Insights for Healthy Models of Reaching Young Adults

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Insights for Healthy Models of Reaching Young
Adults Oklahoma
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Study Overview

• Based on the desire to reach a new generation
  with the gospel BGCO commissioned LifeWay
  Research to examine a cross-section of churches
  in Oklahoma to obtain insights into key
  principles for healthy models of reaching young
  adults

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Methodology

• LifeWay Research and BGCO sought to identify
  churches with exemplary young adult ministries
• SBC churches were identified based on young adult
  baptisms and participation data and referrals
• Non-SBC churches were identified by referral

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Methodology

• Other selection criteria
• Minimum of 2 churches located in metro areas
• Minimum of 2 churches located in rural areas or
  small towns
• Maximum of 4 mega churches
• 79 interviews were conducted with staff members,
  lay leaders, and young adults of 8 Southern
  Baptist and 9 Non-Southern Baptist churches
  across Oklahoma

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Methodology

• Staff member most responsible for young adult
  ministry was interviewed
• Staff member was also asked to supply two leaders
  and two young adults from their ministry to be
  interviewed

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Church Vision Purpose
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• Establish a clear purpose and mission for young
  adult ministry
• Chisholm Heights pastor Dave Bryan took the
  church through a process to refine the purpose
  and vision of the entire church. This led to
  renewed initiatives for reaching young adult
  couples

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• Integrate your young adult ministry with the
  identity, values and expression of your church
• Being in a college town, I see so many college
  ministries that are . . . not under the banner of
  a church. But we are under the authority of
  Journey Church, which creates a lot of buzz
  because we have students thatll come on Sunday
  who have never been to our Tuesday night
  experience. And theyll see that our church is
  young and focused.
• -Tim Mannon, Journey Church

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• Be willing to try new things as you look for more
  effective methods
• LifeChurch.tv attributes their ability to stay
  relevant to a willingness to try new things and a
  willingness to fail. That kind of
  innovation-type approach involves transparency
  ...meaning we are willing to say we made a
  mistake. This is a characteristic that resonates
  with the younger culture.
• -Bobby Gruenewald, LifeChurch.tv

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• Use the resources God has given you
• Emmanuel Church created Refuge, a new young adult
  service, which meets in the multi-purpose area of
  the church on Sunday mornings. Although set-up
  and tear-down is required every week because of
  the multiple uses of this area, the leaders view
  it as a stewardship opportunity and are thankful
  the space was available.

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• Be bold enough to make the necessary changes in
  order to effectively reach young adults
• Church at Battlecreek purged the words singles
  ministry from everything they do. Most of their
  young adults are single and they do address
  topics like relationships and sex outside of
  marriage. They want to be identified for who
  they are, not their marital status.
• Chris Colvin, Church at Battlecreek

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Building Community Authentic Relationships
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• Consistently provide a place and opportunities
  for young adults to build relationships with
  others in the church
• Emmanuel Church hosts a monthly Friends Night.
  This Sunday evening event is promoted to small
  groups and Sunday School classes. They are
  encouraged to gather together and have fun. The
  church provides childcare for those who need it.

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• Intentionally cross-pollinate relationships from
  multiple generations
• The church members really incorporate all of us
  into the service and into the church every
  weekend. This gives the young adults ownership of
  what is taking place within the church walls and
  places within them the desire to continue to
  serve.
• Young adult, Northview Community Church

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• Ensure your churchs physical environment
  includes places that are conducive to building
  relationships
• At First Missionary Baptist Church, the welcome
  area received a makeover designed to create an
  inviting and casual atmosphere for individuals as
  they arrived for Fusion worship. The leaders of
  Fusion point to the coffee bar as an invaluable
  and strategic addition to their ministry.

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Small Groups
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• Offer a diverse menu of small groups with a
  diverse time schedule, meeting in multiple venues
• At Emmanuel Baptist Church, an array of small
  groupsLife Groups for single young adults and
  Community groups for young marriedsmeet every
  night of the week.

