You perhaps have heard all the noise about the “graying” of the church.” It’s a fact that in most established North American churches the median age is rising at an alarming rate. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
I just came back from a church in the U.K. with 300 university students attending worship. They are growing in discipleship, and reaching others. What’s more, 70% were not Christians five years ago.
I’m intrigued by the excellent blog post from Faith and Leadership, “Young Adults Open to Religious Participation.” Here’s an insight from that blog: “College, once thought of as weakening the faith of young people by creating sources of doubt, is now shown in several studies to have little effect, or even a positive effect on religiosity.”
Even more significant is the research by Christian Smith and Patricia Snell of Notre Dame in the book Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. These researchers identify factors that predict religious commitment: frequent prayer, Scripture reading, personal religious experiences, and the caring and support of community.
SEND North America is a program for young adults that provides community, teaching, prayer, hands-on ministry exposure, Scripture reading, accountability, and missional training. This program reflects the many new efforts surfacing in North America. Together, they reflect a movement of young adults that could revive the Christian Church on the North American continent.