Bob's Blog

A recent survey taken by MTV and the Associated Press about what young people (ages 13-24) said made them happy was released over the weekend. To the surprise of most people the results showed that it wasn't money, fame, drugs, or even sex, but it all boiled down to relationships. In fact, the number one relationship that made them happy is their relationship with their parents.


For those of us who study this age group, this news doesn't come as a big shock. In their ground breaking book, Millennials Rising, both Howe and Strauss point out that this generation is far more connected with their parents than Gen X was or those Boomers of the 60's. So what did the survey reveal?

• 65% said they are happy with their life right now.
• 73% said their relationship with their parents makes them happy.
• 50% said their heroes were their parents (29% mom; 21% dad, with friends and God rounding out the other top spots).

Here are some other facts:

• 64% who said they were happy came from two parent homes (compared to 47% that came from divorce homes).
• 62% believe they will be happy as adults even though they know life will not be easy for them.
• Only 1% listed money as a source of happiness but 58% want to be rich while 28% want fame.
• 85% felt stress in their lives (38% frequent; 47% sometimes).
• 88% do not feel safe (29% rarely feel safe; 59% somewhat safe).
• According to the poll, more than half claimed that religion or spirituality played a very important part of their life or is the single most important thing in their lives.

Most experts believe this survey showed what we already know about this generation, that relationships are a major key factor in how they see the world around them. Although they feel high levels of stress and are concerned about the events of the world they live in, they still believe that life will be better for them in the future and that they will be the ones to make that future better.

The past few weeks have been very busy and insightful for me. I've been traveling and meeting with many of you who are desiring to reach out to a new sub culture generation called Emerging Adults. This age group ranges from approximately 18-25 and has been written about by such magazines as Newsweek and Time and reported by TV news magazines on NBC and ABC. This group is fast becoming the next new youth group (Chuck Bomar, Cornerstone Church) transitioning from late adolescence into young adulthood (Jeffery Arnett, Emerging Adulthood). Here are just a few ways churches are successfully helping this group transition into the Church:

• A pastor or committed lay leaders to shepherd the group.
• Church leadership recognizing this age group as a transition period between late adolescence and young adulthood.
• Relationships is the key to connecting them to the church body.
• Older adults play a significant role in helping them transition into young adults.
• Churches that are service/evangelistic oriented draw and keep this group.
• They gravitate towards churches that teach relevant sound doctrine.

These are just a few ways churches are seeing their young people stay and not leave the church once they hit ages 18-25. Most churches are trying to assimilate young people into a morning service but this will not work. Most church services are geared towards Boomers at best and have little connection to the Emerging Adult world. Even if you do change the worship music and bring in candles, they still will leave. The reason is that it is not only about atmosphere (although you should see if you need to rethink how you present the Gospel to their generation) but it is about biblical community. Connecting them to the Body is what they long for rather than getting them to sit for a church service.

If you are looking for resources that will help your church to reach out to this age group (traditionally called the College Group), feel free to email me at calibobble@yahoo.com.

I've been on the road the past two weeks so I'm trying to catch up with my post. The first week, I was at the Momentum Conference in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I oversaw the Fusion ministry which covers ages 18-25. I loved the time with the students and I enjoyed hanging out with friends from all over the country. I will probably remember this conference for a long time. We had an amazing week and a great opportunity in serving others. The Gulfport region is still feeling the devastation brought on by hurricane Katrina. It amazes me to think that after two years it seems that almost nothing has been done for those who still live in homes without electricity or running water. Many residence from the areas of Gulfport and Perlington have told us that if it wasn't for churches and Christian organizations, they would all be but forgotten. I was reminded again about how this Millennial generation loves to serve. On one of the days that we were helping to prep a house for painting, one of the college students remarked that she didn't think she could do conference the same way again. I asked her what she meant and she replied,"This is why I came to conference this year. I came to help others and share the love of Jesus through my serving." Lives were changed and I know God was pleased.

We had a great time at Equip as well. I had the opportunity to host a college round table that took place at CE National Russell Center. There were over 15 who participated and if we counted those who came to the college ministry round table's at Momentum, we had over 30 people who came to find out more about college ministries. I am convinced that there is a need among the FGBC's and other churches across our country in understanding how to reach and keep this Millennial generation. The two questions I consistently hear from lay leaders, pastors, and parents are these; how do we keep our young people from leaving the church and how do we reach this generation for Jesus. We not only need to bring these questions to a national level (Equip, Focus Retreat, ministerium, etc...) but to come before God and seek His answers in bringing the Gospel to the next generation. There are many groups who are starting to take the lead in this area. Chuck Bomar, a good friend and a speaker at the Fusion Power Trax at Momentum, is one of those who God is giving a voice to help churches reach this generation. He's the college pastor at Cornerstone Simi and has started a ministry called collegeleader. Check out his website at www.collegeleader.org. CE National is hosting a summit for about 12-15 college leaders from a cross section of our nation this October. Some of the most influential churches will be a part of this gathering called Summit on Emerging Adults.

There are many great things God is doing and choosing to do it through young people. We'll be sharing on future posts how some churches are reaching and keeping this 18-25 age group and how you can start to do the same.