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• Create an inviting environment in your small
  groups that also challenges participants to
  serveboth will appeal to the unchurched.
• We find that a young adult just coming in off
  the street is more apt to come to a home group
  than to a worship service. We encourage home
  groups to do mission projects, outreach, and
  other ministries.
• Jamie Austin, Lawton First Assembly of God

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• Establish goals for each small group
• We have three goals for our small groups 1) a
  place to belong2) a place to change 3) a place
  to reach We place emphasis on these 3 keys of
  belonging, changing and reaching. In order to
  have a healthy life group, all 3 of these
  principles must be used.
• Kevin Choate, Emmanuel Church

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• Intentionally make small groups a safe and secure
  environment
• Young adults will begin to discuss their lives
  and the Bible study if they feel safe and secure
  in their environment. If they have a problem,
  they know they can come to that group for help.
  Whether the need is physical or spiritual, they
  know the group will meet the need. The group
  continues to call and talk to one another after
  the class ends.
• Mike Gentry, a volunteer at Church of The Servant

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• Give young adults a sense of ownership of their
  small groups
• If someone wants to start a home group, there
  are materials and curriculum available from the
  church. They pick the material and the night, and
  host a home group for whatever age group they
  choose.
• Brent Jenkins, Eagle Heights Church

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Missions
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• Meet young adults expectations to serve
• Young adults have a higher awareness than a lot
  of other age groups of what it means to be
  missional. They want to know when they give
  money to the church where it is going and what it
  is doing. We want to see our money and our time
  spent helping and reaching out.
• Joey Carpenter, First Missionary Baptist Church

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• Strategically include missions as a core
  expectation of small groups
• Bridgeway Church has organized their house
  churches based on a missional focus rather than
  age or social class. Each house church targets a
  neighborhood they can help or a network of single
  moms. One of the most effective things I have
  seen has been the equipping and sending out of
  people to be missional in their own lives and
  communities.
• Zac Bottomly, Bridgeway Church

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• Present with passion service activities and
  mission projects
• Service activities at the Church at Battlecreek
  see a remarkable involvement from young adults,
  due to the church staff's passion as they
  introduce missional opportunities.

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• Provide opportunities for young adults to serve
  with multiple generations of church members
• FBC of Madill has an ongoing local ministry that
  adopts four or five homes in the community to
  paint, roof, install siding, and do other
  maintenance projects. These home makeovers are
  great opportunities for multiple generations
  within the church to engage in missions, as well
  as to develop cross-generational relationships.

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Worship
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• Create an environment that celebrates the
  preferences and style of the generation you are
  seeking to reach
• The Refuge worship service is full of energythe
  lights are dimmed and there are strobe lights and
  the music is really, really loud and people want
  to dance. But at the same time the entire service
  is focused on God.
• Amy Zimmerman, Emmanuel

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• Dont let the experience of worship obscure the
  One who is being worshiped
• We are very Jesus-centric in our preaching. If
  we finish writing a sermon and it doesnt help
  people meet Jesus, then we have read the text
  wrong. We tear it up and burn it and start all
  over again and repent.
• Ryan Abernathy, Journey Fellowship

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• Make the teaching relevant to your audience
• Young adults who attend the Thursday night
  service at First Assembly of God in Lawton are
  described as a pool of shallow and deep
  Christians and non-Christians. Therefore, the
  speaker must present a message that is relevant
  and applicable to people in all stages of life.
  We are so careful not to use what we call
  Christianese, or Christian lingo, at all.

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• Consider specific worship services for young
  adults
• At Asbury Church, the service most young adults
  attend is called Venue 6-8, which takes place in
  a new youth building with an 850-seat auditorium.
  The senior pastor preaches to the church via
  simulcast for this service.

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Outreach
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• Use relationships to spur outreach
• The Peoples Church offers monthly relational
  events or Connect Groups. They serve to bridge
  the gap for young adults from the worship service
  to small groups. Peoples Churchs four identical
  Sunday morning services are well attended by
  young adults. Connect groups provide
  opportunities to build relationships that help
  them get plugged into community groups.

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• Encourage leaders to build relationships with
  young adults
• We need to figure out better ways of attracting
  young people without having to attract them.
  Mainly that would come through relationships
  instead of Heres the big show.It starts with
  leaders and the relationships they have and how
  we can build those with young people that dont
  know Jesus yet.
• Zac Bottomly, Bridgeway Church

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• Train your young adults to reach others
• Most of the new young adults coming to Church of
  the Servant are coming because young adults
  involved in the ministry have invited them to
  come. The young adult members are going to be
  more effective than any of the older adults when
  inviting young adults to the church.
• Mike Gentry, Church of the Servant

