Young Adult Focus

Last Monday night, I gathered with three young adults (three adults 40 or younger) to discuss life, faith and church. I asked questions, tried to listen to their responses and followed up with other questions where appropriate. It was a fascinating discussion.

In short, these are some of the questions asked and responses given - all of them offer important insight that I find helpful in my ministry and I hope you, whether you be lay or clergy, find helpful in yours.

- Question: How important is the physical worship space or the church building to your worship experience? All three quickly responded that it was not important at all. Although two then commented that if someone were to come in one day and remove the pews from the sanctuary of their church and change the environment, they would "defend" it.

One "emerging" worship experience was cited as an example of a worship service that "could have been held out in a field and it would have been just as powerful."

- Question: How important is the style of worship to your being a part of a particular church? If the people and the sense of community are positive experiences, this often trumps a style of worship that might not be their first choice.

- A conversation took place around the places and times where they most experience "God-moments." Retreats; worship experiences that allow for testimonies and personal sharing; music that appeals to the heart conveys a powerful sense of God's presence. "God-moments" happen when people can be real, vulnerable, share struggles and know the struggles of others.

- Question: What does the phrase "calling to ministry" mean to you? In terms of ordained ministry, most responses were that they didn't have much of a reflection on someone becoming a minister because no one they knew as a youth went into ordained ministry. However two of them knew someone who went in later as a second career. They share the same challenge the American church has - recruiting young pastors.