Seminar on
Reaching 20- and 30- Somethings
This workshop was given at the Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts
Conference of the United Church of Christ. It was given to a group of willing
participants, self-selected to discuss young adult ministry. The format was informal. Participants were allowed and encouraged to
ask questions along the way. The main
goal was to give information, and engage people in thinking about young adult
ministry as ministry to a people with different needs and a different life
experience.
Opening Prayer 5 mins
Defining: 10 mins
Carl: Characteristics of Generation X/Young Adults
(See also Generation X – Considerations for Ministry)
This portion of
the workshop allows people to call out their preconceptions about young adults. Early lists looked like this: “settling down,
new experiences, live in new locations, college, careers, jobs after
school…” This is a list of any person in
transition.
When pushed audiences
come up with a list such as: “self-centered, slackers, busy, free thinkers,
idealistic(?), experimental, angry, high-tech, worried, rejecting, rejected(?),
anti-organization, contingent labor force…”
This is much more the typical range of character traits given to this
generation.
Greg: Choices: Relationships, Jobs, Mobility,
Family
20 years ago
there were fewer choices. You married,
found a home, a stable job and you stayed.
The church was built to minister to the needs of the stereotypical 50’s
nuclear family. Now, the needs have
changed. The nuclear family is over.
Some young
adults never marry. Some never have
kids. Some move from job to job, city to
city. Young adults face new and
difficult challenges: education, jobs, romance, sex, drugs. Many young adults feel they need to face
those challenges alone.
Needs: (Greg)
5 mins
One-on-one’s revealed that the number one motivation for
church is a sense of community. The
brokenness of humanity, and the search of wholeness and completeness is felt by
all generations. Young adults are
searching too, but in different ways.
The church needs to adapt to the new needs of young adults. (This section is a directly take from the
One-on-one interviews portion of this report.)
Small Groups: 20 mins (See
also Focus Group (Version One)
for a list of other questions)
Answer the question:
“What was your faith life at age 18?
25? 30? 40?
Now?”
Have the young adult in your group give
the first answer.
The Process: 15 mins
The importance of listening—i.e. shut
up! J (Greg)
Where are the
young adults? If they aren’t in your
church, and you’re still in your church, then you’re not listening to them! (Carl)
Young adults need to be given a voice in
church politics, in worship, and in your office. (Carl)
What is ministry? Re-envisioning
ministry. (Greg)
Question and Answers: 20 mins
Closing wrap-up: 10 mins
Closing Prayer: 5 mins