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• Think AUTHENTIC, SIMPLE, AND PRACTICAL
• We have found that free food is a major draw for
  students. Nearly every event involves food of
  some kind.
• Jamie Austin, Lawton First Assembly

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• Think strategically by considering the lifestyle
  patterns of young adults
• We go where people are. This includes having
  the mens small group meet in places where young
  adults are found such as certain restaurants.
• Ryan Abernathy, The Journey Fellowship

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• Encourage consistency in attendance
• If we could increase the frequency at which
  people connected with the church, we could give
  them reasons to come this weekend and reasons to
  come next weekend, and that process led to a
  higher degree of engagement overall and the more
  likely they are to invite other people.
• Bobby Gruenewald, LifeChurch.tv

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Technology
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• Take advantage of technology for communication
• Lawton First Assembly of God relies heavily upon
  e-mail, phone calls, text-messages, Facebook,
  video, and podcasts for communicating with young
  adults. While relationships start in person
  technology keeps people connected
• Soldiers to receive podcasts of services when
  overseas,
• Volunteers receive email updates
• Facebook wall posts or a text message can ask if
  a friend will be at Fusion this week

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• Dont underestimate the power of technology to
  gain the attention of young adults
• Technology is in some ways the backbone of the
  young adult ministry at Asbury. The sermon is
  given via simulcast, and digital signs and
  televisions relay announcements. Wide-screen
  televisions, high-definition projectors, three
  plasma monitors, high-definition big screens,
  lights, video imagery, and more are built into
  the service to enhance the appeal to young
  adults.

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• Use technology to enhance the worship experience
• The Peoples Church places a premium on first
  impression. They utilize large-screen projection,
  theatrical lighting, and creative video
  production to aid the mood and emotions of the
  worship service.

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Leadership
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• Look first to your own field as you seek to
  recruit leadership for this ministry
• Gerod Grigor was a member of Norman Community
  Church for several months before coming on staff.
  He loves being on staff at the church where he
  was attending. Greg said he doesnt feel like a
  hired hand because he was already involved and
  embraces the vision of the church.

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• Cast the vision for young adult ministry
  passionately
• Our pastors vision, specifically, is for the
  next generation. In general, it would be to lead
  people to be fully-devoted followers of Christ.
  More specifically, it is for children and
  teenagers. He has always had a heart for young
  people. Our pastor is very involved with us
  relationally. He is our cheerleader.
• Jamie Austin, Lawton First Assembly of God

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• Tap older adults as leaders who can also mentor
• An incredible foundation has been laid by the
  older generations in our church. Do not try and
  avoid this foundation and lay another for a
  younger generation. There are many treasures to
  be discovered and used from older generations
  because they have lived through the same
  situations that many young adults are
  experiencing in their current lives.
• Todd Craig, Asbury

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Discipleship
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• Discussion is a key component for Bible studies
  with young adults
• I think the most effective time during our small
  groups are when the young adults are the ones
  leading the conversation by discussing the lesson
  and their lives. Young adults share when they
  know they are in a safe place.
• Mike Gentry, Church of the Servant

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• Provide mentoring programs to disciple and to
  assimilate newcomers
• Lawton First Assembly of God has discovered that
  young adults are looking for any opportunity to
  get together and hang out. Realizing that, the
  staff has taken the opportunity to provide
  fellowship as well as discipleship. Austin said,
  We hold church sporting events that bring older
  men together with our younger men.

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Theological Issues
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• Discuss current trends in society by speaking to
  the issues
• The young adults at Church of the Servant had
  many diverse conversations about the recent
  election. As they discussed the subject, some
  leaders were surprised at the diversity of
  opinions that existed among the adults.

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• Jesus must be the ultimate focus. Young adults
  need their faith solidified
• The ultimate thing is for young people to know
  Jesus Christ. We give them Jesus. That is the
  main thing. We really take them right back to
  Scripture and teach them why they believe the way
  they do.
• Jamie Austin, Lawton First Assembly of God

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• Teach issues that are relevant to the young
  adults everyday life
• Young adults have lost their identity. They are
  transitioning from high school to college and
  they are trying to figure life out. The second is
  connection. It is important to get connected with
  a community of people based on Christs love.The
  last is fulfillment. Relate to them that
  fulfillment is found, not in advancement through
  your career, but in service.
• Chris Colvin, Battlecreek

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Insights for Healthy Models of Reaching Young
Adults Oklahoma