According to "Googling for God," these are things that are working well in reaching young adults.
1. Ministry which takes advantage of the “Moments of Return” (e.g., weddings, baptisms, sickness, deaths, and life changes). We are already at work on some of these. We have recently changed the wedding policy to allow weddings of non-church members at Trinity and we are working on establishing a support/play group for single moms and their children. (Please let me know anyone you know of that we should invite to this!)
2. Ministry which has a “digital spirit.” We need an internet presence—the question is what kind?
3. Ministry which is open to dialogue. I recently asked my 21 year old son what his friends would want from a service and he said an opportunity to dialogue. He loved his experience at Renown because it allowed that opportunity. I think this is an essential piece to any new service.
4. Ministry which is rooted in both mystery and tradition. What must these young folks think when they walk into the New Room which is almost devoid of mystery and symbolism? What can we do to better advertise Taize which has both of these elements? Or how can we incorporate it into a service with other types of elements.
5. Ministry which has a mission element. Despite the 60 minutes segment I mentioned in the last post, these folks have a stronger sense of concern for the least, the last and the lost than my generation.
6. Ministry which provides life-giving community.
Can you think of anyting else?
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This post got me thinking about the Couples For Christ Class. Here are my comments on your six points and a few of my own.
1. Very true - The big thing for us is meals after a baby is born. I don't know if you realize or not but we have gone from zero babies to over 50 is eight years. We bring meals to the family every other day for three weeks. we love celbrating new babies. The fact that we are all in the same state in our lives is also a plus. Play dates are very big - the is no set time, but many times an email will go out naming a park and a time.
2. Not very big with our class. A weekly class email is the most we do. (I have tried to get them to frequent your blogs).
3. This is important. The lessons we use are usually starting points for dialog. Our class likes to talk.
4. haven't really thought about this one. The New Room is bland, but if our brothers and sisters in Lithuania can worship in a store-front, we can make the New Room work.
5. Mission is very important. We have a different mission each month. Everyone likes being involved with something bigger than themselves.
6. This is the most important element of the class. The community offers a safe place that you can offer your burdens and know that many people in the group will carry them with you.
Additional comments
7. Social events outside of the church. We love getting together for dinner at someone's house. The Christmas party is a blast.
8. Flat management structure. You need to have a management structure that is flexible enough to let everyone contribute - and ask everyone to contribute. Don't get me wrong, the class needs to have a focal point leader, but too much heirarchy smells "institutional" which is a turnoff.
I know we are not the "young" group in the church anymore, but I think some of these comments and lessons learned from our class are relevant
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