The Forward From the Book…

(by Pastor Mike Burns, former Pastor of Youth Ministries 
at Cedar Grove Church, Mifflintown, PA)

Where is the nation going? Where is the local church going? Where is this generation going? Let me tell you this, where this generation goes, the church and nation will go. Period!

A lot of churches around the world are closing their doors because they are no longer relevant. I did not say that their message isn’t relevant; I said "they" are not relevant. Why aren’t they relevant? Again, it’s not their message, its "them." You can have the best and most powerful message in all of history – which we do – and still not be able to articulate because you are back in the 1970s or at least your sanctuary smells like it. Youth and young adults don’t want to come to a place that is dying. The way they see it, if your church is dying, then your message must not be worth anything.

So are we representing Christ well here on earth? Looking at the American Church, I would say NO! Now I am not talking about giving up your core biblical beliefs. I’m talking about giving up your core unbiblical traditions. Jesus said it best in Matthew 15:6-7, "And so, by your own tradition, you nullify the direct commandment of God." What commandment is He talking about? Down to its core, Christ is talking about being that royal priesthood, God’s representation on earth to the entire world. Remember the great commandment in Matthew 22:36-37 where Jesus is asked the question, "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."

The American Church needs to come back to love our God with all our heart, soul and mind. In short, we need to love what God loves and do what God would do. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 tells us, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Jesus said to go and make. A lot of churches have forgotten to GO and MAKE, they would rather sit and die.

This is where Rod Pry puts it perfectly in this book – change or your doors will be shut. He not just makes this statement of the American Church having to change, but he gives us many reasons why. He tells us of the things that are going on with today’s young adult generation, from their younger years up to the time when they get married, have babies or even get divorced. He proves that education is power by informing us – the American Church – what we have to do.

Rod shows us that we need to look past the outer appearance and start looking at the inner spirit of this generation. And, I believe that God would say the same thing to us today as he said through the prophets in I Samuel 16:7, "…the Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions."

I believe that the inner thoughts of this generation, more than any other generation, involve a genuine desire to know, trust and be empowered by God to reach their local community for Christ. But, who is going to teach them? Who is going to reach them? Who is going to show them Christ and walk with them? Is it you?

Are you scared? Don’t be scared. As a young adult myself and a youth pastor, I know that we need someone to walk with us, not to be scared of us, but to show us the way of the Lord. Yes, we need you!

Rod gives us this book to use as a tool and not to be scared. He explains what is going on and how we as a generation want to be reached. In this book you will find elements of how to reach, interact and build relationships with today’s young adult generation. He does not just give us duties, but he tells us how to reach with fun and an excitement on our hearts.

I you are still scared of interacting with this generation, don’t be. Rod then goes into giving us active models on how to take these elements to the next level. He informs us about what is going on with this generation so that we are educated on why we need to reach them and how to go after them as a modern day lost sheep and prodigal son generation – "the missing!"

Rod’s book, if read and acted upon, can be a great tool in engaging this generation by getting out of our pews and making disciples. Be challenged by Rod, put his elements and models into practice and I promise you, you will reach this generation and you will see Christ on the day of Judgment and you will hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Several years ago I was talking with a man who was telling me about the great young adult Sunday school class that they had at his church. I was very interested so I started to ask him a few questions. As we talked, I asked him about the ages of the persons involved in the class. "Well," he replied, "they’re probably between 35 and 50." What? People between 35 and 50 are "young adults?"

In today’s church we are told that the median age of all persons attending is around 55 years of age. So, with that in mind, maybe persons between 35 and 50 are the "younger adults." And, within that man’s church, they may have been the "youngest adults," but I don’t think that most people who are between the ages of 35 and 50 can be classified as "young adults."

In most cases, persons between 18 and 30 are regarded as being "young adults," although 30 is not necessarily the top range. In some cases it could be up to age 40; it’s more about life situation that a specific age limit.

Within the group you have single adults, college students, persons embarking on a career, persons who were recently married, some who are already divorced, and some with young children. This segment of adults spans two generations: Postmoderns (or Generation X) and Millennials (Generation Y).

Look at the world around us. According to census figures, persons within the 18 to 30 age group make up almost 20% of the total U.S. population. That’s a lot of people! In the world around us, young adults play a major role in setting trends in music, fashion, culture and much, much more. And, in business and advertising, it’s the group that is most often targeted as potential customers. Truly, young adults are a very visible and influential group in just about every segment of society.

You will notice, however, that I said "in just about every segment of society." There is one place where young adults are often conspicuous in their absence and that is within many churches. In most churches today, young adults make up the smallest demographic group in attendance.

As I mentioned earlier, only about 3 out of 10 young adults attend church on a regular basis. That means that there is a vast number of people between the ages of 18 and 30 who are not involved in church. But, the question remains, "what can we do to reach all of these unchurched young adults?"

As we were doing the research to develop this workshop and book, we talked with people – both leaders and actual young adults – from a number of churches that now have very successful young adult ministries. As we looked at what these churches are doing, we began to notice that they were all doing a number of the same things. They were using a variety of programs and forms of ministry, but there were many similar ingredients or elements that we kept noticing over and over.

As we looked closer, we were able to identify 12 different "elements" that were involved in these successful young adult ministries. Not every element was included in every program in every church and some elements were being used only occasionally. But, it became quite obvious that if a church is planning to start a new young adult ministry or build up an existing ministry, these were the building blocks that needed to be laid down as the foundation for the ministry. Here are the 12 "elements" that we discovered (no necessarily in any order of importance):

Relationships are of primary importance to most young adults. They readily seek out friends and are constantly looking for intimacy, community and companionship. They are looking for authentic, meaningful relationships.

Many young adults are now far away from home and their biological family. Most have moved several times in the past several years. And, the more often that they move, the harder it becomes to maintain old friendships. As a result, young adults suffer from loneliness and isolation.

In their search for these meaningful, lasting relationships, many young adults go to bars or clubs and others turn to the internet and even dating services. But, are these really places to find real friends and the feeling of community that most young adults are searching for?

The church, on the other hand, is built on relationships and community. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is most important. But, the relationships and friendships that we develop with other Christians are also of great importance.

Several years ago Dr. James Dobson’s "Focus on the Family" group conducted a survey of young adults across America. They asked the young adults why the attend the church that they now attend. Surprisingly, the most important thing about a church for these young adults was not the pastor, the level of spirituality in the church or even the type of worship service that the church had. The survey discovered that the number one, most important reason why most young adults attend the church that they now attend was the feeling of community, welcome and friendship that exist within the church.

Because of the great importance that young adults place on finding and maintaining close, supportive relationships, it is imperative for us to include a variety of relationship building and fellowship activities as elements in any of the young adult ministry programs that we have within the church. Again, our relationship with Jesus Christ should be the most important relationship promoted within the church, but, as we work to build an effective young adult ministry, we also need to focus on the relationships of young adults with each other. If any young adult ministry program is to be successful, you must give the participants the opportunity and tools to connect with other persons – both male and female – of their own age. And, our efforts at relationship building shouldn’t stop there. Young adults also need to develop relationships with other persons within the church, too. They need the affirmation and validation of maturing and experienced adult Christians, too.