree that Word and Sacrament are NEVER a determent as they are the means of Grace and the vehicle for the Holy Spirit to enter us. These must always be present and the real "meat" of our acts of worship to our Savior.
ReplyDeleteThe statistics astound me, however, that it would seem that high schoolers attend church and church related activities far more frequently than other age groups. I wonder then, what happens when they turn 18? Why do they not STAY faithful in College and beyond? I don't think its just getting into bad habits of skipping. I suspect it runs deeper than that.
Patrick says, "Being a "20 something" that is still "in the church," I can guarantee that it is not the church that keeps me here." Patrick states what I have been suspecting for a while: I'm guessing that a lot of younger adults aren't willing to put up with some of the things that have been masqueraded as church in the past few decades and just don't want to "deal" with it. Whether it is superficial worship or so-called "Christians" behaving horribly toward each other, there is now (and has always been) much in the church to be disgruntled about. Perhaps those before my generation were conditioned to come back out initially out of a sense of obligation. Now, not so much. No one seems obligated to anyone anymore and everything is voluntary, or worse, optional and relative.
I think if we understood that question of "why aren't they returning," and discover the reason/pain/conflict which keeps them away, we will be able to minister to them better and bring them back into the blessings of faith (Means of Grace) in our Lord.
We can "suppose" and "Guess" all we want and perhaps never be correct. I'd be curious to hear from someone was involved with a church and who is now staying away from church to hear what they might have to say on the matter.
First, I have to say that polls really bother me. I think it is major mistake to base any important decisions on what a few people from who knows where have answered to questions that contain words with different connotations to each of them. I also have to admit that I bulk at people telling me what I’m supposed to think and feel because some poll said “_____” about my age group. Why do we have to be lumped into age groups anyway?
ReplyDeleteI heartily concur with the previous posts by Kerri and Patrick, but it seems to me that the real question is not “how do we get them back”, but rather “why are we losing them.” I think the problem goes back to how we are approaching “youth ministry”. Yes, there always seem to be a lot of youth (jr/sr high) “involved” in the church—but what does “involved” really mean? Is it teaching them to appreciate and nurture their relationship with their Lord, or do we “dumb it down” to social activities because we think that we will lose the youth if it is anything other than fun, fun, fun. I’m not trying to say that fun is bad, but what are we really emphasizing? How many of the youth on those polls considers themselves “involved” because they show up to play basketball at the church with their friends and day dream through the five minutes that kind of sort of skates around talking about God? Do our church and synod sponsored youth events nurture our youth in their faith walk and teach them timeless depths of our faith, or are they comprised of fun, music, games, and then throw in a pep talk about how much “Jesus loves you” without ever really getting past the basic concept? If youth can be “involved” in church for years without ever being challenged and strengthened in their faith walk, why should we suddenly expect them to appreciate deeper things when they turn 18?
I consider myself to come from a fairly eclectic Christian background—Lutheran before 3rd grade, then skipping around various churches from Fundamentalist, to Baptist, to Non-Denominational, in several different states. I was the model Christian youth—I had all the right answers, I could recite Scripture for any discussion, I was always involved in everything in the church, and the list goes on. The point is: looking back on the youth groups, Sunday school classes, and various Bible studies I participated in, I don’t really think they built or strengthened my Christian walk in any way. They were all about trying to be fun and cool so that more kids would come. Success was measured by how many people showed up and if the youth were having fun and psyched up for the next concert or whatever. I can honestly say that I doubt I would have stayed nearly as involved in church if I had not gone to the college I went to and been introduced to the depths of real theology and the many ways that manifests itself in our daily lives and in the church.
Praise God for Christian Colleges! Lauren was obviously blessed by her experience. But, of course, one can graduate from a Christian College and fall away just as easily as not and one can go to a secular college and "find God" as well. And what about all those whom God is calling to vocations outside of Churchwork or to college programs for which Christian Colleges do not offer programs of excellence? There is also the matter of Cost. I really wanted to go to Seward as a business major, but opted for Nebraska as it was half or one third the cost and I was paying my own way.
ReplyDeleteTo your point, I'm sure there are many congregations who do a poor job of youth ministry just as there are some who do poorly with the worship hour, Sunday School, or community service and involvement. But I am certain that many are "doing" good, faithful youth ministry, yet can't seem to get kids to "stick" with the church. I think we need to be cautious of lumping the root of the problem soley on youth leaders/programs.
Let me exand on this and lets assume for a moment that young adults who stay involved in the church past their teens must be getting a good grounding in their faith. The last generation in our church body to demonstrate this line of reasoning were those who grew up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. They were part of our national youth organization called "Walther League" (see quote by Walther at the end of the original post).
The Walther League no longer exists today. Why? Was it because they lost members and support? No. When disbanded, they were at the height of their popularity and even owned their own building in Downtown Chicago (I beleive that's where it was-correct me if I'm wrong). Walther League was disbanded becuase it was accused of doing things which were seen as too liberal or un-Lutheran or not in agreement with our church body. I don't remember those days, but from what I have read, the accusations were serious and evidence existed to back them up. No one argued the fact that they had a great organization--it trained up leaders to lead the church--but according to the church they weren't leading the church in the right direction doctrinally. And so here we have an example of what would seem to be "faithful" continuance in church attendence and engagement which really wasn't faithful.
Interestingly, the money gained from its disollution is now the "Wheatridge Foundation" which benefits the church to this day. Dare we also wonder if the kids we have sent into the world, who are no longer in our pews, are likewise doing similar good and living faithful lives apart from the church? I think we have to accept that possibility. However, if that is so, they well be increasingly challenged in their faith without the support of the Body of Christ which they need in the form of a local group of believers with whom they worship and share in the sacrament with. Up to now we have called this a congregation. I'm not sure what it might be called in the future because I think they have been embittered by what they see going on in their home congregations.
My hope is that in my lifetime we are able to faithfully recapture the spirit and zeal which existed during the Walther League days in a manner both faithful to the Word and engaged with the world to make a difference for God's kingdom. I think that is what is truly in the hearts of youth ministers as well. They wouldn't be in it if they didn't have a heart for the souls of those the attempt to lead to Jesus.