So, quite a few pastors/professors have been asking me lately why it is that young adults do not go to church. It really is a perplexing issue, isn't it? Sometimes it seems like my generation is the rebellious black sheep of the church; the more the church tries to bring them back in, the further they want to get from it.
As a representative of this generation, I would like to propose a few reasons why this is happening, and then also a few things that can be done to mend the divide. In this post, we'll take a good look at the reasons, then we'll look at some potential solutions next time.
REASONS:
1. "Christianity is not a religion -- it's a relationship" -- We have all heard this in one form or another, and there is certainly some truth in it. But personally, I think that this statement is doing more harm than good among young adults. What this is basically saying is that Christianity is all about your own personal, individual relationship with Jesus and the church is basically just a "spiritual booster shot" that you get every Sunday. So if it doesn't do anything for you, then you shouldn't have to go. The real issue here is that because of statements like this, my generation does not understand the significance of the church. This is probably the most common reason that many of my friends do not attend church.
2. The awkward gap -- Most young adults between 18-23 are still treated like they are older teenagers, but not adults. We are too old to be teens, but too young to be accepted by the elders in the congregation. As a result, we are stuck in an "awkward gap" -- we feel unwanted and unappreciated. It is hard for anyone to be part of a church if there isn't a place for them.
3. Youth ministry||Church -- In most churches there seems to be a great chasm between the youth ministry and the rest of the church. The youth ministry will draw a large number of teens, many of them unsaved and/or unchurched, but they never get plugged in to the rest of the church. As a result, when they graduate high school, they continue to not attend church, but now they do not have Wednesday nights anymore. In essence, they graduate from church.
4. Nothing offered -- A good number of churches don't have any programs geared for younger adults. I don't think that starting up a young adult worship service is a good idea (see #3 for why), but I think that if something good was offered for our age group, we would be more likely to come. In the next post we'll talk a little more about what this looks like.
5. Inauthenticity -- You know that face? The one that Christians put on when they are at church because they are supposed to "love" each other, but deep down they hate the other person's guts? Yeah, we hate that. Authenticity is key to us. If it something reeks of fakeness, then we are going to be gone faster than you can say "Good to see ya at church!" This is why "friendship time" in most churches is counterproductive... I mean, do you really expect us to genuinely fellowship with other Christians if you only give us enough time to shake three hands, then sit down? For heaven's sake! Give us a chance to mingle! Okay, moving on.
6. We're not buying the gospel you're selling -- Remember that Christ-bridge analogy? On one side there's humanity, then there's a huge chasm, then on the other side there's God. Then miraculously, Christ's cross comes and "bridges the gap" between humanity and God. Now all we have to do is walk across! But wait! There's more! If you cross over today, we'll throw in sanctification at no extra charge! And we'll also throw in not one, but TWO study Bibles and some highlighters! All this can be yours if the Price Is Right!! Ahem.... Sorry about that. For years, the church has been "selling" Christianity like it is a product. STOP IT. Salvation is not a transaction, it is a transformational journey toward Christ-likeness. You can keep your Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free Cards. Give us something that is relevant for the here and now, not just the hereafter.
Okay, so there are six things to get us started toward thinking about how to "bridge the gap" (If you read #6, you will realize that I just made a joke!) between young adults and the rest of the church. Next time, we'll go over a few things we can actually do to accomplish this.
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