Bob's Blog

I always promise myself before I leave on trips to write my post, but I never seem to get to it. I'm at CE National in Winona Lake, Indiana for YouthNet meetings, which have just ended. Great discussions and conversations with youth pastors from around the country. I want to wait until I return back home before I share some of my thoughts on the past week and hope to write an article for a couple of publications as well.

When I travel, I usually lose touch with what is happening in the world. I'm not a lap-top person. I'm still trying to figure out my cell phone. I can't even set up my phone to receive messages. So, needless to say that I am not the most connected person in a world that thrives on always being connected. David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, who has no problem with being connected to what is happening with youth today, has just released his book entitled UnChristian. It covers the ages from 16-29 and explores the views of those outside the Church. The research confirms a lot of what others have been saying for a while, that those young people outside the Church really don't like what Christians have to offer. You can easily get discouraged after just a few short pages. There's not much good that they see in the Church, and what even gets more depressing is that many young Christians agree with those negative views of Christianity.

There are a lot of reasons Kinnaman gives for their harsh attitudes towards the Church. He gives detailed insight and clear research that he (and his staff) have done. Kinnaman does show us ways to win back their trust, but still you can't shake the feeling that this is not good news for us. It's like hearing your pilot over the loud speaker say in a low voice,"Oh-oh." No apology or explanation from him will make you feel any better. Something bad is coming your way and that's not good. It's not all gloom. It never is when God is leading. Times of transitions are always difficult, and the Church is going through one right now. There are many churches that are having a significant impact on young people today, but I admit that they are few and far between. In a month, I meet with a handful of college pastors from around the country to discuss and pray about why this generation from 16-29 years old is turning away from God. Pray for us and others who desperately desire to see God reach this generation.

I've come across many new ministries that are begun by young people in the Church. How important is it for churches to be significant to a younger generation? Well, the answer is a no brainier. Research continues to show that churches that reinvent themselves to communicate the Gospel to a new generation continue to grow. Those that don't, cease to grow and start to decline. One church I found that desires to connect with younger adults without compromising their message is Los Altos Grace in Long Beach, California.

This fall the church is going to restart their Sunday evening service called Sunday Nights. Four members of the church, Wes Fischer, Aaron Brake, Bill Butler, and Brad Comstock, will be heading up the service. Wes and Aaron grew up in the church at Los Altos and Brad oversaw the junior high youth group for a couple of years. The four friends have a strong connection with each other (three are police officers and one is applying to be in the Academy). They have a love for theology, philosophy, and ethics. All are in their mid twenties and have a deep desire to reach their generation for Christ. Sunday Nights will focus on "challenging the mind as well as the soul," shared Brad. "Right now we're getting our band together. We don't really know what the Lord is going to do with this night but we hope that this will be a place for the lost to come for answers to their questions."

Their evenings will cover topics about belief, truth, and the validity of Christianity. All four will take turns in leading the teaching and discussion for the evening. They've created postcard flyer's to be sent throughout the neighborhood that surrounds the church and are looking to advertise at Cal State Long Beach, which is just right down the street from the church. There are other churches that are setting up evening services for twenty-somethings that are similar to what Los Altos is doing (Seal Beach Grace has a Saturday evening teaching/discussion time at their church). It is one of the ways that churches are trying to keep their young people connected to the Body and to reach out to a younger generation. If you want to know more about Los Altos' ministry, you can contact them at SundayNights@lagbc.org.

Do you remember when you were in your early twenties? For some of us we'll need a time machine, but for others we can still capture those feelings of uncertainty about what was going to happen next in our lives. Well, not much has changed for those who are going through the same things you once did. The difference is that with this generation those feelings are hindering them in making the next step towards young adulthood. Many twenty-somethings are finding that the transition from college life to the responsibilities of young adult life is a hard road. In fact, many of those in their mid-twenties still do not feel that they are ready for adulthood. So how can the Church help young people as they make their way through these years of transition? Here are some ideas.

• Offer seminars that will prepare them to live on their own (how to look for an apartment, how to connect and make new friends, etc...).
• Teach them about finances, like budgeting, college loans, spending, etc...
• Check out career surveys. Go to your local bookstore and locate sample career surveys or ask your nearest college career center to come to your church to lead a discussion about choosing a career.
• Set up a panel of older adults for an open forum on how they navigated through their twenties (a great way to connect your generations in your church).
• Show them how to interview for a job. You can do funny mock "interviews" and then go over the correct way to interview for a position.
• Do you have discipleship groups at your church? If not, then start one up. A great way in walking along side them as they seek to understand how to make right choices in their lives.

There are many other ideas that you can come up with but the important thing to remember is that twenty-somethings need older adults in their lives to help them make the transition into adulthood. They may look like adults, but not even they feel they are ready to handle adult-type issues, so don't assume they have it all worked out. They don't and need mentors to walk with them in life as they wade through this transitional time entering into young adulthood.