Over the last decade of doing college and young adult ministry and helping churches think through how to effectively engage 18-30 year olds, my anecdotal experience has been identical to what national surveys confirm; the engagement of young adults with the life of the church continues to decrease at an increasingly rapid pace.
Barna’s most recent research into Gen Z – currently ages 13-26 (give or take – generational boundaries are arbitrary) – found that only 9% are what they call “resilient disciples.” Resilient disciples are those who are actively participating in a local church, affirm the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith, and whose faith impacts their day-to-day life.
That means 91% of Gen Z – over 65 million people – are either explicitly not Christian or would call themselves Christian the faith they declare has little to no real shaping power in their life. 65 million is nearly equivalent to the population of France.
There are some key reasons that churches are struggling to engage young adults and college students. We’ll get into some specifics in a moment, but first we need to define a key concept that threads through each of these five cultural obstacles.
Cultural Distance
In his seminal book on disciple-making movements, Alan Hirsch draws on the work of missiologist Ralph Winter and introduces readers to the concept of cultural distance. He writes,
Called cultural distance, the tool was developed to help missionaries assess just how far a people group is from a meaningful engagement with the gospel. In order to discern this, we have to see it on a scale.
Each numeral with the prefix m indicates one significant cultural barrier to the meaningful communication of the gospel.
The Forgotten Ways
The key point here is that the greater the cultural distance from the culture of the one sharing the Gospel, the more hurdles must be jumped in order to effectively communicate the Gospel message. The most obvious barrier is language – if you speak English and the person you want to share the Gospel with speaks only Cantonese, then no matter how eloquently you proclaim the saving work of Christ your hearer won’t get much benefit.
This applies beyond language as well. Hirsch applies it to working within our contexts this way:
- m0–m1: Those with some concept of Christianity who speak the same language, have similar interests, are probably of the same nationality, and are from a class grouping similar to yours or your church’s. Most of your friends would probably fit into this bracket.
- m1–m2: Here we go to the average non-Christian in our context: people who have little real awareness of, or interest in, Christianity and who can be suspicious of the church (they have heard bad things). These people might be politically correct, socially aware, and open to spirituality. This category might also include those previously offended by a bad experience with church or Christians. Just go to the average local pub/bar or nightclub to encounter these people.
- m2–m3: People in this group have absolutely no real idea about Christianity. They might be members of an ethnic group with different religious impulses or some fringy subculture. This category might include people marginalized by WASPy Christianity, for example, the LGBT community. But this group will definitely include people actively antagonistic toward Christianity as they understand or have experienced it.
- m3–m4: This group might be inhabited by ethnic and religious groupings such as Muslims or Jews. The fact that they are in the West might ameliorate some of the distance, but just about everything else gets in the way of a meaningful dialogue. They are highly resistant to the gospel.
Increasing cultural distance
Twenty or thirty years ago it was highly likely that most college students and young adults would have fallen between M0-M2 on Winter’s scale. They would have had regular if not frequent exposure to church, a general understanding of basic categories like sin, salvation, and morality, and probably a generally benign or positive view of Christianity.
That’s changed. Most non-christian young adults today probably sit between M2-M4. They may be open spiritually but have a generally skeptical view of Christianity and the church. Most have had (or have a friend who has had) a significant negative experience with christianity. Increasingly few have had any actual experience of church or have ever read the Bible, and they increasingly identify with the groups that feel they have been marginalized by “WASPy Christianity.”
If your church wants to effectively minister to college students and young adults, you’d be wise to intentionally address the barriers between them and faith. In light of that, here are five of the key cultural obstacles that I see standing in the way of young adult and collegiate ministry in most churches.
Note, these aren’t the only obstacles. They may not event be the most important, but they are the five most common that I’ve encountered in 15 or so years of working with 18-30ish year olds.
5 Cultural Obstacles
1) A negative view of the church
The problem explained:
The reasons for this are myriad and have been much-discussed over the last several years. Suffice it to say that Gen Z has a significantly more negative overall view of the church than previous generations. Whereas 30 years ago going to church was generally seen – even by many who were personally opposed to Christianity – as similar to being a part of a local rotary club or other social organization. In the conversations I observe among college students and young adults today going to church is seen as something more akin how traditional Christians would view a person who goes to a strip club or does drugs – something to be hidden and ashamed of because it’s morally reprehensible.
This is particularly true after the events of 2019-2020. Regardless of what you think about Trump, BLM, and COVID, the church (particularly those in what’s labelled “Evangelical” sectors) has become viewed as harmful to the culture at large when it has historically been positive or at least benign.As a result, more young adults are intentionally NOT going to church where they would have, in the past, just gone out of habit.
A solution:
Instead of aiming to get people “to your church,” aim to get young adults connected to your people. The relational bridge is key – let those in your church surprise people with the kindness and passion for justice that they have. Create more spaces for people to connect to the church that aren’t visibly labelled as “church” events. A couple practical examples; host a grillout in a local park, send your people to participate in the city softball league rather than the “church league,” or do a giveaway on a nearby college campus during welcome week without no strings attached (meaning no taking emails, phone numbers, etc unless someone offers it).
Three resources for further learning:
- Surprise the World by Michael Frost
- Discipleship that Fits by Alex Absalom
- This Cultural Moment podcast
2) Gen Z are technological natives
The problem explained:
Barna’s most recent research found that Gen Zers spend an average of 10+ hrs a day on some sort of technology. Most of today’s 18-30 year olds don’t know life apart from the ability to pull out their smartphone and use it to get information, directions, or to simply escape from an awkward moment in conversation.
