Where Are All the
“Young People?”:
An Exploration of
Young Adults, Spirituality,
and Their Experiences of
Church
Rocky Mountain Conference Growth Ministry Team
United Church of Christ
Fall 2012
Introduction
Common Questions:
Where are all the “young people”?
Why don’t young adults go to
church anymore?
What are the myths and realities
behind these questions?
Young Adults
 Usually 18 to 29 years old
 Known as Millennials, Gen Y, Global Generation,
Generation Next, Mosaics, etc.
Young Adults (cont.)
 Technological exceptionalism
Young Adults’ Priorities
The Reality
 LifeWay Research: 7 in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 who
went to church regularly in high school quit attending by age
23. A third of those had not returned by age 30. That means
about one-fourth of young Protestants have left the church.
 The Barna Group: 6 in 10 young people will leave the church
permanently or for an extended period starting at age 15.
 2012 Millennial Values Survey: College-age millennials are
30 percent more likely than the general population to be
religiously unaffiliated.
 Millennials report lower levels of religious engagement across the
board. Just one in four says he or she attends religious services at
least once a week, while 43 percent say they seldom or never
attend.
 Nearly half of younger millennials still live with their parents, but
those who live at home are no more likely to attend church than
those who do not.
The Reality (cont.)
 The Faith Communities Today (FACT) 2010 Study:
 Over 52% of oldline Protestant churches report
that one-third of individuals in their
congregations are 65 and older.
 The UCC was the second highest (only behind
the UPUSA) in percentage of congregations with
33% or more members older than 65.
 75% of mainline/oldline Protestant churches
have less than 10% of their participants
between the ages of 18 to 34.
“Spiritual” vs. “Religious”
“Spiritual” vs. “Religious”
The Barna Group Research Study
Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church
1. Churches seem overprotective.
2. Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of
Christianity is shallow.
3. Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
4. Young Christians’ church experiences related to
sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
5. They wrestle with the exclusive nature of
Christianity.
6. The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.
The Barna Group Research Study
(cont.)
Five Myths About Young Adult Church Dropouts
1. Most people lose their faith when they leave high
school.
2. Dropping out of church is just a natural part of
young adults’ maturation.
3. College experiences are the key factor that cause
young people to drop out.
4. This generation of young Christians is increasingly
“biblically illiterate.”
5. Young people will come back to the church like
they always do.
What Are the Church’s Options?
Minimizing the
Concerns of
Young Adults
Catering to the
Concerns of
Young Adults
Balance:
- Egalitarianism
- Relationship Building
- Intergenerational
Community
Best Practices
"Churches, organizations and families owe this
generation more. They should be treated as the
intelligent, capable individuals they are—a
generation with a God-given destiny. Renewed
commitment is required to rethink and realign
disciple-making in this new context. Mosaic
believers need better, deeper relationships with
other adult Christians. They require a more
holistic understanding of their vocation and
calling in life—how their faith influences
what they do with their lives, from Monday
through Saturday.”
- David Kinnamon, You Lost Me
Best Practices (cont.)
 Create environments in the congregation and in the
community for the development of community and
friendships.
 Engage emerging adults in short-term and long-term service
and social justice projects—locally and globally—that
connect faith and action, and promote engagement in the
faith community.
 Support emerging adults in addressing the career, work, and
economic issues in their lives, while connecting faith to
these issues.
 Use Web 2.0 technologies and digital media to connect with
emerging adults and engage them in faith formation
experiences. [Web 2.0 connotes a website that is built for
interaction and information creation and sharing among
individuals, as opposed to a Web 1.0 website in which users
can only passively view content.]
Best Practices (cont.)
 Develop a multi-dimensional formation process for
marriage [and relationships] that deepens the faith of
the couple, prepares them for [partnered] life,
provides mentoring and support, and continues
formation and support in the early years of
[partnership].
 Provide pastoral care—educational programs and
support groups—that promote positive development
and address the mental health concerns and issues of
emerging adults and, when needed, connect them to
mental health services in the community.
- John Roberto, “Directions for Faith Formation with Emerging
Adults: Insights from the Changing SEA Project,”
http://changingsea.org/robertocom.php
Some Cautions…
Three faulty assumptions that many of us
make when thinking about young adults and
the future of the church:
 WE can build a ministry for young adults.
 There is such a thing as a young adult.
 Young adults will help the church I love to
live on!
- “The Church’s Doomed Pursuit of the Elusive Young
Adult” – Bruce Reyes-Chow, 9/1/2012
(www.huffingtonpost.com)
Some Good News
 Many formerly churched millennials say they harbor no ill will
toward Christianity and see an open door for their possible return
to the fold.
 In Essential Church, Thom and Sam Rainer said the "dechurched"
often need nothing more than a gentle nudge from family or
friends to reconnect. Four in 10 "rechurched" individuals in their
study said parents or other family members were instrumental in
their return to church.
 Another two out of 10 said they returned to church with
encouragement from friends or acquaintances.
- Essential Church: Reclaiming A Generation of Dropouts, Thom
and Sam Rainer (2008)