I’m doing some reading/research on young adults in the U.S. and the relationship of Christianity. Many point to Robert Wuthnow’s book, After the Baby Boomers, as the definitive work on the subject.
Having just moved from a job in which I worked closely with college students, doing a doctorate degree on the relationship of religion and culture (largely being shaped by 20-30 somethings), and serving as minister for a young church (Otter Creek Church might be the youngest congregation I know of in Churches of Christ)–I’m committed to thinking about the manner in which churches are reaching young adults.
I’ll write more in a later post regarding specific research. For now, I want to delineate between three groups who comprise the young adult demographic.
1. College students. Though a college degree is probably equal to a high school diploma 25 years ago, the reality is that most Americans still do not attend college. So, by college, I mean “college age” to encompass 18-23 year old’s who may or may not actually be in college.
2. Young professional (single, divorced, singe parent). College grad’s, hard-working men and women who are focused on making ends meet and making meaningful relationships. If the average U.S. citizen waits to marry until 27, this group is become a larger demographic unreached by churches.
3. Young married. 25-35, these young couples are married, working hard, trying to pay the bills (like group 2) while also navigating the tricky waters of marriage.
The challenge is to integrate these three into the larger life of the church, a challenging endeavor for all three groups (especially college students). I’ve long believed that young adults, save the elderly, are the most neglected age demographic in churches. They also tend to be the most difficult group to form spiritually (more on that later).
My greatest fear is that the generations ahead of young adults (Boomers, Silent, GI to use one linguistic model) is unwilling to create a church that speaks to young adults in a fresh and challenging way.
Since I work with college students and young professionals, I am looking forward to what you will have to say.
I agree with your statement that the college diploma of today probably being the equivalent of a high school diploma 25 years ago, at least in many fields of study. Do you mean the difficulty/educational level or the degree’s ability to land a job, or both?
by Phillip (Feb 14 2010, 7:02 pm)