Most churches (and most pastors – even youth pastors) are FAR from this being technological natives. Plenty of churches scrambled to figure out how to stream video in 2020, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
This saturation with tech is a double edged sword. It enables deep, constant connection and communication, but it also forms Gen Z as consumers and connoisseurs. It means that when you’re preaching odds are that the young adults in your congregation are googling statements you make to evaluate their accuracy, checking email, and more. It means that if your church’s website is outdated (unless it’s intentionally kitchy for the sake of nostalgia) or doesn’t contain basic information, young adults are far less likely to discover your church.
A solution:
Solutions here need to be adapted to the strengths and culture of a given church, but in general I’d recommend a two-pronged approach:
- Embrace: integrate tech into your church life. A hallmark of social tech is interaction. Do a digital Q+A. Create a chat board where people can respond (live!) during sermons. Double check your own research when you make statements about culture, history, etc and invite others to double check you. Another hallmark of tech is personal connection/authenticity. Have church staff/pastors hop on social media occasionally to share off-the-cuff thoughts, real-life struggles, etc
- Resist: Push back against the deadly edge of the sword of tech by intentionally creating space for resistance. The majority of young adults know and are troubled by their over-dependence on technology. Leverage this by inviting people to shut off their phones for the evening when you gather and remind them of the value of unbroken, in-person connection. Read up and teach your people about the way that technology is shaping us.
Three resources:
- Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle
- The Social Dilemma documentary
- Ask Brady live podcast / https://prochurchtools.com/playlist/best-of/
3) Young adults are suspicious of institutions
The problem explained
With some glaring exceptions, young adults appear to be deeply skeptical of established institutions. This is particularly true of those institutions with lengthy histories and who are seen as attempting to set moral standards and boundaries for the culture.
This trend has been significantly accelerated in the last 18 months, with trust in American’s government, law enforcement, healthcare, and religious institutions all suffering declines in approval. This means that if you are an institution or a leader in an institution, your long history has shifted from being viewed as a positive thing to being a reason to be critical/skeptical of your intents or motives.
Just yesterday I was at an event for entrepreneurs where I live in Fargo, ND and one of the speakers was a millennial in his late 30s who was sharing about the company he started to help people use the technology of aeroponics to grow their own food and be less dependent on large corporations. He made the statement that in the next couple decades people will have two choices; to centralize power in large institutions or to decentralize power and empower individuals. His company was created to help decentralize power. The older people in the crowd looked thoughtful and maybe slightly skeptical. Many of those who appeared to be in their 30s or younger were so moved that they applauded this passionately.
A solution:
Minimize your institutionalization by decentralizing authority, empowering lay-leaders, and leveraging the power of networks. Dig into the world of missional church and disciple-making movements to learn more about this.
Three resources
- The Shaping of Things to Come – Alan Hirsch
- Future Church – Will Mancini
- Reappearing Church – Mark Sayers
4) They speak a different language
The problem explained:
Most YA have little to no understanding of the “behind the wall” language/terminology used within evangelical/church culture. Holiness, sanctification, atonement, and other weight-bearing theological words are little understood and yet are frequently used (without offering definition) in the typical church service or evanglistic presentation. Oftentimes our attempts to communicate biblical truths comes across more like we’re someone from a foreign country speaking a different language rather than a good friend offering good news.
Along the same lines, most young adults today have no idea how to walk, talk, dress, or what to anticipate when they walk into your church. The experience of entering a church build is – for many – parallel to the experience someone who’s grown up in church might have stepping into the middle of a mosque in Iran.
A solution:
Give people a heads up on what to expect when they show up to events. Your website should have a “what to expect” section (ideally with a video!), and your people should be able to communicate the same information.
Explain what you’re saying when you reference biblical basics. When you say, “turn to Matthew 3,” tell people the page number in the pew Bibles. When you use a word like sanctification, define it. When you do communion or worship or prayer, make a habit of explaining why you do it beforehand or afterward.
Resources
- Invite a couple people with little church background to come to your Sunday morning or your young adult ministry with the express intent of critiquing it. Sit down with them after and get their feedback. You’ll be amazed at what you learn.
- The Gospel in a Pluralist Society – Leslie Newbigin
- Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey
5) A lack of basic skills
The problem explained:
Mark Sayers, in the podcast This cultural moment, makes the observation that young adults increasingly lack some of the basic skills taken for granted in previous generations. Things like time management/self discipline, the ability to start a conversation with a stranger (rather than sit on your phone), commit to an activity with faithfulness, and more. I’ve found this – anecdotally, but widely so – to be true.
It’s also true of basic “Christian” skills – even for those who grew up in church. You can’t expect that because someone grew up in the church they have a habit of prayer or reading the Bible regularly, or that they’ve even read more than small snippets of the Bible. I’m consistently surprised by just how many Christians (some of whom are in vocational ministry) have never read the Bible cover to cover.
This lack of basic skills and knowledge – both practical and faith-oriented – means that your young adult ministry needs to start with the basics. Assuming that you can teach “deep” theology because you’re working with twenty-somethings will either alienate people who can’t talk “deep” or will encourage those with much knowledge but little action to talk about rather than obey Jesus.
A solution:
Implement practical, real-life discipleship. Want your YA to learn to read the Bible regularly? You can’t just tell them to do it. Come alongside and walk them through establishing the habit, even if that means meeting up 4 mornings a week to read together.
Offer classes/courses/trainings at your church on practical stuff like budgeting, changing the oil on a car, and developing healthy habits. This is a great way to leverage the knowledge of older generations and build connections between your young adults and the larger body of Christ!
Resources
- Disappearing Church – Mark Sayers
- Next Generation Leader – Andy Stanley
- Building a Discipling Culture – Mike Breen
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