Jumpstarting a Ministry Program with Young Adults

Relationships and gatherings are critical in the lives of most young adults, so a small group is a likely format for a ministry launch. Several settings work well. The following outlines the primary focus/reason for these gatherings:

• Study/Learning Groups: Primary focus on learning through discussion and discovery activities; e.g., Bible study, Sunday school, topical discussion groups. This is a common group approach for YA ministry.
• Mission/Task Groups: Primary focus on completing a task(s) in a specific period of time or over a specific period of time; e.g., outreach groups, mission groups, project groups. This is the most popular group experience with YAs.
• Fellowship/Nurture Groups: Primary focus on forming relationships that emerge from common interests and specific niches. These relationships are shaped and nurtured around Christian principles; e.g., women's groups, men's groups, common interest groups (sports, hobbies), age-level groups, care groups, prayer groups.
• Support/Healing Groups: Primary focus on building constructive, supportive relationships while "moving through" issues (relational, personal, restoration, recovery); e.g., divorce recovery groups, abuse recovery groups, weight-control groups, survivor groups, etc.
• Accountability Groups: Primary focus on growth through mutual commitments, promises, covenants. Such groups choose ways to mutually hold each member accountable to mutual and/or personal commitments; e.g., Covenant Discipleship Groups, reunion groups, covenant groups focusing on personal growth/discipline.

Small Groups and Settings Beyond the Congregation

1. Study Groups: Reading, investment, personal growth, professional growth.
   Gathering Places: Houses/apartments, restaurants, bookstores.
2. Fellowship Groups: Dinner, athletics/sports, movie/theater.
   Gathering Places: Determined by the activity.
3. Support-Healing-Recovery Groups: Young Parents without Partners, Married Friends, Divorce Recovery, Job/Career Transition; Single as a Lifestyle.
   Settings: Houses/appartments, offices, public centers, bookstores.

Steps for Starting a Young-Adult Ministry Small Group

1. Choose a curriculum or ministry focus — Bible study, mission project, fellowship activity, etc.
2. Choose a leader(s) — a person(s) with passion/energy to start the ministry and the willingness to commit for an initial period of time (4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, etc.).
3. Recruit the core group (2-3 persons), emphasizing the following criteria:
   1. YAs who will commit to be present consistently.
   2. YAs who will commit for the initial starting period of the group. Groups with a special learning, nurture, or support focus may be small; whereas task, missional, or fellowship groups may consist of 10 or more persons. Leader and core group decide on meeting place and time.
4. Announce the ministry — publicize the 5 Ws: what, why, where, when, and who will lead.
5. Have a party! Celebrate the blessing that has already happened — a leader, a committed group, and a purpose for ministry! (Christians like to have fun, too!)
6. Start the ministry. Work the plan that has taken shape.
7. Evaluate the ministry at the end of the initial term (3 months, 6 months, etc.).
   1. What is/not working well?
   2. Continue as is or make course adjustments:
      1. Change or rotate leadership.
      2. New members enter/existing members exit.
      3. Change the direction or focus of the ministry.
8. Evaluate periodically and adjust as necessary. Don't be afraid to end one program and start another, but give the effort at least four trials. The problem could be:
   • A great idea; but the wrong timing;
   • Great leadership; but less-than-committed "followship";
   • Committed "followship" but the leadership is not a match;
   • All the right components but the wrong location. Sometimes it is simply an idea that will not work.

Key Consideration

>A typical small group of young adults may range from only 3 to 5 persons. The desire for social intimacy and genuine community dictates a smaller group size than usual. The smaller configuration can also accommodate the "niche" demands that will likely arise across a spectrum of young adults. Offering several smaller groups adds variety in a congregation.

Key Ministry Considerations

• Not all congregations are called to create a young adult group or program, but all churches are called to minister with young adults.
• For whose sake is this ministry being created? Young adults already in your midst or those targeted for inclusion in the congregation's life?
• Effective ministry requires that the specific needs of young adults be taken seriously by congregational leaders. Acknowledge niches, and customize programming to meet needs.

Factoid

Your Role as Ministry Leader with Young Adults (YAs)

• BE present: Be present in the lives of Young Adults (YAs); connect into their circumstances and conditions; help YAs feel safe and secure.
• BE a liaison: Help YAs enter into the life of the congregation through meaningful relationships with peers and others; ensure them "a space in the place."
• BE supportive and encouraging: Help YAs discover their gifts and talents; help YAs feel valued and loved; make sure YA voices are heard.
• BE a follower: Facilitate, encourage, and advocate young adult leadership in important capacities throughout the congregation; share leadership responsibilities wherever possible; trust YAs with potential to make a difference.

A Demographic Profile Sketch for Determining a Young Adult Presence in a Congregation/Community
(Adapted from More Faith Matters for Young Adults, Abingdon, 1994.)

Categories for Consideration

• Gender: male or female
• Ethnicity or racial group(s)
• Demographic setting: rural, small town, agricultural community, suburb, industrial neighborhood, revitalized inner city, inner city-ethnic, historic district, etc.
• Marital Status: never married but hopes to be; just married; married for a time; formerly married; lifestyle choices
• Educational level: dropped out of high school; high school/GED graduate; vocational/technical student/graduate; college student/college graduate; graduate/professional student; advanced/professional degree
• Vocational/Profession Outlook: unemployed; new to the job market; employed for a few years
• Pressing needs: developmental, enrichment, life skills, etc.
• Faith development status: church or faith community experience.

Refined, indepth knowledge of your serving populace is critical when assessing ministry launches or identifying opportunities to strengthen existing ministry efforts. In Young Adult Ministry, Terry Hershey reminds us:

"Effective ministry begins when a congregation seriously addresses the needs of young adults. The specific needs of young adults in your congregation can only be determined by being in relationship with the young adults present or targeted. Therefore, invest both the time and effort to get to know young adults in your midst — communicate honestly and openly with them. Earnestly seek to understand them as they are rather than seek to have them understand what others expect of them, and they will reveal their needs and issues and probable ways to address them."

    — From Information: Young Adult Ministries (Winter 2001)