Bob's Blog

I've been in Winona Lake for the past week and getting back into the swing of things is taking me longer than I thought. We had a great time of sharing and learning as we heard from Tim Eldred, Jim Swanson, and Pastor Jim Brown. I was challenged to take a new perspective with youth ministries and refreshed spiritually by the fellowship of those who have a similar heart for young people. I like to share more in the next few weeks in what was presented at the Summit, as well as with the up coming CollegeLeader seminar that takes place at Saddleback. Until then...here are some pictures of CE Leadership Summit.


Connecting was part of the atmosphere at Summit. Tim Eldred challenging us to think beyond typical youth minstries.

This is an article that pastor Roy Halberg from Alta Loma, California sent to me. It was written by Ed Stetzer and Jason Hayes for SermonCentral on preaching to a younger unchurched generation. You can find the full article on SermonCentrel.com from their March 2nd issue. It's part of a broader look from their book entitled Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them. The article deals with helpful advice on how a younger generation communicates and what practical ways a pastor can direct his teaching towards a younger unchurch people.

Some pastors have expressed to me that they believe they have little influence on college-age people. Not only do they question their impact on a younger generation, but they also don't see how they can be much of a factor in a young person's life. There are those who believe that in order to connect with a younger group of people, one has to be a great communicator, dress in contemporary fashion, know the latest trends, and speak from a wireless mic while holding a latte. But recent research and surveys prove otherwise. Here are some key insights from LifeWay Research.

Do pastors have an impact on young people?
According to LifeWay Research, 58% of church dropouts left local churches because of church-related or pastor-related issues. That's over half! The study also revealed that young people have character qualities they like to see in their pastor, including caring, authentic, real, welcoming, and inspirational. One key quality that I think many pastors don't expect college-age students to want is teaching, but this is still a high priority that young people want from their pastors. For those under 18 who stay in the church, over 62% say their pastor's sermons are engaging or relevant to their lives. Those numbers jump higher when those 18-22 years old were surveyed.

LifeWay Research has shown that 70% of those who dropout of church do so between the ages of 18 and 22. Their research shows how much pastors do have an impact in the lives of young people in their congregation. It seems that the younger generation desires to have connecting relationships with their pastors. They want their pastors to teach sound doctrine, because most young people want and need to understand their faith. If your church is struggling to keep young believers, start by building bridges of friendships that form community, while teaching through Scripture how God interacts with their world today.