Engaging Young Adults Through Innovation
Ebonie Johnson Cooper describes how involving young adults in an innovative process of ministry design can enhance their church participation. She outlines five pilot initiatives…
Browsing: Young Adults
Articles
What Kind of Church Will Millennials Lead?
In a very short period of time the Millennial generation will be the largest segment of clergy, says Wesley Theological Seminary President David McAllister-Wilson. Therefore,…
9 Top Trends Impacting Church Leadership
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe and Associate Director Ann A. Michel outline some of the major trends evident in their research and interactions with…
5 Strategies for Engaging Millennials
Joshua L Mitchell, author of the book Black Millennials and the Church, shares what his work reveals about how black churches can engage younger adults…
Episode 11: “Effectively Engaging Millennials” featuring Joshua Mitchell
How can we reach millennials? In this episode, Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe, Jr. speaks with the Rev. Dr. Joshua Mitchell about connecting with this diverse group.
Episode 3: “The Kaleidoscope Effect: What Emerging Generations Seek in Leaders” featuring Scott Chrostek
How can church leaders shift and adapt to the rapid cultural changes experienced by younger adults? Listen as Lewis Center Associate Director Ann Michel speaks with Rev. Scott Chrostek, pastor of Resurrection Downtown in Kansas City, about his book The Kaleidoscope Effect: What Emerging Generations Seek in New Leaders (available at Cokesbury and Amazon).
Welcoming Millennials by Preserving Their Anonymity
Churches often welcome young adults with such urgency and expectation that younger visitors can feel overwhelmed. Scott Chrostek, pastor of Resurrection Downtown, says it is…
5 Keys to Cultivating an Environment Irresistible to Emerging Generations
Scott Crostek, pastor of Resurrection Downtown in Kansas City, says environments that are safe and welcoming for emerging generations are characterized not only by hospitality…
Networks and Third Places are Today’s Mission Field
Where is community discovered in our time? In their book Fresh Expressions, Ken Carter and Audrey Warren argue that people today are less likely to…
10 Qualities Your Church Doesn’t Need to Grow Young
What types of churches attract young people? Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin, the authors of Growing Young, dispel a number of common myths. Their…
The 75 Percent Rule to Reach Younger People
Lee Kricher, pastor of Amplify Church in Pittsburgh, says it’s unlikely that younger adults will be drawn to a service where the people in visible…
What Churches Do Young Adults Attend?
Lovett Weems examines the findings of a new report on engaging young adults and shares clues about the types of churches those ages 18–34 are…
Engaging Young Adults — Free Video
Engaging young adults in church, historically a challenge, is even more difficult today. So what should your congregation do? And not do? This brief video…
Lessons from Churches that Reach Young Adults
Lovett Weems examines the findings of a new report on engaging young adults and shares clues for improving ministry with younger people. He notes that…
Next Generation Leaders
At an event I was approached by a well-dressed older woman who said, “We are willing to do whatever it takes to get the next…
The “Nones” and the Spirituality of Everyday Living
One of the most important challenges confronting the church today is the rise of the so-called “Nones,” that is, the religiously unaffiliated, those who check…
Millennials Seek Larger Framework to Understand God
A group from my church often visits a restaurant right across the parking lot to share a meal after Bible study. One night the server…
Think Bigger: The Challenge of Reaching Millennials
We spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to get the millennial generation to come to our churches. We think if we…
Reaching the Millennial Generation
Churches must become more innovative and diverse on a variety of fronts, but less doctrinaire and institutionally rigid, if they want to reach millennials. This…
Millennials, Social Media, and the Church
Millennials — everybody wants them but no one seems to know how to get them. That’s the major take-away from a newly-released study by Pew…
Lessons on Engaging Young Adults Effectively
How can a congregation effectively engage younger adults? The Faith Communities Today (FACT) study provides some clues. As part of the largest ongoing religious research…
Keeping Campus Ministry Graduates Connected to Church
For many students, campus ministry becomes a community of friends, a home away from home, a kind of extended family. It is a body of…
Why I Believe in the Next Generation
I work with young adults. That is to say, when I employ them on my staff, my goal is for them to work with me, not…
Why We are Losing Ground with Young Adults
I have the amazing privilege of working with spiritually sensitive and passionate young adults from across the southeast. I am also charged with understanding why…
Serving Our Young Adults
Many churches are interested in developing programs for young adults to help their congregations grow. However, there is another equally compelling reason for churches to…
Learning to See and Listen to Younger Adults
Susan Cox-Johnson encourages church members to seek out and listen to young adults in their communities to learn about their life and faith. As a…