15 Things You Should Know Before Launching a Young Adult Ministry

If you're thinking about launching a ministry to twenty- and thirtysomethings, you're not alone. There are literally hundreds of others around the country who share the same passion and calling to encourage and equip this generation. We've interviewed several pastors, leaders and church planters around the United States to find out what they wish they would have known before launching into ministry to young adults.

Our world is constantly changing. How will you respond to those changes? This is the second part in a two-part series on emerging trends among young adults.

Things are constantly changing, but there's an undeniable sense that the rate of change has increased dramatically over the last few decades. A variety of economic, social, and technological developments are reshaping our world. As a result, young adults are entering a society and culture that looks radically different than their parents.

Ministries to twentysomethings are springing up all over the United States as churches recognize the importance of reaching out to this generation. Young adults who are hungry for real relationships are gathering together, growing spiritually and deepening their walk with Christ. Many of the pastors and leaders who work with this demographic can easily list the tactics they’ve used to attract twentysomethings and keep them engaged in the community. But they can also the list things that simply don’t work.

With almost every behavior, inconvenience and possible body ache having a diagnosis these days, you may be tempted to dismiss the quarterlife crisis as just another media-hyped term to describe the transition young adults experience as they enter adulthood. But before you chime in with the naysayers, it's important to recognize that the quarterlife crisis or whatever term you want to call it is real for countless twentysomethings you know and work with.

It's no secret that divorce is a growing epidemic in the United States. When a marriage dissolves, there are many casualties including husbands, wives, family members, friends, and of course, the children. In fact, it's estimated that more than 40 percent of American adults between the ages of 18 and 40 are children of divorce.

Dan Kimball, founding pastor of Graceland worship services at Santa Cruz Bible Church and a sister church, Vintage Faith Church, in Santa Cruz, California, has a passion for young people. His book, The Emerging Church, explores how churches are noticing fewer young adults in their congregations. The book explores how cultural changes are impacting the church and offers fresh ideas on how leaders can reach what Kimball calls "emerging generations."
In the following interview, Kimball discusses some of the changes taking place in the church:

Relationships, particularly romantic relationships, continue to be one of the most popular issues among twentysomethings. It's little wonder. With the average of marriage hovering above 27 for men and 24 for women, there is more time to navigate the choppy waters of dating and relationships.

A new term has been developed to describe young adults graduating from college. They've been dubbed "Generation Debt", and it's a title that isn't going away any time soon. Though well-dressed, energetic and full of life, hope and dreams, twentysomethings today are carrying an impressive amount of debt. 

Over the course of the last two years I’ve spoken to a number of pastors and church leaders who never set out to reach twentysomethings through their meetings or ministry. Yet when they look out at their attendees, it’s consistently young adults who fill the audience.

At a recent conference involving more than 8,000 church leaders from around the country, a well-known Christian, mega-church pastor made the observation that many young believers, including twentysomethings, have an unmistakable sense of anger that affects the way they view the church and their faith. The pastor could not explain where the anger comes from; he just noticed its unmistakable presence in younger believers. Anyone who has worked with many twentysomethings for even a short amount of time has probably noticed the same quiet level of frustration and anger among young adults-particularly among those who have grown up in the church.

If you talk to very many twentysomethings, it won't take too long to stumble upon someone who feels jaded an experience they have had in the church. A growing number of people-including twentysomethings-have become so frustrated with their church experiences that are changing denominations, joining home churches and some are dropping out of church altogether.

Do you remember the awkward, acne-filled years of being of an adolescent? Can you the recall the gawky, coming-of-age period filled with off-the-chart hormone surges as you made the rather bumpy transition into adulthood? Think braces. Think growth spurts. Think crushes and prom attire and changes in your body that everyone seemed to know about but no one could explain.

If you want to understand and reach today's twentysomethings, then you need to study them. You can find a long list of resources, simply by typing the word "twentysomething" or "young adult" into amazon.com or google.com and seeing what pops up. Hundreds of titles, articles, movies, television shows, and songs describing the twentysomething years abound.

Just as every generation is different, every generation also has things in common. Today's baby boomers and today's twentysomethings are no exception. Understanding the differences between these demographics is important when it comes to both mentoring and ministering to twentysomethings.

Scott Rourk was raised Southern Baptist. He never thought he'd be a pastor, or even a church planter. Instead, he wanted to be an international spy like James Bond. But that never panned out.

It's no secret that parents who send their kids off to college or into the workforce are known as "empty nesters." After focusing their energy and efforts on raising children for nearly two decades, it can be a challenging transition to a child-free lifestyle. While some parents are excited about becoming empty nesters and others are more hesitant, there are a growing number of baby boomers who are discovering that "nest" is not as empty as they had expected.

If you were to line up a dozen demographic sources from head to toe, they'd still point in all different directions. That said, Generation X, also known as Baby Busters, are born between 1965 and 1980 are 50 million members strong. They comprise more than 17% of the U.S. population and spend more than $125 billion annually.

My husband and I recently moved to a new city and purchased a small home on a sliver of property near a college campus. In fact, we are so close to the campus that I can start a conversation out the window with students while washing the dishes. The students have been known to cut through our yard in order to save a few steps on their way to class.

It's no secret that people are getting married later these days. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the last 20 years the median age of marriage for men has risen from 22 to 27, and the median age of women has risen from 20 to 24. At first glance, the four or five year delay in marriage may seem like a small shift. But the trend is having a major impact on the way churches reach young adults.