Pastor Pusch

The title to this blog post is actually the title to one of the articles you can find in the premier issue of The Brink magazine. What is The Brink? The Brink is the newest magazine for young adults. Coupled with 13 weeks of five day devotions for the young adults, The Brink magazine focuses on three areas in which we hold as valuable: belonging, growing, and serving. The Brink magazine is the newest addition to the D6 Curriculum provided by Randall House Publications, Nashville, TN. If you’re looking for a new and fresh approach to young adult ministry, let me suggest that you order your copy of The Brink magazine.

Turn The Brink into your next Sunday School class or Small Group study with leadership resources located on TheBrinkOnline.com website. TheBrinkOnline.com is an interactive website designed especially for young adults. Interact with articles, post your comments, or check out the Blog written by The Brink editor/creator, Jacob Riggs. You can also meet up with your small group or connect with other YA’s with TheBrinkOnline.com.

Articles added weekly. Join a small group online. Preview upcoming issues.

*TheBrinkOnline.com is looking for article writers! To receive article guidelines, send an email to thebrink@randallhouse.com.

In recent days I have been asked to lead the young adult ministry at our church; a request I wasn’t totally excited about at first. Being a young adult myself causes me to ask questions regarding my own ability to lead a large group of my peers. Having served as an associate pastor and then lead pastor at a local church years ago, I’ve always enjoyed ministering to Senior Adults, Mid-Lifers, Teens, and Children more so than tackling the ministry of young adults (my own peers). Even now, as I have been given the opportunities to speak across the country, I still enjoy speaking to/with those outside my own age group as I seem to just find it easier for me to communicate with them. Today I welcome the opportunity to minister to such a unique population. Our church has been blessed with a wide range of young adults. We currently have 5 young adult connection groups that meet regularly with a 6th, maybe 7th, group on the horizon. The view from the stage during corporate worship is certainly a beautiful sight as you gaze over a congregation full of young adults. We are truly blessed as this is not the case in most churches.

According to Thom Rainer and the Lifeway Research and Development group, the numbers concerning the church and young adults are very discouraging. Research indicates that 70% of 18-22 years olds leave the church during that 5 year time frame with only 35% of those actually making their way back at some point (source: Sunday School in HD Conference, Woodstock, GA). Lifeway isn’t the only research team to discover such devastating numbers. The Barna Research Group indicates that 75% of those who were involved in youth group will leave the church within the first 5 years (Barna Research Group). Young adult ministry for years has been overlooked with most of the church’s time and resources being utilized elsewhere. While I understand that this may not be an issue with your church, the reality still exists that we are losing our young adults and it is to the detriment of the church. 

The question out there for us to answer is, “What are you doing to reach young adults.” Much attention has been given to children’s ministry (as it should as I believe this ministry to be among the most important in the church), youth ministry, and maybe the senior wild cats ministry (senior adults). The challenge is there, but be careful. Young adults are not the easiest to reach. It will take more than a visitor’s card in the offering plate or a generic phone call or letter laying out the 3 points as to why it was good to see them. Young Adults desire something real; something authentic. They desire a real relationship, not their grandmother’s religion. It doesn’t matter how young, hip, or “cool” you are. Young adults do not care.  If you have a heart for God and a desire to build real and authentic relationships, then you possess the beginnings of a well laid foundation to reach young adults.

Do it.