Frequently Asked Questions About Young-Adult Ministry

Who Are Young Adults?

• In the U.S., we regard adults 18 to 30+ as young adults. However, in the Central Conferences of The United Methodist Church and other areas of the world, marital status rather than age may be the criterion used to distinguish youth from young adults. In some areas, the age range may extend as high as 40+! Adults are living longer, and the great news is that the life span is extending.
• This is the most culturally diverse, technologically astute, highly informed, complex, and complicated group of younger adults ever! They are the first adults to mature in the Information Age. Their access to information via mass media and technology has shaped their values, perspectives, and world view.
• This segment of adults spans two generations: Postmoderns (GenX) and Millennials (GenY). The High School Class of 2000 represents the first group of Millennials as young adults, and this wave of young adults has been shaped somewhat differently than their GenX counterparts.
• Pressing issues include choices (particularly career/relationships/vocation); finances; finding meaning (how/where); coping and surviving; and balance (friends/family and play/work/learning).
• Popular culture has profoundly shaped this audience's spiritual outlook and theology. In Virtual Faith, Tom Beaudoin reveals four themes that shape the theology of many Postmoderns: (1) all institutions are suspect; (2) personal experience is everything; (3) suffering is spiritual; and (4) ambiguity is a central element of faith. These are significant clues to understanding this adult group.

The young-adult audience, far more diverse than singles and college students, includes:

• Young singles, young singles with children.
• Young marrieds, young marrieds with children.
• Divorced young adults, divorced with children.
• Interracial and cross-cultural birth origins.
• Interracial and multicultural relationships.
• Diverse racial/cultural presence; interracial and multicultural backgrounds; diverse languages.
• Diverse lifestyles and sexual preferences.
• High school dropouts/graduates, technical/vocational school attendees/graduates, junior college or community college attendees/graduates, college or university attendees/graduates, advanced degree students/graduates, seminary students/graduates.
• Young women make up nearly seventy percent of the college population.
• Unemployed, employed workers and professionals
• Income ranging from poverty levels to 6- and 7-figure annual salaries; growing numbers of entrepreneurs.

Whew! Any or all of the above dimensions of young adults could be present in one congregation, depending on size and geographic location. However, no single characteristic adequately represents a group of young adults. They are multifaceted and multidimensional. Assessing this target audience is the first critical step in planning an effective ministry program. The following outline may help you determine the young adult profile in your congregation and surrounding (or target) communities.

How Would You Characterize Young Adults Regarding Faith Matters?
We must consider individual and collective maturity, life stages and experiences, spiritual quests, and spiritual development. The following matrix is an overview of issues and points to consider based on age groupings and general vantage points. Most young adults develop complex lives that progress in a random manner rather than in a sequential, linear pattern based on age. The maturity rate tends to align with life experience rather than with chronological age. Many young adults have grown up rapidly due to challenging and/or dysfunctional situations in the family and home.

Dependence-to-Independence

• Movement away from home to out-on-their-own; first apartment, first full-time job, college, etc.
• Longing for intense social relationships; high energy and action; much wandering.

• Many significant "adult" things for the first time — full-time, permanent employment; renting/buying homes; significant relationships; marriage and children; vibrant living in the present.

• Beginning to settle down for significant connections in relationships and communities of interests/enterprise; establishing households/families; vibrant living with focus on the future.

Questioning/Experimenting

• Barely present, if at all, in church activities; inclined to action activities — mission trips/road trips; adventures; open to forming spiritual disciplines.

Experimenting/Exploring

• Exploring inconsistent, old answers looking for new answers; tend to "try on" radical religions, faith settings, and philosophies; tend not to return to previous denominations; lots of searching and seeking; the more options the better.

Exploring/Commitment/Leadership

• Seeking, exploring, beginning to shift to a search for meaning and purpose; inclined to commit to regular attendance and membership in a congregation; moving from participation to leadership.

Relationships are paramount with younger adults. They readily seek out friends, social intimacy, community, and companionship. Family — real or virtual — is also key. Authentic, meaningful relationships are the goal.

Young adults search for peers, friends, and associates who reflect their viewpoints or perspectives. This is especially important in their search regarding questions of faith. So . . . they need their space. Create space for them in the congregation. Niches should be acknowledged and affirmed.

Despite their fervent desire to hang with each other, they also need the affirmation and validation of both maturing and experienced adults. This is not an either/or, but a both/and. Many young adults have a sincere desire to connect intimately with all persons in faith settings in order to experience the rich, real, relevant experiences of faith and the Holy Spirit!

A Simple, Power-Filled Faith Formation Strategy for Young Adults in Congregations

• Welcome young adults to the congregation, while constantly affirming and validating those already present. Genuine hospitality is key.
• Help young adults have space, presence, and voice through connections to the life of the congregation. Honor their fresh, challenging perspectives.
• Grow with young adults as they search for meaning and purpose. Help them discover their spiritual gifts.
• Partner with young adults to learn Christian spiritual disciplines and faith practices. Connect young faith-seeking pilgrims with faith guides; engage in mentoring.
• Invite young adults into key leadership roles in the congregation.
• Maximize young adult witnesses in outreach to the world.

      — From Information: Young Adult Ministries (Winter 2001).
  
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