Young adults don’t seem to have a problem with Jesus. In fact, they describe themselves as spiritual. But many of them are looking everywhere for spirituality except the church.
Such topics were at the forefront of a “Connect Conference” sponsored by the Threads young adult initiative of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tenn.
Geared toward church leaders who work with young adults, the conference included sessions recapping recent statistics about why many 18-to-34-year-olds leave the church.
Sam Rainer, who co-authored “Essential Church: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts” with his father Thom Rainer, LifeWay’s president, offered reasons for what some speakers describe as a “mass exodus.”
“We find that the No. 1 reason young adults leave church is that they simply want a break from church,” said Rainer, noting that 16 is the critical age when most students begin to drop out.
“Our research shows that at around the age of 16 many of the net gains for attendance switch and become net losses,” Rainer said. “Spiritually, the problem begins earlier than young adulthood.”
Rainer also offered solutions to the dropout problem.
“Churches must build a sense of community,” he said, citing data that indicates 83 percent of young adults who have been active in a small group or Sunday school class remain in the church after five years.
“The younger generation goes to church because of the sense of purpose and mission,” he said. “They value authenticity and depth.”
Thom Rainer, also a featured speaker at the Aug. 20-21 conference, outlined three components of depth as discussed in Essential Church.
Depth begins with the pastor, he said. Depth also must come from small groups and Sunday school classes. Finally, depth must come from personal devotion and Bible study.
The Rainers also mentioned three characteristics of individuals who stay in church: Studies show that they come from families who regularly discuss spiritual matters, serve together on a mission trip or service project, and pray together consistently.
Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, cautioned conference attendees about statistics that portray young adults as unspiritual.
“Don’t believe that young adults, even unchurched young adults, are not interested in spiritual things,” Stetzer said, noting that they are looking outside of the church. – BP