Most Young Adults Stop Coming to Church
Research in this article shows that the majority of young adults will stop coming to church after high school. While some may return later in life, what can we do as a church to "close the gap"? Two insights that I believe we should consider are as follows:
1. Build relational bridges between youth and adults. When youth have relationship with adults in the church, it provides an outlet for them ask questions and share frustrations as they make transitional decisions. Most youth and young adults feel mis-understood by their elders. Whether or not that is reality, creating avenues for youth to be heard by the adults of the church is a power bridge builder. This can happen exceptionally well when adults serve in youth ministry (especially as small group hosts), and when Men’s and Women’s Ministry leaders reach out to the youth through special activities and even special promotions for events they are hosting.
2. Invite older High Schoolers to be a part of leaders decisions. This may sound a little intimidating, but in order for a young person to stay connected past High School they need to have a sense of ownership about the mission of the church. This can happen through "open forum" discussion with church leaders where youth can share input, it can also happen by inviting mature youth to be "Ambassador Leaders" on existing Adult Leadership Teams.
Moving from youth to young-adulthood is an extremely volatile time for many young people. The more the church intentionally builds bridges to keep relationship flowing between the generations, the more likely we are to see upcoming generations catch the vision of the local church before they turn 30…
